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S. Muralidhar

J.D. POWER and Associates is considered one of the leading independent research and global marketing information firms conducting quality and customer satisfaction research based on survey responses from actual vehicle users and consumers worldwide.

In India, J.D. Power is known for its research, rankings and awards for the passenger car segment. The company, which recently became an affiliate of the McGraw-Hill Companies, offers product and service rankings that are based solely on the opinions and expectations of consumers who have actually used or owned the product and service being rated.

The J.D. Power Consumer Center is an extremely popular online feature that the company offers, which enables potential vehicle buyers to access the company's rankings database. The company claims to maintain one of the largest, most comprehensive historical customer satisfaction databases in existence, which includes feedback, through surveys, on virtually all aspects of the shopping, buying, service and product-ownership experiences.

Now, the J.D. Power Consumer Center India web site is up and running and has loads of research data in the form of the `Circle ratings' that the company is famous for. The most interesting, interactive feature of the web site is the new vehicle adviser. This link offers a three-step process by which a potential vehicle buyer can choose the passenger car that suits his budget, tastes and expectations. If the prospective car buyer already knows which cars are within his ambit, they can be compared under various quality and ratings parameters to close in on the final choice.

Consumers can choose the performance requirements that are most important to them on the website, including: mechanical quality, performance, style, comfort, safety and owner-reported fuel economy. After consumers select the importance of these requirements, the website provides them with a prioritised list of vehicles to choose from based on their preferences. Consumers can also view the ratings of individual vehicles.

The new J.D. Power India Consumer Center gives consumers access to product information and feedback from vehicle owners, which is referred to as voice-of-the-customer information. The data is derived from a variety of J.D. Power Asia Pacific syndicated automotive studies conducted in India amongst new vehicle buyers. The service is available free of charge, and no registration is required for accessing its contents. The India Consumer Center web site can be found at http://www.jdpower.com/cc /global/india/index.jsp

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