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Porsche Refused, Ford Repented, Nissan Tied for First. Sentence All Three.

JD Power asked owners of new 2026 cars how they felt after 90 days. Porsche answered by standing still. Ford answered by fixing itself. Nissan's Armada and Murano tied for first in their segments. No release prints a price.

Column July 28, 2026
Hank Whitaker
Hank Whitaker Performance & Combustion

JD Power waited until the new-car smell wore off, then asked owners of 2026 cars whether they still loved what they bought. Porsche was named the most appealing premium brand for a third consecutive year. Ford climbed from 12th to 9th among mainstream brands. The Nissan Armada and Murano each tied for first in their segments.

Satisfaction is not one thing. Porsche buys it by refusing to change. Ford buys it by finally fixing what was broken. Nissan buys it by never breaking anything worth a headline. I will sentence all three before the coffee goes cold.

Porsche scored 896 points, above the premium-brand average, its sixth top ranking since 2020. The 911 won the Premium Sporty Car segment. Porsche's release also cites the separate 2026 Initial Quality Study, where Porsche says it ranked top overall. Different study. And what did Porsche change to earn any of it? Nothing. Diane has heard me praise a company for refusing to change. She has never heard me say it about myself.

Ford did the harder thing. Ford says it has been fundamentally transforming its quality. That climb is what repentance looks like on a chart. The Mustang was named most appealing Sporty Car a second year running. The Super Duty took the heavy-duty pickup award a third. Josh Halliburton, Ford's own executive director of quality, wrote the thing himself and admitted "We still have work to do." No committee ever wrote that sentence.

Then Nissan. The Armada tied for first in the Large SUV segment. The Murano tied for first in Midsize SUV. Tied. Gary, my HOA president, owns an Armada and has never once mentioned it. He has mentioned my Chevelle twice, both times in writing. He does not know he won anything.

So. Porsche is excused from ever explaining itself again. Ford is granted the one thing it wanted. Belief. Nissan is denied a headline, for the crime of never being interesting. My phone is ringing. It is Gary. Excuse me. I have to go lose an argument to the most satisfied man in America.

The VerdictThe JD Power 2026 U.S. APEAL Study drew on responses from 78,514 owners of new 2026 model-year vehicles surveyed after 90 days of ownership, fielded June 2025 through May 2026. Porsche was ranked the most appealing premium brand for a third consecutive year with 896 points against a premium-brand average of 893, an improvement of 6 points year over year and its sixth top ranking since 2020. The Panamera was Porsche's highest-scoring model at 910 points and the 911 took the Premium Sporty Car segment. Porsche's release separately cites the JD Power 2026 U.S. Initial Quality Study, a different study, in which Porsche says it claimed the top overall position among all brands and the No. 1 Premium Brand spot. Ford's brand score improved 11 points to an 849 index score, moving from 12th to 9th among mainstream brands and above the mainstream average, with the Mustang named most appealing Sporty Car for a second consecutive year, the Super Duty most appealing Large Heavy-Duty Pickup for a third, and four top-three finishes out of 10 award-eligible categories. Ford's release is written in the first person by Josh Halliburton, executive director of quality at Ford Motor Company. Nissan's Armada tied for first place in the Large SUV segment and the Murano tied for first place in the Midsize SUV segment. Every figure belongs to its own brand's release, the three results are not on one shared scale, no release states a price, and nobody at this desk has driven any of the six vehicles named.

Editorial disclosure: Porsche couriered to Drive Observer a Weissach-stamped torque wrench, calibrated once in 2019. Ford sent a full shift's worth of rejected inspection cards, punched and initialed by hand, clipped into a ring binder heavy enough to hold the newsroom door open. Nissan delivered a two-foot length of assembly-line conveyor chain on a rolling stand. Per our strict ethical policy, we do not let any of this influence our coverage.