Quality, or more specifically how it's perceived by customers, is one of the things which always make me laugh at those JD Power surveys. They always made a big deal about how the prestige marques finished way down and the likes of Kia or Hyundai were ranked higher.
It's all about perceived quality and expectations. If you buy a Kia or Hyundai and it squeaks and rattles a bit, you'll just put that down to the cheap construction and accept it as the norm. If an Audi or BMW did the same you'd be back at the dealer screaming at them to fix it. Granted that's just one example but it's the principle - you buy something cheap and you have far lower expectations of quality than if you buy something expensive. Audis fall int the latter category - they're expensive partly because they're put together well and use quality materials, it's not all badge snobbery, although you do pay a bit of a premium for that (£500 per ring perhaps )
It's all about perceived quality and expectations. If you buy a Kia or Hyundai and it squeaks and rattles a bit, you'll just put that down to the cheap construction and accept it as the norm. If an Audi or BMW did the same you'd be back at the dealer screaming at them to fix it. Granted that's just one example but it's the principle - you buy something cheap and you have far lower expectations of quality than if you buy something expensive. Audis fall int the latter category - they're expensive partly because they're put together well and use quality materials, it's not all badge snobbery, although you do pay a bit of a premium for that (£500 per ring perhaps )