ANN ARBOR, Mich. -

Both used- and new-vehicle retail sales are moving higher, but the annual automotive report associated with the American Customer Satisfaction Index (ACSI) showed consumer satisfaction softened for the second year in a row.

Mentioning widespread decline among a wide array of brands, the 2014 ACSI Automobile Report indicated diminishing customer satisfaction produced an overall ACSI score of 82, marking a 1.2-percent decline from a year earlier.

Among the 21 nameplates tracked by the ACSI, analysts noted 80 percent lost ground in customer satisfaction, with only 10 percent improving and another 10 percent holding steady compared to a year ago.

“The domestic car industry overall fells to a five-year ACSI low, although the gap to imports actually narrowed a bit because both Japanese and European nameplates declined even further,” analysts said in the report.

For 2014, the top automakers in customer satisfaction are a mix of luxury and Japanese brands.

Mercedes-Benz held on to the lead despite a small drop to an ACSI score of 86, followed by Subaru at 85.

Lexus slipped for a second straight year, falling 3 percent to tie Volkswagen, which is unchanged at 84.

Toyota and Honda also retreated 3 percent to tie Buick at 83, the only domestic badge above the industry average.

“A considerable investment in Buick appears to be paying off for General Motors. Sales are up 12.5 percent for the first half of the year — the largest increase for any GM car — led by a surge in sales for Buick Encore,” report authors said.

Most of the remaining brands came in at, or just below, the industry average, according to analysts.

GMC dipped 4 percent to an ACSI score of 82, tying Chevrolet, (which rose 4 percent) and Kia (which stayed unchanged). Ford, Nissan, Hyundai and Chrysler settled next at 81.

At 80, Mazda and BMW joined Cadillac, which dropped 6 percent year-over-year and joined Acura as the only luxury badges with lower year-to-date sales compared with the same period in 2013, according to report authors.

At the bottom of the ACSI rankings were two Chrysler brands (Jeep at 79 and Dodge at 78) and two imports brands (Audi at 79 and Acura at 77).

“Considering domestic automakers only, all of Detroit’s Big 3 exhibit declines in overall customer satisfaction, but GM (82) now ranks above Ford (81), despite a record number of high-profile recalls,” report authors said.

The report pointed out that ACSI data showed that frequent or widespread recalls usually contribute to customer dissatisfaction. Vehicle owners who had at least one recall in the past year rate their vehicle 6 percent lower than those who did not experience a recall.

“In the case of GM, many of the recalls concerned older models, whereas ACSI tracks cars purchased within the past three years,” report authors said.

The 2014 ACSI Automobile Report is based on interviews with 4,360 customers, chosen at random and contacted via telephone and email between April 22 and May 29.

Customers are asked to evaluate their recent purchase and experiences with automobiles manufactured by the largest companies in terms of market share, plus an aggregate category consisting of “all other” and thus smaller nameplates.

“The survey data are used as inputs to ACSI’s cause-and-effect econometric model, which estimates customer satisfaction as the result of the survey-measured inputs of customer expectations, perceptions of quality, and perceptions of value,” authors said.

“The ACSI model, in turn, links customer satisfaction with the survey-measured outcomes of customer complaints and customer loyalty. ACSI subscribers receive confidential industry-competitive and best-in-class data on all modeled variables and customer experience benchmarks,” they went on to say.

The soft automotive report led to a national ACSI score dip. The second-quarter report contained a drop of another 0.1 percent to 76.1 on a 100-point scale after experiencing a precipitous 0.8 percent decline in the prior quarter.

"The ongoing erosion in customer satisfaction does nothing to help the economy's ability to generate consumer demand,” ACSI chairman and founder Claes Fornell said. “There are already signs that sales of durable goods are slowing down, with the auto industry experiencing slower growth in new-car sales this year compared to a year ago.”

While the rate of decline in overall customer satisfaction is not as severe as it was in the first quarter, Fornell explained the index continues to trend downward at a time when economic growth needs to pick up pace.

“Based on the new ACSI results, growth in consumer spending will continue to be curtailed as weak customer satisfaction deters repeat buying and low consumer discretionary income inhibits first-time purchases,” Fornell said.