James David Power, who turned a kitchen table business into the symbol defining vehicle quality and research globally, passed away Saturday, January 23, 2021 at the age of 89.

J. David Power began conducting customer satisfaction research on April 1, 1968 as founder of the marketing information firm J.D. Power and Associates.

Today the firm monitors quality and customer satisfaction around the globe and in many industries.

He was quoted in stories as saying he had no intention of doing automotive market research, despite having had a history with Ford Motor Company.

“When we started the company, we had no intention of doing automotive market research, even though that was my whole career,” Power told Family Business Magazine some years ago. “Because here we were in Los Angeles, and we didn’t have any car companies here.”

Vehicle quality research was at the core of its founding though and the firm quickly made its way into automotive research.

Initially, the “Associates” in the firm’s title were his own wife and children.

In 1972, the company first drew national attention when Julie P. Power, David Power’s wife, while working through the results of customer surveys, discovered a design flaw in the O-rings of certain Mazda rotary engines. Press coverage vaulted the organization to broad recognition.

In the following years, J. D. Power and Associates became well known for its automotive customer satisfaction rankings

Power sold the company to McGraw-Hill in 2005. Terms were not disclosed.

In 2019, JD Power was acquired by private equity firm Thoma Bravo.

David Power became an adjunct professor of marketing at California State University, Northridge.

In 2018, the Power family made a $3 million donation to liberal arts programs at the College of the Holy Cross, establishing the J.D. Power Center for Liberal Arts in the World.

“The world has lost a true pioneer and we have lost a visionary spirit that has continued to inspire, inform and galvanize our company’s growth for over 50 years,” said Dave Habiger, president and CEO of J.D. Power. “Those who were lucky enough to have worked closely with Dave remember a larger-than-life creative presence who encouraged constant innovation and close collaboration with a relentless focus on the values of independence, integrity and quality.”