Published August 28, 2007
in Maintenance, Pontiac, Buick, Cadillac, Lexus, GMC, Saturn, auto, Car Buying, Etc., GM and Automotive.
The General’s chief product guru, Bob Lutz, responded to questions regarding GM’s reliability in the company’s FastLane Blog’s most recent video Q&A chapter. According to Lutz, who cites comparisons to company “H” and company “T” as being perpetual reliability yardsticks, GM has aimed at making every component throughout the automaker’s brands “bulletproof,” including the engines, transmissions and every mechanical part imaginable.
The move began about four or five years ago, and despite high ratings in J.D. Power and Associates initial quality reports, Lutz explains that all the money spent was in an effort to “shoot for infinite life,” as opposed to what Lutz calls, “100,000-mile bogies.”
Lutz goes on to recount his aim of making Buick the American equivalent of Lexus, which was just confirmed with the recent release of J.D. Power and Associates long-term reliability ratings. Buick sat pretty, right next to Lexus. Mission accomplished Bob. Congrats.
[Source: GM FastLane Blog]
Most people that purchase a brand-new car from the dealer lot have heard about the forthcoming customer satisfaction survey that will be mailed to their home. While some dealers will ask you to fairly assess their performance, others will try to manipulate scores with overt suggestions and even begging. A recent study by automotive research firm TrueDelta of 1,700 survey takers showed that nearly half of all dealerships tried to manipulate satisfaction scores, and one in four were asked to provide perfect scores by dealer employees. In the end, all the cajoling worked, as one in eight admitted to inflating their scores at the behest of the dealership. The study also pinpointed which OEM dealers were the worst offenders, and BMW, Hyundai, and Nissan comprised the axis of manipulation.
As the scribes at Automotive News point out, satisfaction scores are big business, and everything from ad support to additional franchise opportunities are rewards for dealerships that score above average in customer satisfaction. Poor scores can result in the cold shoulder from the OEM to the Grim Reaper taking away the right to sell cars. Even when we actually buy a five-figure vehicle off the lot, most dealerships keep the pressure on with additional insurance or warranty coverage, inflated interest rates, and even the satisfaction survey we take months later. It’s a wonder buying cars on the Internet isn’t more popular.
[Source: Automotive News - Sub. Req.]
We missed it early this month, but the new Power Information Network retained value rankings for the automakers came out, and while the top ten list is pretty much owned by imports, HUMMER crashes the party, coming in at the #8 spot. HUMMER vehicles retain 63% of their original value, an increase of 3.5% over their last showing. Scion sits in the top spot, retaining 69.8%
Toyota (Scion #1, Toyota #5, Lexus #6), Honda (Honda #2, Acura #4) and BMW (MINI #3, BMW #10) actually account for seven of the top ten, with Subaru (7th) and Nissan (9th) rounding out the list along with HUMMER. While domestics remain largely absent from the overall top 10 list this year, they make a strong showing in the top 10 most improved marques in terms of retained value, taking seven of those spots. Click the read link to see the full lists and related statistical information.
[Source: Auto Remarketing]
If we had this puppy, we’d make a CD that was an endless loop of monster truck rally radio commercials. What better soundtrack to blare out the window of this bitchin’, rust-enhanced Dodge Ramcharger sporting 52″ tires. Billed as an “attention getter” that “steers for the most part,” this machine of undoubtedly confidence-inspiring handling can be yours for just $3,000. You know you want it.
“SUNDAY! SUNDAY! SUNDAY!…”
Thanks for the tip, Jake!
[Source: Craigslist]
