CNN Article on the Quality of American Cars...

It will take a while for perception to catch reality.

 

These are my sentements exactly (quoted from article). The problem is that just beeing "as good as" the competition is working on their turf. That's not a good spot to be in. They need to out perform the competition or define their own market. They have one market where they lead, light tractors (sorry I mean trucks)

Why are we so sure they're bad?

Given J.D. Power survey results, and even the "not bad" showings in Consumer Reports data, why do Americans seem so sure that American cars are dross?

Three possible reasons:

Reputation: Toyota has, by now, had a lifetime to cement its reputation among American consumers for nearly fool-proof quality. GM (Research) and Ford (Research) spent nearly as long honing a reputation for not caring much about quality. Things may have improved, but it takes a long time for that to sink in.

Recalls: GM, in particular, has had a problem with headline-making recalls. It's a big company, it sells a lot of vehicles and they share a lot of components. When one of those parts goes wrong, eye-popping numbers of vehicles can be affected. That doesn't mean the vehicles are unreliable. Recalls are a different sort of problem. But it does cause concerns.

Reviews: GM and Ford vehicles haven't always exuded the quality that may have been hiding in there somewhere. Cheap-feeling interior materials, raspy-sounding engines and gap-filled construction didn't give potential buyers the feeling of confidence that even lesser Japanese brands manage to carry off.

Both GM and Ford are making strides in this area, too. Some recent GM and Ford products should go a long way to correcting the image of throwaway construction.

GM and Ford deserve credit for what they've done so far. But American consumers have shown they still need lots more proof.

 

To borrow from MS and Jayman, it will be hard for Ford and GM to convince the 'Yota sheeple' to take a look at their products.

 

Let's review. Long ago no one would look at Japanese cars.

How did Toyota and Honda change that perception? By making BETTER cars than Detroit.

If Detroit's plan is to make cars 'as good as' Toyota, Honda, and even Hyundai, then they can expect to stop losing market share, someday after the perception sinks in.

That's what happens on a level playing field. Status Quo.

If Detroit wants to gain market share, there is only one way to do that. Make clearly superior products. "Me Too" won't cut it.

Right now the verdict is not yet in on whether Detroit can really make cars that even qualify as 'as good as' the Japanese, but it's looking like they might, in some instances.

Good for them.

Me, I'll still buy the best car I can find, regardless of who makes it.

If Detroit wants my business, they can make that car.

 

Did they leave Chrysler out for a reason? I guess European company.

 

Let's review further...I rented a brand new Chevy Trailblazer and it broke down on the highway. We rented a brand new Chevy Uplander and no matter what we did, we couldn't get the air conditioner to cool the car. My father owned a Pontiac and we got rid of it after one year.

Now, we've owned 3 Toyotas in the past and other than a minor recall for the minivan, we have never had a single problem with them.

I am looking at the products we've driven, now with my personal experience, tell me why I should buy a GM car when I've never had a problem with a Toyota?

 

I have personally owned 5 GM vehicles, 2 blazers, a venture, a yukon, and a corvette. I have had one warranty repair on all those vehicle and that was a problem with power door on the Venture. All vehicles can have problems, but the facts say that GM and Toyota's warranty repairs per vehicle are almost identical today, and that is real world data. Is there anyone on here that has owned a GM or Ford vehicle and not had problems? We have thousands of satisfied customers, If everyone had the same experience as you did Ralph GM and Ford would not sell any cars and trucks.

 

My point is that I am now a loyal Toyota customer and will probably be to my dying day. Since I have never had a good experience with GM, I won't even drive onto their lots. I got a bad meal at Baker's Square, so we don't go there anymore. I can say that I have never had a problem with Toyota, so there!

 

And the way GM is ruining their company, soon they will not sell any cars and trucks. I like Ford by the way.

 

A fourth reason is the "reverse chicken little" baloney we've heard out of Detroit for the last two decades. They have been claiming they have closed the gap. Oh, not literally, but with clever phrases like "compare our quality to any foriegn car" which doesn't literally claim they are equal--so they don't get sued for false advertising--but they want you to THINK you just heard they are equal.

Then when you drive it or own it and find it is better than before, but still far short of the mark, you stop believing their claims. Now, even if it were true, it will take a long while for it to be believed.

 

Ford builds some great products too. Actually Naterprius mentioned urgency on Toyota's part in an earlier post, it has not reached the public but over the last 6 months GM has shoen a great degree of urgency to the dealers but Ford still seems to be lost.

 

You are right, perception in the auto industry is usually 3-5 years behind reality.

 

Lastly, can someone explain to me the gap between, say Buick (163) and Pontiac (245)? (Same question for Ford, Lincoln and Mercury).

Underneath, they are the same car. Platform sharing, engine sharing, transmission sharing... the difference is in the gingerbread, not the bones.

A differently shaped plastic dashboard doesn't change reliability. How can they be that different?

 

I agree. Toyota's line-up after the prius is week. The Taco truck is a joke (look at the FE). I think the Camry Hybrid will make my list but it's still not that cool

That said I don't think GM has any car (that is not crushed) that I'm interested in. As for Ford, I like thier Hybrid system and since they are pushing it harder I think they will soon have interesting hybrid cars. I was considering the Hybrid Explorer but it just wasn't as cool as the Prius. They seem to have very solid hybrid technology (maybe better then Honda) so I think/hope/wish they come out with a true FE car soon. I could see a restyled Focus Wagon Hybrid being a hit!

 

I would say that I would buy a Chrysler, now I don't know if you consider them a German company now, but we never had a major problem with them.