truth about domestics

For the first time in history, Ford has topped every other manufacturer, including Toyota, in an initial quality survey. According to a survey taken by the RDA Group of Bloomfield Hills, Ford, Lincoln, and Mercury cars and trucks had 1,185 issues per 1,000 vehicles, whereas Toyota had 1,215 problems and Honda had 1,291 problems. Also, according to the survey, Ford tied Toyota in customer satisfaction.

While I have never heard of the RDA Group, according to The Detroit News article, many foreign and domestic automakers use their research. Additionally, RDA’s research has proven to track very closely to other quality research firms, including J.D. Power and Associates.

Congratulations Ford! Keep on keeping on with the amazing job you are doing! Read the full article at The Detroit News.

We’ve posted on the new 2010 Ford Taurus already, but I like the review that the author of The Dallas Morning News wrote up. Check it out here.

Man is Kate Walsh hot…and the only thing that could make her any more attractive is her talking car.  About a really hot car.  Like the CTS Sportwagon.

It appears that Ford Motor Company will be adding an assembly location for the next generation Transit Connect right here in the good old U. S. of A.  Assembly of the Connect should begin sometime around 2012, meaning another great Ford product will be truly global.  For more, head on over to Autoblog.

According to an article in Motor Trend, Cadillac has plans to build an STS/DTS replacement on a stretched version of the CTS platform.  That would spell the end of the Buick Lucerne but as that program is fairly old on its own, this would be a wise move in my eyes.

According to a Merrill Lynch’s Car Wars study, Ford is poised to take over the number one sales spot from General Motors within the next 4 years.  This is great news, considering Ford passed Toyota this year to take the number 2 spot.  For more details head on over to Autoblog.

Autoblog has been given the opportunity to review the 2010 Lincoln MKS with Ecoboost and their conclusion is fairly positive.  They start out by comparing the MKS to the Audi A8 because of their similar size, features and power output.  Pretty incredible that a Lincoln can be compared to the top of the line Audi.  For the rest of the review click here.

GM may be having trouble getting people into showrooms in the United States, but it isn’t having any issues in China.  Last year GM sold 1.09 million vehicles there out of the 8.35 million total.  In an effort to double that amount, General Motors will be launching 30 new models over the next five years.  For more, head on over to Autoblog.

That’s right!  Chrysler Financial has paid off $1.5 billion in loans it received from the U.S. government.  The loans were used to provide 85,000 customers with auto loans for new Chrysler products.  For more on the story, head on over to Reuters.

Looks like the Pontiac G8 may not be completely dead here in the U.S.  According to Fritz Henderson, GM is reviewing the possibility of bringing a foreign market version of the G8, known as the Chevrolet Caprice, here as a police offering to replace the current front wheel drive Impala.

For more from Fritz, head on over to Autoblog.