truth about domestics

Awesome job Ford! Ford has gone from being 23rd in 2004 to 8th last year, and to 5th place this year in the J.D. Power IQS, beating out everyone except for Porsche, Acura, Mercedes-Benz, and Lexus. Lincoln has also shown significant improvement, going from 26th last year to 8th this year. Ford has been showing significant continuous improvement year-over-year, which has been outpacing the rest of the auto industry.

The J.D. Power and Associates 2010 Initial Quality Study consists of responses from owners of 82,000 2010 model year vehicles after three months in service. The study measures problems per 100 vehicles with data recorded on vehicles registered during the November-February time frame.

News at USA Today.

Take a look at Dodge’s latest commercial in time for today’s World Cup match between USA and England. I hear our team is not favored to win…but this commercial gives me hope!

Check out the first commercial for the 2011 Jeep Grand Cherokee.  This SUV is quite impressive, I can’t wait to get a chance to drive one.  The interior craftsmanship is first rate, and the exterior design looks like an expensive suit; taut but still masculine.  I think the design will translate well into sales for struggling Chrysler.

In a plan to promote branding consistency, GM decided to stop using the nickname Chevy. A memo with the plan was released to Chevrolet employees, tells them to stop using the name Chevy when working with dealers, advertisers, etc. The memo also references the use of branding-consistent names like Apple and Coke. Ironically, Coke is a nickname for Coca-Cola…someone didn’t think that example through.

Kind of stupid if you ask me…sounds like the genius at Chevy Chevrolet behind this idea needs to have his/her title changed to unemployed. Read the full article at The Detroit News.

Jay Leno decided to take his EcoJet car to an all GM car show.  It’s quite a stunning automobile, and it produces a sound unlike anything else on the road.  Check out the video above for two minutes of EcoJet action.

Check out this video of a 2010 Camaro SS with hydraulics.  Can’t say it’s what I would do to my car, but everyone loves something different when it comes to cars, am I right???

This ad is a much better piece than the one GMC created called “Dude Perfect.”  This ad actually talks about the truck and lists a bunch of facts about it, like its best in class payload and towing capacity.  Check out the video and let us know what you think in the comments!

Spy photographers recently nabbed shots of the next generation Ford Ranger and Chevrolet Colorado undergoing testing in various locations around Michigan.  These trucks both look bigger than the ones they replace but are still smaller than their big brothers, the F-150 and Silverado respectively.  The question that still remains is whether or not these trucks will be sold in the U.S.  Smaller trucks are very successful in basically every other part of the world, but as fuel prices creep back up, smaller, more manageable and also more fuel efficient, small trucks could come back in style.  Only time will tell, but for now, head on over to Autoblog for the pics.

Ford Motor Company has had huge success thus far with its SYNC connectivity software.  Cars with SYNC are flying off dealer lots in half the time of non-SYNC equipped vehicles.  In order to keep SYNC current in the eyes of the buying public, Ford has fitted it with a host of new features.  Any SYNC equipped vehicle with the Traffic, Directions and Information (TDI) application can now get horoscopes, stock updates, airline information, movie times and more, sent right to their car!  The information is streamed from your data-equipped cell phone and transmitted seamlessly via a Bluetooth connection to SYNC.  These new services are available free of charge and are NOT offered on any of Ford’s Japanese, German or Korean competitors!!!  For more details, check out the video below!

Lexus has issued yet another recall to correct an issue that involves steering wheel alignment.  The issue occurs when a steering wheel is held at full lock and then quickly returned to the straight or normal driving position.  The wheel does not return to the “home” position, instead, it is off by about one quarter turn.  The video above explains this phenomenon better.  Glad to know that Toyota still posted a profit in the first quarter of this year, even after recalling millions of vehicles years after they knew about all of the problems.  Hey, only a few dozens of people died, no big deal right?