Pontiac G8 Sema concept (GM)
General Motors has just announced a few days ago that the Pontiac brand will be “phased out by the end of 2010.” GM will then focus it’s survival/restructuring efforts around the core of Chevrolet, Cadillac, Buick and GMC. Frankly I’m very sad to see Pontiac go just when it was starting to get some really great products in it’s showrooms. The Solstice and G8 are top notch, however their success was limited and often overshadowed by the lack-luster G3 and G5. I just don’t understand why GM would kill a brand that has unique models and keep a brand like GMC which has only re-badged Chevrolet models? Whatever, I don’t make the decisions, I just report on them. For more, including an official press release, head on over to Autoblog.
Buick Pontiac GMC dealer
So it appears that wild rumors have set the stage for another story that is sweeping across the Internet as we speak. Rumor has it that GM is looking at killing off both Pontiac and GMC in it’s restructuring. While this actually seems to make sense to me, since GMC’s cars are all just slightly more expensive, different looking versions of their Chevrolet siblings, Pontiac actually has some nice cars in it’s portfolio. Sure the G3 and G5 aren’t much to look at, but the G8 is a very solid, handsomely sculpted vehicle, and the Solstice is a real head turner still to this day. Well, according to Autoblog, the rumors just aren’t true, and they have confirmed that with Mark LaNeve, GM’s sales chief. LaNeve states that General Motors has no intentions of killing off either brand. I can’t wait to hear what people will come up with next…
Buick knocks Lexus out of the top spot on J.D. Power 2009 list
2010 Buick LaCrosse (GM)
That’s right! Buick, an AMERICAN brand, has managed to knock Lexus from the top of the J.D. Power 2009 Vehicle Dependability Study! Buick has managed to get it’s quality down to just 122 repairs per 100 vehicles, knocking Lexus out of first place at 126 repairs per 100 vehicles. In fact, a large number of the domestic brands did fairly well. Mercury, Lincoln, Cadillac, Ford, and Chrysler all scored above the industry average. Brands like Chevrolet, Saturn, Jeep, Pontiac, and Hummer beat out brands like Scion, Mazda and Volkswagen, brands people typically associate with good quality. This is good news for the Domestic automakers, as they continue to push ahead with quality improvements, in the hope that they can shake their reputations for building sub-par vehicles. For the full story, head on over to Autoblog.
Ford's 2008 Quality Improvement
Let me begin my first official post by saying that I own an American SUV. There, now that it’s out in the open, I can’t wait to hear all of the comments from people who say I am biased. Those who do say that are totally correct, I am biased…towards the truth! According to a recent JD Power survey, in overall quality, Mercury scored a “Better than Average” rating…the same rating that Toyota received. Ford, Cadillac, Chevrolet, Pontiac, Buick, GMC and Lincoln received an “Above Average” rating…putting them in a tie with Honda. In 2008, Ford Motor Company improved it’s TGW (Things Gone Wrong) number by 11% over 2007…nearly 6 times the industry average!
Maybe you’ll say now that the survey’s are biased…well how about some awards based on the number of repairs that cars see. JD Power awarded the 2008 Chevrolet Malibu as being the “Highest Ranked Midsize Car in Initial Quality.” The 2008 Chevy Silverado LD was given the “Highest Ranked Large Pickup in Initial Quality” award. What?? Two American vehicles won quality awards? What gives? I guess they must be…as good or better than their foreign competition!
Say you’re still not convinced, and you think that the D3 are still lacking. If that were true, how could GM, Ford or Chrysler afford to offer warranties that offer the same or BETTER coverage for their vehicles than Toyota or Honda? If they were having as many quality issues as everyone believes that they are, they would be bankrupt simply due to repair costs. In fact, GM offers a 5 year, 100,000 mile powertrain warranty, greater than Toyota or Honda’s 5 year, 60,000 mile warranty. Chrysler now offers an un-heard of “unlimited” warranty, where the powertrain is covered no matter how many years the original owner has the vehicle, or how many miles they drive it. If Honda, Toyota, Nissan or Kia have such great quality, then they should be able to offer warranties at levels of the domestic manufacturers without a hit in warranty costs. Or maybe they can talk the talk, but can’t walk the walk?
