truth about domestics

According to dealers and others who are in-the-know, Chrysler is planning on not only changing the “look” of the Sebring (halleluiah), but also the name. Nassau will be the new name and was the name of a Chrysler concept vehicle at the 2007 Detroit auto show. The Sebring’s image has been greatly tarnished because of its cheap interior and poor quality (I’d even throw in exterior styling). Every other automaker has a competitive mid-size sedan in the marketplace; therefore it is very important for Chrysler to get the Nassau right – as younger buyers upgrade from smaller cars, they look at this segment.

The Nassau and the new Dodge Avenger are expected to have completely new exterior styling, new fuel efficient powertrain options (2.4 liter four cylinder or the new V6 Pentastar), and vastly improved interior quality. The new vehicles are expected to launch towards the end of this year – they cannot come soon enough!

Read the full news story at the Detroit Free Press.

Ford Motor Company just released its quarterly earning results, and the results are sweet! Ford posted a $2.1 billion profit, or 50 cents a share, compared to a loss of 60 cents a share during the same time period a year ago. Revenue was also up to $28.1 billion from $24.4 billion a year earlier. Ford also boosted its outlook by increasing production by 30,000 vehicles and now expects to build 625,000 vehicles in the second quarter of this year.

Ford’s success can be attributed to numerous factors, the most important of which are the amazing new products and the greatly increased quality of its vehicles. Way to go Ford!

Read more at The Wall Street Journal.

Due to Toyota’s recent runaway quality issues, they have had to increase incentives to fairly high levels (in some cases up to $4,000 AND 0% financing.)  In order to keep pace, the domestic automakers have had to raise their incentives as well.  This has actually worked in their favor though, as both GM and Ford have been able to increase sales volumes, while keeping their discounts at lower levels than Toyota.  Sadly Chrysler continues to struggle, even with large incentives.  For more details, head on over to MSNBC.

(Image source: GM)

GM has formed a new division.  The purpose of this group of 50 or so employees is to search the internet for complaints about GM products and do everything they can to rectify the situation.  Say a customer posts on Facebook that they are having transmission issues with their 2010 Cadillac.  This newly formed group at GM will find the complaint, and then try to contact that customer and get them hooked up with a service rep so that they can have the issue fixed.  I think this is another great example of how the culture at GM is changing for the better.  They are thinking ahead, trying to please customers again, and responding in a short and timely manner.  Maybe Toyota and Honda should try something like this…

For more details, head on over to Autoblog.

(Image source: GM)

More good news for the Dearborn, Michigan based Ford Motor Company.  According to a Bloomberg survey 36% of Americans have a negative view of Toyota, and only 49% have a favorable view of them.  While this news wouldn’t normally be that big of a deal, companies go through good times and bad no matter who they are, the big story here is Ford.  A staggering 77% of Americans have a favorable opinion of FoMoCo, which is 7% better than Honda!

As Autoblog points out, there are several reasons why the survey results most likely came out in this way.  First, Ford did not take government assistance, nor did they file for bankruptcy like General Motors or Chrysler.  Second, Ford is making some amazing products; probably the best products they have ever made in their 100+ year history.  Cars like the 2011 Mustang and 2010 Fusion that are not only more powerful than the previous model year, but are also more fuel efficient.  The F-150 has been a best seller for over 30 years and new products like the Transit Connect and Fiesta are already huge hits with consumers.

For the full report, head on over to Bloomberg.

(Image source: Ford)

Rasmussen Reports, a polling company, has taken a telephone survey on automaker favorability – their findings are quite interesting.

The survey found that 44% of Americans are now less likely to purchase a Toyota product because of the recent safety recall. They also found that 9% are more likely to purchase a Toyota product – what!? Those people have got to be from California – kidding. In total, 48% of those surveyed see Toyota favorably.

On the domestic front, Ford is the most “favorable” brand, with 73% viewing Ford favorably. GM is viewed favorably by 57% and Chrysler is viewed favorably by 43% or respondents.

The Rasmussen Reports has many other interesting facts, take a look at the results here.

So I came upon an article titled “Ford Had 20 Acceleration Deaths as Regulators Cited Human Error,” thinking that this will be some sort of comparison to the latest problems at Toyota. Nope. Instead, this is a biased piece of reporting about how Toyota’s problems are no different than incidents reported to NHTSA for any of the other automakers. So, no worries NHTSA, you can stop your investigations, these guys have all of the answers!

So where do I begin – how about the first paragraph, where the editors state:

“U.S. regulators have tracked more deaths in vehicles made by Ford Motor Co., Chrysler Group LLC and other companies combined than by Toyota Motor Corp. during three decades of unintended acceleration reviews that often blamed human error. Fifty-nine of 110 fatalities attributed to sudden acceleration in National Highway Traffic Safety Administration records occurred in vehicles other than those sold by Toyota…”

So let me get this straight – the combined total of complaints to NHTSA for all of the other automakers is greater than the number of complaints for Toyota, which contributes to nearly half of the complaints – 51 vs. 59. Additionally, the majority of the complaints can be attributed to human error. Okay – considering that GM and Ford (not combined) sell more vehicles in the US than Toyota, I wouldn’t call that a very good statistic.

The article then continues to explain that NHTSA has determined that the primary root cause of these complaints is human error. This may be the case, but that cannot be the only root cause – why else would Toyota decide to recall millions of vehicles? Just for fun? They don’t like the size of their piggy bank?

The article continues to discuss the fatality statistics for this failure mode:

“NHTSA, which is responsible for ensuring the safety of motor vehicles in the U.S., hasn’t previously disclosed the non-Toyota deaths. After Toyota’s 51, Ford and Chrysler vehicles were linked to the most deaths — 20 for Ford and 12 for Chrysler.”

Again, the statistics do not seem to favor Toyota – Ford sells more vehicles than Toyota, and although Chrysler does not sell as many as Toyota, they sell significantly more vehicles than about 20% of what Toyota sells (12/51).

I’m not rationalizing the fatalities caused by this failure mode in non-Toyota vehicles, each NHTSA case needs to be investigated thoroughly, but it seems like the authors of this articles are simply trying to say: “look, the other automakers are killing people too, Toyota is not any different.” But Toyota is different; the rate of occurrence of this failure mode is significantly higher in a Toyota vehicle as compared to a non-Toyota vehicle.

I hope the editors of this article never try to be lawyers – the arguments suck.

You can find the full article at Bloomberg.

Sure the Domestics have had recalls in the past, but they didn’t try to cover them up for years like Toyota has done, and on more than one occasion.  The video above is pretty funny, so check it out!

Check out this video of a lawn mower with some unintended acceleration – it’s hilarious!

The 2011 Ford Super Duty stands once again atop the heavy duty truck heap.  Even with new offerings out or on the horizon, Dodge and GM can’t seem to keep up.  There are many reasons for this, two of which happen to be Ford’s dedication to truck buyers and their desire to build the best products money can buy.  Just look at this beast!  The all-new, in-house developed 6.7L Scorpion diesel engine cranks out 390 horsepower and a mind-numbing 735 pound feet of torque!  That’s the same amount of torque as 7 Toyota Priuses!  The even more impressive feat is that the new Super Duty is capable of pulling 24,000 pounds when properly equipped, or almost 8 Toyota Priuses!  These new rigs even manage 22 miles per gallon on highway drives.  For the full story, head on over to PickupTrucks.com or Autoblog.com.

(Image source: Ford)