Chrysler opens WCM Academy

Chrysler today dedicated its new World-Class Manufacturing (WCM) Academy in the UAW-Chrysler Technology Training Center on Nine Mile Road in Warren, Michigan.

During a ceremony attended by Scott Garberding, Chrysler’s Senior Vice President of Manufacturing, General Holiefield, head of the UAW’s Chrysler Department, Macomb County Executive Mark Hackel and Warren Mayor Jim Fouts, the ribbon was cut to officially open the new training center, which occupies about 25,000-square-feet of the training center.

The Academy’s mission is to transfer WCM skills and knowledge to more than 1,200 participants each year to create a rich culture of continuous improvement and learning. Another 1,300 people will visit the Academy for tours and meetings.

WCM is a methodology that Fiat began developing, implementing and refining in 2005 with the purpose of reducing waste, increasing productivity and restoring dignity to the employees. As a result of the collaboration with Fiat and the sharing of knowledge, WCM has become the driving force behind the improvements in all of Chrysler Group’s manufacturing plants.

“When Chrysler was developing its survival plan in partnership with Fiat in 2009, one of the key elements of turning the Company around was the implementation of World Class Manufacturing,” said Garberding. “Now, after two and a half years, our Chrysler Group manufacturing facilities are some of the most productive and efficient in the industry, and several are positioned to achieve Bronze status, a significant milestone on the WCM journey, within the next six months.

“The results that have been achieved in our plants could not have been realized without the support of our UAW partners,” said Garberding. “From the leadership to the shop floor, everyone has become an advocate of WCM and understands that it is critical to maintaining Chrysler Group’s competitiveness into the future. It’s this knowledge and expertise that we want to make available to everyone within the organization through this new academy.”

“WCM has engaged and empowered our UAW-represented workforce by challenging them to become more involved in driving change within our plants,” said Holiefield. “Our employees understand that WCM is the foundation of Chrysler Group’s continued success and the WCM Academy provides the opportunity for continued growth and development. By embracing WCM, we can secure manufacturing jobs and additional investment in our plants.”

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Town & Country, Challenger and Jeep brand win Polk awards

Chrysler received three Polk Automotive Loyalty Awards for the 2011 model year. The Chrysler Town & Country won the “Minivan” category for an eleventh consecutive time, the Dodge Challenger took the “Sports Car” segment for the second year in a row and the entire Jeep Brand took the “Most Improved Loyalty to Make” award.

“Achieving loyalty honors across the Chrysler, Dodge and Jeep brands is evidence of Chrysler Group’s organizational commitment to both owner loyalty and product excellence,” said Brad Smith, director of Polk’s Loyalty Management Practice. “Consumers have many options when they return to market and it’s clear that Chrysler Group is committed to retaining their owner base.”

The awards recognize manufacturers for superior owner loyalty performance, which is determined when a household that owns a new vehicle returns to market and purchases or leases another new vehicle of the same model or make. The 2011 awards are based on an analysis of 5.5 million return-to-market events during the 2011 model year.

“We’re very happy to accept these Loyalty Awards from Polk, especially considering that they’re a direct reflection of customer satisfaction,” said Doug Betts, Senior Vice President – Quality, Chrysler Group LLC. “We have gone to great lengths in recent years to improve our line-up with better performing, higher quality vehicles—and to take better care of our customers after the sale. These awards help validate those efforts.”

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Keselowski fifth; Hornish seventh at Texas Motor Speedway

Brad Keselowski posted another top-five finish in this afternoon’s O’Reilly Auto Parts Challenge at Texas Motor Speedway. The No. 22 Discount Tire Dodge Challenger R/T was fifth across the finish line.

“A solid day for this Discount Tire Dodge team,” Keselowski commented. “We gave it our best today. We were good, but not great. Those Roush cars have been really fast and once they got out into the lead, they were really hard to catch. The package that they have with their motor is tough to beat. We just need a little bit more work. A good effort by the whole team.”

Sam Hornish Jr. finished seventh on the No. 12 Avis Challenger: it was his fourth career top-ten Nationwide finish. All four have come in Hornish’s last eight starts. Afte the race, Hornish said, “We had some ups and downs today. We had a pretty good start to the race and worked our way forward. We had a set of tires, after the second caution,that set us back a bit. We’re not exactly sure what happened. It just made the car super free over the bumps. We went from running 30.50s to 32.50s. We lost a whole bunch of track position and had to work our way back from that. We just got behind and couldn’t get the car where we needed it to be. We definitely have some work to do. To come back and get seventh is a good result. We’re happy to have Avis on our Dodge this weekend. We just need to work through a few things. Having three races at the end of the year will help the chemistry of the team.”

Reed Sorenson finished 16th in the No. 182 Foametix/Bullet Liner Dodge.

With Trevor Bayne’s first-place finish, Ford clinched the Nationwide Series manufacturer’s championship.

*Hamlin substituted for Kyle Busch who was barred from racing in this weekend’s Nationwide and Sprint Cup races.

There are two more races in the 2011 Nationwide Series season. Next up is the Wypall 200 at Phoenix International Raceway on Saturday, November 12. ESPN2 will carry the race with coverage starting at 3:30 PM, Eastern Time.

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Consumer Reports praises new Chrysler 300

In the November 2011 issue, Consumer Reports tests upscale sedans. The cars tested include the Hyundai Genesis, Toyota Avalon, Acura TL and Chrysler 300C. The particular cars were selected because all of them had gotten recent refreshes and all, as CR noted, “rank among the best upscale sedans.”

It’s unusual to see Consumer Reports use the words “Chrysler” and “best” in relation to one another but the work Chrysler put into renewing the 300C has apparently paid off. The 300C impressed the editors with its ride, handling and power, though they did mark it down for fuel economy (the CR car comes with the 5.7-liter Hemi engine and a five-speed transmission). They also liked the improved comfort and fit and finish, though they said some pieces, which weren’t specified, didn’t fit well.

In their summary, CR’s editors wrote: “Revamped for 2011, the 300 is the best Chrysler car we’ve seen in decades, jumping to an overall test score of 80 from a mediocre 64 of the previous model. The 300C’s quick, muscular 5.7-liter V8 engine is now complemented by responsive handling and a more comfortable ride. And thanks to a major upgrade, its roomy interior is now quieter and more luxurious. The main drawback of our V8-powered 300 is its 18-mpg fuel economy, which is the lowest in a category dominated by smaller V6 engines. The 300′s corporate sister, the Dodge Charger, got 21 mpg when we tested it with a V6.”

The 300 didn’t make the “recommended” list because CR didn’t have reliability data.

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Chrysler quality chief defends new products

Responding to recent comments from Consumer Reports, Doug Betts, Chrysler Group’s senior vice president of quality, told Bloomberg News that the rate of customer warranty claims has dropped 58 percent since 2007 as the company improved its “horrible” quality and customer perception.

“We’ve gotten ourselves, at least with our internal data, to where I don’t think we have to be embarrassed,” Doug Betts said in an interview in advance of researcher J.D. Power & Associates releasing its annual initial-quality survey of new vehicles. He spoke yesterday and said he hadn’t seen Chrysler’s results yet. “Now we have to wait for the third parties to catch up.”

Chrysler brand finished 23rd in the J.D. Power survey last year with 122 complaints per 100 vehicles, Jeep ranked 27th and Dodge was 28th. Betts, who joined Chrysler in 2007, has pushed the automaker to work better across divisions to find the root of problems that arise and fix them faster.

“We treat every day like it’s a crisis and every car like it’s at death’s door without our intervention,” Betts said.

Four years ago, Chrysler’s rate of warranty claims was estimated to be 60% higher than the industry average. Betts says the rate is now 15% below the industry average and warranty costs have fallen, as well.

Read the entire story at Bloomberg.com.

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2007-08 Wrangler fuel fix; no recall

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) has rejected a recall of 2007-08 Jeep Wranglers, according to a David Shepardson article in the Detroit News, after Chrysler agreed to institute a lifetime warranty issue on 135,000 Wranglers made from March 2007 to March 2008. If customers complain that fuel “backfired” or spilled during a normal gas fillup, dealers are to inspect and, if needed, repair the inlet check valve.

The NHTSA stated that, while there were a large number of complaints, possibly due to publicity over the issue, warranty claims indicated a lower rate of problems than cars recalled for this issue. There have been 217 complaints, while 223,000 Wranglers were made during the 2007 and 2008 model years.

The issue, according to Chrysler, is the use of fuel with more than 10% ethanol. This can cause damage to the inlet check valve, leading to fuel spilling out when the tank is being filled. NHTSA itself found that the 135,000 Jeeps to be given a lifetime warranty had particularly high complaint rates.

The NHTSA also found that reporting of complaints rose considerably after one particular Wrangler owner posted the complaint form on a public forum.

Since the issue only affects cars stopped in gas stations, there have been no crashes, but there have been minor injuries including skin and eye irritation.

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