John Rogers said:
Really, US car makers have "fallen back into old habits"? Already after just a few short years? I know I'm not impressed with my Challenger's
Retro Tail Light Alinement Package.
So what am I not seeing? Once again enlightened AllPar members read between the lines.
http://247wallst.com/autos/2013/08/27/u-s-auto-quality-crushed-again-as-trend-toward-imports-returns/
John Rogers said:
Really, US car makers have "fallen back into old habits"? Already after just a few short years? I know I'm not impressed with my Challenger's
Retro Tail Light Alinement Package.
So what am I not seeing? Once again enlightened AllPar members read between the lines.
http://247wallst.com/autos/2013/08/27/u-s-auto-quality-crushed-again-as-trend-toward-imports-returns/
The degeneration of the journalistic profession continues unabated. It used to be that failing college students fled to the Education Department to get their degrees. Now they flee into Journalism. The resultant lack of quality in Journalists is self evident in publications.
Detroit was mandated to downsize by law, and the Japanese didn't have to change a single thing with their autos. New Detroit models, stuffed with totally new downsized parts, some of which proved to be poor and bad, had about 750 problems per hundred vhicles, while Japanese cars were more reliable, and had only 350 problems per hundred on average.
Back then, that translates to 7.5 problems per car with Detroit iron, and 3.5 for the Japanese, who also artificially enhanced their scores by never bringing first year models to America, and under the ken of Consumer Reports. They worked out their teething problems, using their own citizens as guinea pigs, to work out these first year bugs, we all know new cars models tend to have. Both GM and Ford copy this, and models to be sold in America are first sold overseas for a while. Chevy's Cruze and Sonic, and Ford's Fiesta and Focus all went that route to enhance their subsequent American quality image.
Today the very best cars have .9 to 1.1 problems per hundred, and the absolute worst 1.1 to 1.5 problems per hundred, a statistical meaninless near tie, or an average best car with 1-1 problems on average, compared to a worst car with 1-1.5 problems on average.
Both scores are way better than 25 years ago. Cars are way better and people are noticing that. Remaining differences may well be attributed just to the number of relatively new models versus mature models a vendor sells. Is it any wonder the Camry and Corolla are relative antiques in the marketplace? Toyota rightly fears what a new Corolla and Camry would do to its fading image for vastly better reliability; and its dwindling relevance.