…be it 71 or 149 defects per car, purchasers’ experience is identical: 1 defect… In terms of quality, we are fortunately decades away from 1980,…
Author: Mike
Prof of Economics, Wms School of Commerce, Washington and Lee University, Lexington VA
JDPower Quality Ranking and Statistical significance
Posted in average quality, confirmation bias, dealership effect, JD Power, Lexus, margin of error, Posts, quality survey, ranking, selection bias, statistical significance, and Toyota
…is JDPower more reliable than Republican pollsters?…
JDPower’s latest quality survey reports a gradual (but over time substantial) improvement in vehicles sold in the US, averaging 126 customer-reported defects per 100 vehicles, versus 216 for 2007. That recent vehicles are better than those of a decade ago matches casual observation of new and used cars. But JDPowers also reports numbers by brand, resulting in a ranking widely reported by the media and (when the rank is high) echoed in advertising. (See for example the Feb 13 story in Automotive News.
Toyota as Number One
Posted in General Motors, GM, number one, Posts, profit margins, return on assets, sales ranking, Toyota, Volkswagen, and VW
…remember Japan as Number One?… I’m just back from a meeting of the Japan Foundation American Advisory Board, where part of the discussion was on…
The End of Luxury Margins
Posted in BMW, Cadillac, Lexus, Lincoln, luxury, margins, NVH, Posts, profit margins, and status symbols
…luxury at low cost is a potential disaster for the industry… Diana Kurylko at Automotive News has a front-page story in the January 21st issue…
Henry Ford, A Documentary
Posted in American Experience, autosandeconomics, documentary, Ford, PBS, Posts, Ruggles, and Smitka
Public Broadcasting Service Premiere of American Experience Presents Henry Ford Tuesday, January 29th, 2013 9:00 – 11:00 PM on PBS – A Review by David…
Velocity Overdrive, the Road to Reinvention
Posted in Auto Dealer, auto manufacturer, Dale Pollak, OEM, Pollak, Posts, pre-owned, Provision, Retail Recon, Ruggles, technology, used cars, vAuto, and Wards Dealer Business
A Book Review by David Ruggles and comments in italic by Mike Smitka Dale Pollak’s third book, “Velocity Overdrive,” is another winner and is must…
The New Romney on GM
Posted in American Motors, bankruptcy, debate, election, General Motors, GM, Jeep, loan guarantees, Romney, and Toledo
…loan guarantees would have given all the gains to Wall Street… David and I blogged in 2009 and then many times since on the so-called…
GM and the Upcoming Presidential Election
Posted in bailout, bankruptcy, General Motors, investment bank, restructuring, and Romney
by David Ruggles Amid the political turmoil of election season the rescue of the domestic auto industry by the George W. Bush administration and the…
Industry Churn: Clout and Overcapacity
Posted in clout, design for manufacturing, economies of scale, entrance, europe, excess capacity, exit, industry consolidation, model proliferation, and platforms
New turmoil dominates today’s [July’s?] news. First, there is the not-quite-yet announced linkup between PSA and GM. Fiat-Chrysler claims to be looking for an alliance…
Auto Bailout Redux: Warren Buffett
Posted in bailout, bankruptcy, car czar, Chapter 11, Chapter 7, Chrysler, DIP finance, General Motors, GM, Government Automotive Task Force, TARP, and Warren Buffett
…it was Bush who bailed out GM — Obama forced it into bankruptcy… Steve Rattner’s blog points out a February 27th CNBS interview with Warren…