The Auto Industry

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.

Read moreJDPower Quality Ranking and Statistical significance

January 29, 2013

Mike

One Comment

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…

January 24, 2013

Mike

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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…

January 23, 2013

Mike

One Comment

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…

January 20, 2013

Mike

One Comment

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…

October 25, 2012

Mike

One Comment

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…

October 14, 2012

Mike

2 Comments

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…

September 23, 2012

Mike

2 Comments

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…