Automaker Feedback Straightline Archives

Notice anything new on Straightline today? Over there on the right? Under the ad box? Yep, it's the first of many incredibly thought provoking, excruciatingly relevant Straightline polls, in which we let you weigh in on The Automotive Industry.

Today we ask you to cast a vote on the future of Lotus and Tesla and their leaders, Dany Bahar and Elon Musk. Do you have more faith in Bahar, who must guide a company known for building myriad permutations of one streetable track car to a future of great prosperity and 5 discrete vehicle models? Or do you side with the always self-assured Musk and his plan to revolutionize the market with the Model S EV?

Vote now. Or... else.

Categories: Automaker Feedback,Lotus,Tesla Motors

There's still time to cast a ballot in the 2010 edition of the Inside Line Readers' Most Wanted Awards. This is your opportunity to agree with us by voting for the cars we like -- or take us to task by voting for cars you feel we've given short shrift.

There are eight categories separated out by genre (Speed, Family, Hauling, Concept, etc.) and price (under $30,000 and over $30,000), and a list of candidates (uh, cars) in each. You can actually do a write-in if for some reason you're burning to vote for a nameplate that isn't listed. But keep in mind, a vehicle has to be on sale by June 2010 to be eligible.

Full rules at the survey link below. We'll publish the winners and runners-up in June.

2010 Inside Line Readers' Most Wanted Awards

Categories: Automaker Feedback,Manufacturers

Mostly, on Inside Line, we tell you what we think. But here's a chance to tell us what you think by voting for our third annual Inside Line Readers' Most Wanted Awards.

There are eight categories separated out by genre (Speed, Family, Hauling, Concept, etc.) and price (under $30,000 and over $30,000), and a list of candidates (uh, cars) in each. You can actually do a write-in if for some reason you're burning to vote for a nameplate that isn't listed. But keep in mind, a vehicle has to be on sale by June 2010 to be eligible.

Full rules at the link below. We'll publish the winners and runners-up in June.

2010 Inside Line Readers' Most Wanted Awards

Categories: Automaker Feedback

One hundred forty people have returned a vehicle as part of GM's 60-day guarantee program. The program, which is part of the automaker's "May the Best Car Win" campaign, started in September and runs until November 30. So far, 653 customers have opted for the guarantee instead of a $500 cash rebate.

But forget about bringing your car back, no questions asked. General Motors wants to know why don't you like it. And to that end, some customers will evidently be getting a call from top GM engineers, including Mark Ruess, vice president of global engineering. Ruess told reporters he intends to call an unhappy Malibu customer and a (former) Silverado owner who was dissatisfied with the truck's interior room and fit and finish.

Auto Observer: GM Engineers Call Customers Who Returned Cars

Categories: Auto Industry,Automaker Feedback,Chevrolet,General Motors

Here are the final 15 cars and, after the jump, the final 10 trucks (and SUVs and vans) under consideration for the 2010 North American Car and Truck of the Year awards. As always, a jury of senior-level automotive media will vote on the two awards, and the results will be announced at the 2010 Detroit Auto Show.

BMW 335d
Buick LaCrosse
Cadillac CTS Wagon
Chevrolet Camaro
Ford Fusion/Fusion Hybrid
Ford Taurus
Honda Insight
Kia Soul
Mazda3/Mazdaspeed3
Mercedes-Benz E-Class
Porsche Panamera
Subaru Legacy
Suzuki Kizashi
Toyota Prius
Volkswagen Golf/GTI

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Categories: Auto Industry,Automaker Feedback,Detroit Auto Show

An August 2009 Consumer Reports survey is getting quite a bit of attention today. Among the 1,777 car owners CR phoned from July 30 to August 3 of this year, 79 percent said they are likely to consider an American-brand car. That compares with 51 percent who would consider an Asian-brand car and 37 percent who would buy European.

This survey is conducted annually, so it would be interesting to compare these percentages to last year's numbers, but we weren't able to dig up the 2008 results. (However, in a brand perception survey published in January 2008, Toyota and Honda finished on top by a wide margin.) CR has published the 2008 and 2009 percentage changes for buyers' likelihood to buy from Chrysler, Ford and GM, though: No surprise that Ford is up 10 percent. GM, meanwhile, is flat, while interest in buying a Chrysler has dipped 28 percent.

Lack of appealing product was cited for all three brands as a reason not to buy domestic. Buyers were also concerned about financial stability in the case of Chrysler and GM, and potentially low quality in the Chrysler and Ford lineups.

To the surprise of no one, price (49 percent) is the number one cited buying consideration among all respondents, followed by fuel economy (47 percent) and safety (42 percent)

Consumer Reports

Categories: Automaker Feedback,Chrysler,Ford,General Motors,Manufacturers

While JD Power is busy counting problems with vehicles, a company called Strategic Vision says it surveys owners on the totality of their experience in the first year or two of ownership -- both the good and the bad. Hence, the 2009 "Total Quality" Awards.

"The Total Quality Index was calculated from 20,101 buyers who bought 2008 & 2009 models in September to December of 2008," says the company in a press release.

Strategic Vision says that Mini, ranked last by JD Power for Initial Quality in 2009, was the top-rated brand in its survey. Alas, there's no mention of the brand whose owners are least enthusiastic.

The company has also announced winners in 17 vehicle categories listed after the jump.

Continue reading...

Categories: Automaker Feedback,GMC,MINI,Pontiac

Photo source: Peter's Mini E blog

We've been periodically checking in on Ford's Fiesta Movement test program, and we'll be following the Mini E test program with equal fervor. And it is just a you-test-it-for-us program, remember, since "owners" only get to lease these electric Minis for 1 year to the tune of $850/month, after which time the car gets shipped back to Munich for a full download by BMW Project i engineers.

The first lessee, Peter Trepp, of Pacific Palisades, CA, has been getting plenty of press recently. He's also taken the step of starting his own blog, so you can follow his experience with the car if you like.

In yesterday's entry, he reflects on the handling of his Mini E:

"I could describe in great detail the merits of joining a MINI Cooper S with a high-torque electric motor and how the extra 600lbs is a blessing in that it keeps the tires safely planted on the road, but nothing replaces a first-hand test drive. Virtually everyone I've taken for a test drive comes back feeling like they just stepped off a roller coaster with that "can we go again?" look on their face.

"Here is my simple description of the handling. Lateral motion (e.g. cornering) is much like any well-tuned sports car - tight and fun."

Trepp is a venture capitalist specializing in early-stage clean technology companies, says BMW's press release, which no doubt made him an attractive candidate for Mini's electric car field trial.

Blog: Peter's Mini E

Update: Looks like blogging might be mandatory if you lease a Mini E. We've found two more Mini E blogs started by field trial participants who are waiting to take delivery of an electric Mini -- Our 100% Electric Mini E and Robert's MINI E Field Trial.

Categories: Automaker Feedback,Green Tech,Hatchbacks,MINI,Manufacturers

Photo: Whatcar?

It looked as though Chrysler avoided certain catastrophe yesterday when the U.S. government pushed through a deal with Fiat. The new partnership guarantees that Chrysler will receive a sizable chunk of government money to stay afloat, but it doesn't guarantee that Chrysler will get cars from Fiat that Americans will want to buy.

A study published in Whatcar? magazine in the U.K. shows that Fiat is far from popular in Britain. And as you may know, they actually seem to like small cars over there.

Fiat's latest cars are said to be considerably better than their lineup from just a few years ago, but from the looks of this study, they didn't have anywhere to go but up.

Whatcar?: J.D. Power customer satisfaction poll '08

Categories: Auto Industry,Automaker Feedback,Fiat,Trends

J.D. Power's latest dependability study, which surveys the first three years of ownership, says Buick and Jaguar owners experience the fewest problems. Lexus, Toyota and Mercury rounded out the top five.

The single most dependable model was the Lexus LS 430. Toyota had the most segment winners with five (Highlander, Prius, Sequoia, Solara and Tundra).

There were a few other interesting pieces of information contained in the report. The average age of a used vehicle trade-in has risen from 65 to 73 months in the last three years. J.D. Power also said that overall problems have decreased at a rate of 10% a year since the beginning of the study.

J.D. Power

Categories: Auto Industry,Automaker Feedback,Buick,Jaguar,Lexus,Luxury Cars,Mercury,Toyota,Trends

A new bill introduced in the House of Representatives yesterday would give consumers cash vouchers to purchase a new car if they turn in an old car that is at least eight-years old. The bill is designed to get older, less efficient cars off the road while at the same time spurring sales of new cars.

Of course, there are all sorts of conditions placed on the swap. The new car must be a 2009 model or newer and get better mileage than the car being turned in. It also has to cost less than $35,000, and if it's built in North America you get more than for buying an import.

In one of the bills more optimistic passages, it also allows for a $7,500 voucher for buying a plug-in hybrid that gets over 100mpg after the 2011 model year.

Most of these bills have been defeated in the past, in part thanks to lobbying from groups like SEMA that contend they unnecessarily target collectible cars. Doesn't seem like that's the case here, but rest assured there will be plenty of opposition when it goes to a vote.

Rep. Betty Sutton

SEMA

Categories: Auto Industry,Automaker Feedback,Classic Cars,Trends,Tuners and Modifications

In his book What Would Google Do?, blogger and CUNY journalism professor Jeff Jarvis asks the Detroit automakers to build him a Googlemobile. Google, he argues, has been so brutally effective at anticipating and responding to our desires in the online world, that the next step must surely be to create cars based on its open-source-platform philosophy of design.

BusinessWeek has published a large excerpt of the book in its current issue, and in it Jarvis says all sorts of things guaranteed to incite controversy if you have any passion at all for the cars in your garage and driving in general. Read it and tell us what you think.

Here's an example, with a few more after the jump:

Excerpt: Google listens to us and trusts us when it releases unfinished products as "betas" so we can tell them what to do next... Google wants us involved in the creative process; Detroit doesn't... What if just one model from one brand were opened up to collaborative design? I don't suggest that design should be a democracy. But shouldn't design at least be a conversation? Designers can put their ideas on the Web. Customers can make suggestions and discuss them. Designers can take the best ideas and adapt them, giving credit where it is due. I don't imagine customers would collaborate on transmission design--though a few might have good suggestions if given a chance. But they would have a lot to contribute on the passenger compartment, the look of the car, the features, and the options. They could even get involved in economic decisions: Would you be willing to give up power windows if it got you a lower price or a nicer radio? This collaboration would invest customers in the product. It would build excitement. It would get the product talked about on the Web and linked to and boost its popularity in Google searches. The approach could change the relationship of customers to the brand and that would change the brand itself. Imagine that, the collaborative community car: our car.

Continue reading...

Categories: Auto Industry,Automaker Feedback

Ford wants to put you behind the wheel of a 2011 Ford Fiesta one year early, but only if you are "hungry for adventure" and gifted with the "ability to craft a compelling story through video." As Inside Line news reported today, Ford has launched a contest that will give 100 American drivers the chance to live with a Fiesta, all expenses paid, for 6 months.

Of course, you can't just park the car in your garage and forget about it. You'll be busy going on secret assignments from "Ford Mission Control" that will no doubt take you into all the favored haunts of Ford's target demographic.

To enter, prospective contestants must upload a 2-to-5-minute video on YouTube explaining why they are deserving of this responsibility by March 19. Details are on fiestamovement.com.

Categories: Automaker Feedback,Ford,Hatchbacks

Edmunds Strategies for Smart Car Buyers has a really useful bit of info here. Did you know that dealers are still making money selling those full-size trucks at half price? It's probably true, or close to true, for other former high-profit vehicles as well.

Half Price Pickups Still Make Money for Dealer

Categories: Auto Industry,Automaker Feedback,Dodge,Trends,Trucks

Okay everyone, here's your chance to tell Chrysler LLC what you want. The company has just started recruiting folks for their Customer Advisory Board (here ), which is an online forum where Chrysler staffers will solicit feedback from customers.

"We want to harness insights and customer dreams into things we can use concretely with our different groups, such as engineering, design, marketing," states Chrysler's Debra Meyer, a vice president and chief marketing chief officer, and pictured to the right.

Sounds like a great idea...

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Categories: Automaker Feedback,Chrysler

The always the much anticipated Consumer Reports 2008 Annual Auto Issue is about to hit the news stands, and this year there are some surprises.

Hyundai has two top picks: The Elantra SE ousted last year's winner, the Honda Civic, as the best small sedan. Their Santa Fe also took top honors in the mid-size SUV category. Last year the Toyota Highlander hybrid won this class...

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Categories: Automaker Feedback,Chevrolet,Hyundai,SUVs,Sedans,Trucks

New York Times columnist Tom Friedman is at it again, chastising Toyota (and the whole auto industry) for trying to have their cake and eat it too. On one hand Toyota makes—and flaunts the energy-saving Prius, yet at the same time builds the huge Tundra pickup. Friedman essentially says that Toyota can't have both ways, and that they are hypocritical claiming to be a "green" car company when they make more money off their Tundra than they do of the Prius.

If you listen to Friedman, he believes there should be no trucks—NONE!

"No one should be making a huge gas-guzzling Hummer (I think it' safe to say that he really means any big truck) and no one should be driving one, and no one — certainly not GM — should be subsidizing people to drive them," Friedman wrote...

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Categories: Auto Industry,Automaker Feedback,General Motors,Toyota

It's been some time since Mitsubishi reported a profit, but that's no longer the case, thanks to President Osamu Masuko who was responsible for laying out their plan for recovery. AutoObserver had the opportunity to interview him directly recently, and he had some interesting things to say about where the company has been and where it's headed.

While Mitsubishi has no hybrid plans (they do have clean diesel and electric vehicle plans), Masuko acknowledged that dealing with the environment will be their front-and-center issue for the future.

Exclusive One-on-One: Mitsubishi Motors President Osamu Masuko

Here's Inside Line's take: Mitsubishi's Turnaround Continues on Strength of New Models

Categories: Auto Industry,Automaker Feedback,Mitsubishi

Jim Press, who left Toyota for Chrysler speaks out as to why he switched jobs:

“I think every 37 or 38 years you ought to try a new career,” Press, who was at Toyota for 37 years, told Paul W. Smith on his WJR-AM radio show in his first interview since joining Chrysler.

"It's great to be back on the home team. It’s great to be on this team...

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Categories: Auto Industry,Automaker Feedback,Chrysler,Toyota

How many times have you ever wondered about a particular auto dealer? Is their service any good? What's the buying experience like? Or that you've heard either good or bad things about them, and wanted to check it out?..

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Categories: Automaker Feedback,Trends