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Motors Quality Drops Again
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Auto on Info May 2004 General Motors Quality Drops Again Per AOI's recently completed Reliability Index update, General Motors' Reliability Index average fell for a second year in a row. GM's Reliability Index average for models manufactured for model years 1996-1997 fell to -.24. Its average for model years 1995-1996 was -.19 and its average for model years 1994-1995 was -.16. The Reliability Index is based on reported serious problems for vehicles that are six to eight years of age. GM's reliability performance contrasts rather sharply with the steady improvements by both Ford - from -.06 to -.02 to 0.00 for pairs of model years 1994-1995, 1995-1996, and 1996-1997, respectively - and Chrysler - from -.31 to -.27 to -.23 for pairs of model years 1994-1995, 1995-1996, and 1996-1997, respectively. As a result, GM's products at ages 6-8 years are, on average, at the bottom of the Big Three, per the Reliability Index, and is second from the bottom for all major auto manufacturers selling vehicles in North America. Only Volkswagen, with a 1996-1997 Reliability Index average of -.47, has a lower value. The reliability drop by GM was across the board. Buick fell one basis point to -.08, GMC fell eight basis points to -.33, Cadillac fell four basis points to -.32, Oldsmobile fell six basis points to -.18, Saturn fell nine basis points to -.03, Chevrolet fell four basis points to -.23, and Pontiac fell ten basis points to -.35. For the GMC and Chevrolet lines, it was a second year of decline; for Cadillac it was the fourth consecutive year of decline. The following charts depict General Motors' performance relative to that of each of the other two of the Big Three. The Reliability Index gap for each pair of years equals the General Motors Reliability Index average minus the Reliability Index average for the specified manufacturer.
An extrapolation of the GM-Ford gaps and an extrapolation of the GM-Chrysler gaps to 2004-2005 give some idea as to the likely current gap between GM products, on average, and those of GM's two brethren. The extrapolations are linear regressions of degree one.
Potentially more ominous is GM's Reliability Index gap with Toyota Motor Corporation. Charts depicting the existing gaps and an extrapolation of these gaps are given below. The extrapolation is again a linear regression of degree one.
Nonetheless, poor quality should be no impediment for General Motors to sell vehicles to the bulk of its customer base for quite some time to come. Firstly, the bulk of the bottom third of the U.S. population likely lack meaningful training in information acquisition and informational analysis. Secondly, a consideration of the following chart suggests a truism.
If a Cadillac salesman can sell a Cadillac, and legally at that, selling a Chevrolet should be a piece of cake. Source for Reliability Index values and averages: AOI's Table I |
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Auto on Info Standings for Selected Search Phrases on Auto News
Site Rank in Results for Search Phrase Car Quality News Site Rank in Results for Search Phrase Auto Quality News Site Rank in Results for Search Phrase Auto News First by Yahoo! Search from 5,230,000 results First by Yahoo! Search from 3,510,000 results Thirty-ninth by Yahoo! Search from 37,600,000 results First by MSN Search from 1,110,112 results First by MSN Search from 716,283 results Fifteenth by MSN Search from 7,682,302 results Fifteenth by Google from 3,730,000 results Tenth by Google from 2,400,000 results Eightieth by Google from 7,450,000 results Standings are as of 14/03/2004.
