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Auto on Info February 2007
Does GM Mean Junk of the 7th Level
of Abomination?
By James B. Bleeker
Maybe. At least a Harris Interactive
Survey points in this direction.
Annually, Harris Interactive conducts a
two-phase U.S. corporate reputation survey. The first phase asks
respondents to name two companies with the best reputation and
two companies with the worst reputation. Each time a company is
mentioned in either category, it receives a point. From the list of
companies obtained, the 60 companies with the highest number of points are chosen
for the second phase.
The second phase asks a second set of
respondents to rate one or two companies on 20 attributes in six key
dimensions, including products and services, vision and leadership,
emotional appeal, financial performance, and workplace environment. From
the responses, a Reputation Quotient is assembled.
The Results
In 2006, General Motors Corporation (with
a 1998-2002 Reliability Percentrank average of
.32) received a rank of 57,
fourth place from the bottom. Close
were Ford Motor Company (with a
1998-2002 RPA of
.48) with a rank of 55,
sixth place from the bottom, and DaimlerChrysler AG (Chrysler
Group has a 1998-2002 RPA of
.40) with a rank of 49,
twelfth place from the bottom.
Some charts and tables that suggest
that GM truly deserves this ignominious evaluation are given below.
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Table I: Number and Percentage
of Entries in CR's 2006
Much-Worse-Than-Average List, by Manufacturer |
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Auto Manufacturer |
Number of Entries |
Percent of Entries |
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General Motors Corporation |
17 |
50.0% |
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Ford Motor Company |
6* |
17.6% |
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DaimlerChrysler AG |
4** |
11.8% |
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Volkswagen AG |
4 |
11.8% |
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BMW AG |
2 |
5.9% |
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Kia Motors
Corporation |
1 |
2.9% |
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All Others |
0 |
0% |
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*
Two are from Ford's North American group, two are from the
Jaguar division, one is from the Land Rover division, and one is
from the Volvo division. |
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**
Two are from DaimlerChrysler's North American Chrysler group and
two are from the Mercedes-Benz division. |
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Source: "CR Bad Bets: Be
Especially Careful," Consumer Reports Cars: Used Car Buying Guide
2006,
p. 26 |
Moody's Ratings of General Motors Corporation's
Unsecured Long-Term Debt |
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Investment Grade Ratings |
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2006 |
At the other end of the spectrum were
the Reliable Two. Toyota Motor Corporation (with a 1998-2002 RPA of
.90) obtained a rank of 9, up 2 places from the 2005 results, and
Honda Motor Company (with a 1998-2002 RPA of .88) obtained a rank
of 14, also up 2 places from the 2005 results. In-between was
Amazon.com, Inc., with a rank of 11.
Some charts that suggest
that Toyota and Honda well deserve such high repute are given below.
Source of corporate
reputation rankings: www.harrisinteractive.com
|
Related News Articles |
|
May 2005: Does 'GM' Mean 'Junk'? |
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October 2004: Is GM King of Junk? |
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December 2006: Filling the Quota at the Consumer's Expense? How CR's 1998 GM Recommendations Fared |
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November 2006:
True Value Estimates of GM's 2007 Vehicles |
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November 2006:
The 2006 Updates: Honda Age-Equivalent Estimates: Estimates of When a Typical 1998 Model of Honda Motor Company Will Be as Troublesome as Typical 1998 Models of General Motors Corporation and Its Several Marques Were Circa 3 Years, 4 Years, ..., and 7 Years of Age |
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November 2006:
The 2006 Updates: Toyota Age-Equivalent Estimates: Estimates of When a Typical 1998 Model of Toyota Motor Corporation Will Be as Troublesome as Typical 1998 Models of General Motors Corporation and Its Several Marques Were Circa 3 Years, 4 Years, ..., and 7 Years of Age |
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October 2006:
The 2006 Updates: Toyota and Honda Account for 4 of 5 Most Durable Sport-Utility Vehicles; General Motors - 7 of 10 Worst: Will a Typical 1998 Toyota SUV Be More Trouble Free at 21 Years of Age Than a Typical 1998 GM SUV at 3? |
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October 2006:
The 2006 Updates: Toyota Tops in Pickup Reliability and Durability: Just How Bad, or Disastrous, Are GM Pickups? |
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October 2006:
The 2006 Updates: Toyota and Honda Account for 4 Most Durable Vehicle Lines; General Motors - 4 of 10 Worst: Will a Typical Toyota or Honda 1998 Model Be More Trouble Free at 20 Years of Age Than a Typical 1998 GM Model at 3? |
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September 2006:
Toyota and Honda Account for Two Best Minivans; General Motors Accounts for 5 of 8 Worst |
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September 2006:
Reliability Updates: Toyota and Honda Still Tops, But Lose Luster; General Motors Still Worst of Major Auto Manufacturers; Hyundai Clobbers GM Yet Again |
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September 2006:
Reliability Updates: Best and Worst Cars and Trucks Tables: A Chart Summary |
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August 2006:
Reliability Updates: For Vehicles 6-to-8 Years Old, Toyota Accounts for 7 of 10 Best, GM - 17 of 36 Worst |
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August 2006:
Reliability Updates: For Vehicles 5-to-7 Years Old, Toyota Accounts for 9 of 13 Best, GM - 17 of 42 Worst |
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August 2006:
Reliability Updates: For Vehicles 4-to-6 Years Old, Toyota Accounts for 8 of 14 Best, GM - 19 of 47 Worst |
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August 2006:
Reliability Updates: For Vehicles 3-to-5 Years Old, Toyota Accounts for 13 of 15 Best, GM - 17 of 47 Worst |
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August 2006:
Reliability Updates: For Model Year 2002, Toyota Accounts for 11 of 16 Best, GM - 16 of 53 Worst |
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History Lit |
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The Origins of the British: A Genetic Detective Story (2006) by Stephen Oppenheimer |
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Deep Ancestry: Inside the Genographic Project (2006) by Spencer Wells |
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The Little Ice Age: How Climate Made History, 1300-1850 (2001) by Brian M. Fagan |
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