Welcome one and all to the new TTAC. Take a moment to look around and you’ll see that in addition to a new logo and some graphical changes, we’ve made some functional upgrades as well. For one thing, we finally have a customizable Google search window. We have also integrated a Facebook Connect feature which will allow you to log in using your Facebook profile, and we’ve made it easier to share your favorite TTAC posts using Digg, Twitter, Facebook and more. You’ve probably also noticed our new “Featured Story” bar at the top of the page by now. We have more cool new functions coming down the pipe, so stay tuned. In the meantime, we’re back to deliver all the news, commentary and analysis you can handle. Thanks for bearing with us during the upgrade, and enjoy!

“Should I buy a Saturn car?” asks Consumer Reports’ blog of itself in the wake of Penske’s takeover interruptus. “In a word,” comes the answer, “no.” Though other GM dealers will be able to honor warranties and service Saturns, CR worries that there are “practical limitations to parts inventory and technician training.” Normal servicing shouldn’t be a problem, but major repairs could take more time and money, particularly for low-volume Saturns like the Sky and Astra. And of course there’s the unavoidable fact that reliability studies indicate that many Saturn models will be in for repair on a fairly regular basis. Though they conclude that it’s difficult to predict exactly what the Saturn ownership experience will be like over the next decade, “there are simply better alternatives that are more reliable, have lower owner costs, and do not carry undue risks.” We would agree.

One of TTAC’s tipsters reports that GM has erroneously recalled 8k vehicles. D’oh!

Date: 10/08/2009  Ref. number: XXXXXX Subject: 09041A / 09077A – Noncompliance Recalls – Retraction Letter

GM SERVICE AND PARTS OPERATIONS
URGENT – DISTRIBUTE IMMEDIATELY
Date: October 9, 2009

Subject: 09041A / 09077A – Noncompliance Recalls

Shift Lever Indicator May Not Display Correct Gear

Retraction Letter Mailed to Certain Customers

Models:
2009 Buick Enclave
2009 Chevrolet Cobalt, HHR, Malibu, Traverse
2009 GMC Acadia
2009 Pontiac G5, G6
2009 Saturn AURA, OUTLOOK

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GM Service Operations

**Urgent Message**

DCS 412

DATE: September 21, 2009

TO: All US GM Dealers, Service Directors, Warranty Administrators and Parts Managers

SUBJECT: Changes to the General Motors 100,000 Mile/5 Year Powertrain Warranty for 2010 Model Year Vehicles

This message is to provide information regarding the a few changes to the GM Powertrain Warranty for 2010 model year vehicles.  Previous model year vehicles are NOT affected by these changes.

For model year 2010, General Motors is announcing a slight change in the components that are covered under the 100,000 mile/5 year limited warranty on all light duty cars and trucks.  The Warranty and Owner Assistance Information booklets have already been updated with these changes in all New 2010 model GM vehicles.

The following items have been eliminated from the Powertrain portion of the coverage for 2010, however, they will continue to be covered for the entire length of the Bumper to Bumper Limited Warranty for all GM vehicles.  Select components may also be covered by Federal or State Emission coverage.  Please refer to the Labor Time Guide and Policies and Procedures (P&P) manual for further details.

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Allpar reports that Chrysler is dropping its lifetime warranty offer in favor of a five year, 100k-mile powertrain warranty (in addition to the standard three year, 36k mile bumper-to-bumper warranty). Unlike the lifetime offer, the new warranty will be transferable. Will it be enough to rescue ChryCo’s plummeting resale values? It couldn’t hurt, although the lifetime offer also helped Chrysler sell a deal (and who buys a Chrysler for the car?). Another change is that SRT vehicles now qualify for the new warranty. All of which is a bit strange considering that under the lifetime deal, Chrysler actually reduced its warranty cost projections.

Jalopnik reports that, rather than crying “perception gap” to negative tweets about Buick’s quick-n-dirty Saturn Vue rebadge, GM has killed plans for the plugin crossover. GM spokesfolk say “the overwhelmingly negative response to this vehicle coming out of this event” caused GM to pull the plug. Which is funny because a good hard look at their bloated 2012 CUV lineup would have told them that killing the “Vuick” was a good idea, too. So now GM has a plug-in CUV developed with nowhere to put it. And the Twitterati have another reason to believe they are somehow relevant. In other words, all’s right with the world. Hit the jump for GM’s official word via spokesman Tom Stephens.

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While Automotive News [sub] trumpets the fact that “Cadillac Joins Lexus atop Study of Customer Satisfaction,” our experience with all manner of stat house slickery behooves us to dig a little deeper into the subject. ["league table" here.] While we eagerly await Mr. Karesh’s analytical evisceration, I’d like to share some relevant facts. First, although the “see there IS a perception gap” study is called the American Customer Satisfaction Index™, it hails from the University of Michigan. Second, it’s a racket. The academics behind the index charge companies a $35K “corporate subscription price.” If you don’t work in automotive, no problem! The ACSI covers 44 industries! Oh, and the US government. Third, methodology (as above) . . .

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TTAC commentator Mark writes:

Mr. Farago, I’m an avid fan of your web site / blog. General Motors is a frequent subject, often in a negative light (typically, a well deserved negative light). I have owned and currently own GM vehicles. Why? My father worked for GM for 35 years, was paid well paid and has a good pension. GM helped put bread on our table, a car in our driveway and helped pay for my education. With all the issues and bailouts that GM has recently had, I would find it difficult to purchase another GM vehicle. What would sway me to purchase another GM vehicle? The company would have to change it’s philosophy and be accountable for the products they produce. Promote this via a marketing program centered on a specific model with the following four points:

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GM’s North American VP for quality, Rick Spina, latches on to the latest JD Power IQS with a blog post at Fastlane titled “What Quality Gap?” and a webchat inviting every pissed-off GM owner to bitch about their quality problems.

For all the naysayers out there … get this … in the J.D. Power & Associates 2009 Initial Quality Study, Cadillac, our flagship brand, improved by 19 percent since last year’s study and comes in third, just behind Lexus and Porsche. That’s pretty darn good considering brands typically improve around 5 percent a year. And Chevy, our volume leader, eliminates the quality gap to join company with very competitive import brands like Honda and Toyota. Simply put, the quality gap is history.

Oh really?

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Taking a page from Detroit’s auto plant parking lots, BMW has been putting notices on employee vehicles built by competing firms, reports Bloomberg. “What’s wrong here? You like working with us. You appreciate your job and income. But you drive a vehicle from a competitor,” read the notices signed by Ian Robertson, the company’s sales chief; Harald Krueger, BMW’s head of personnel, and Manfred Schoch, its top union representative. Some 7,000 German employees of BMW received the friendly reminders. “We wanted to raise awareness that our employees are part of the product and could actually drive BMW,” said Bilgeri. “It’s a totally normal marketing program.” Except that this is the first time BMW has ever targeted employee owners of competing brands in twenty years of marketing to its employees. BMW employees need not worry that their choice of cars will leave them out of a job, clarifies Hans Haumer, head of BMW’s Munich worker’s council. This is more of a guilt trip.