The Truth About Cars » Customer Relations

Welcome to the New TTAC!

Edward Niedermeyer — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 17:39:22 +0000

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 [...]

Consumer Reports: Stay Away From Saturn

Edward Niedermeyer — Wed, 14 Oct 2009 17:04:12 +0000

“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 [...]

GM Recalls Recall

Robert Farago — Mon, 12 Oct 2009 23:33:59 +0000

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 [...]

GM Downsizes 100,000 Mile/5 Year Warranty

Robert Farago — Tue, 22 Sep 2009 18:28:26 +0000

Date: 09/21/2009 Ref. number: Service / Warranty / Subject: Changes to the General Motors 100,000 Mile/5 Year Powertrain Warranty for 2010 Model Year Vehicles - GM Service Operations **Urgent Message** DCS 412 DATE: September 21, 2009 TO: [...]

Chrysler Backs Away from Lifetime Warranty

Edward Niedermeyer — Wed, 19 Aug 2009 19:20:41 +0000

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 [...]

Wild Ass Rumor of the Day: Twitter Killed the Buick Vue

Edward Niedermeyer — Wed, 19 Aug 2009 18:43:02 +0000

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 [...]

Another Day, Another Dubious Satisfaction Survey Lauding Detroit

Robert Farago — Tue, 18 Aug 2009 15:49:16 +0000

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 [...]

What GM Needs To Do To Sell Me a Car

Robert Farago — Thu, 06 Aug 2009 19:30:12 +0000

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 [...]

“Let’s Talk About GM Quality”

Edward Niedermeyer — Tue, 23 Jun 2009 19:15:53 +0000

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 [...]

BMW: “What’s Wrong Here?”

Edward Niedermeyer — Thu, 18 Jun 2009 18:51:46 +0000

Robo-Warranty Scheme Sued by FTC

Edward Niedermeyer — Tue, 16 Jun 2009 17:33:06 +0000

Anecdotally, it seems like almost everyone has had one of the “your vehicle warranty is about to expire” robo-calls sometime in the last year or so. Hopefully a civil suit by the FTC will cut back on some of the annoyance. Fox News reports that the scheme, allegedly perpetrated by Christopher Cowart, James and Maureen [...]

Tesla Plus Blog Equals Credibility?

Edward Niedermeyer — Mon, 15 Jun 2009 18:25:34 +0000

Ousted Tesla founder Martin Eberhart pens a paean to the blogosphere over at Tendo Communications‘ blog, arguing (among other things) that “blogging promotes transparency and builds credibility.” “For blogging to ring true, it needs to be more than an exercise kept up for the sake of appearance. At Tesla, we began with my blog, which provided [...]

Firms Jostle for Closed Dealerships’ Business

Edward Niedermeyer — Fri, 12 Jun 2009 17:54:25 +0000

This spot (which cribs the Allman Brothers tune that gearheads will recognize as the Top Gear theme) is part of what AdAge describes as the repair chain’s effort to attract customers from closing dealerships. After all, the service department is often where the real money is made at dealerships, and the race to snag shuttered [...]

Rasmussen Poll: 17% of Americans Support GM Boycott

Edward Niedermeyer — Fri, 05 Jun 2009 20:38:38 +0000

According to a recent Rasmussen poll, 26 percent of those surveyed support the GM bailout. Yes, but 53 percent describe the bailout as a “bad idea,” and of that majority of respondents, 30 percent of those support a boycott. The idea of boycotting a government-owned GM was most popular among men and middle-income respondents. Also, 51 [...]

The Fritz Is Online

Edward Niedermeyer — Fri, 05 Jun 2009 16:11:23 +0000

GM’s Fritz Henderson is trying on a paler shade of transparency over at ye olde Fastlane blog. With results that defy this blogger’s adjective collection. When asked whether the “new GM” should continue to employ the thousand authors of GM’s failure, Henderson replied with self-serving equivocation. “If I was starting a new company, which [...]

Chrysler Blood in the Water Draws Sharks

Edward Niedermeyer — Wed, 03 Jun 2009 20:35:11 +0000

Shark number one is Ford, which is making a concerted effort to steal sales from its cross-town rival. Automotive News [sub] reports that Ford is rolling out a regional incentive program aimed at existing Chrysler owners. Ford is offering Chrysler owners an additional $500-$1,000 on the purchase of a new Ford to owners of Chrysler [...]

More to Love About the Chrysler Asset Sale

Edward Niedermeyer — Wed, 03 Jun 2009 17:29:19 +0000

The NYT Wheels blog reports that Judge Arthur Gonzalez has overruled pleas by consumer advocates and law professors by granting Chrysler’s request to exempt “New Chrysler” from any liability arising from “Old Chrysler.” Public Citizen, the Center for Auto Safety and Consumers for Auto Reliability and Safety have formally objected to the move on the [...]

GM to Become the Soul of Discretion

Edward Niedermeyer — Wed, 03 Jun 2009 15:04:30 +0000

Well, that’s how the Freep puts it. So will GM be leaving the toilet seat down? Will it apply for a separate credit card to pay for its extramarital liaisons? Will it be hiding its Playboy inside the latest Economist? Want to clear this up for us, CFO Ray Young? “As a privately held company, [...]

Chrysler: So Long and Thanks for All the Lawsuits

Edward Niedermeyer — Wed, 20 May 2009 16:04:59 +0000

Chalk up another reason why Chrysler should have been allowed to fail. The New York Times reports that if Chrysler’s restructuring is approved it would allow the automaker to evade liability for injury-causing defects on its vehicles. An Automotive News [sub] write-up of Chrysler’s creditors reveals that the Ad Hoc Committee of Consumer-Victims of Chrysler [...]

Toyota Logs 75k Prius Pre-Orders; Camaro Fans Left in the Lurch

Edward Niedermeyer — Fri, 15 May 2009 17:27:21 +0000

Ancient Wisdom Confirmed By Loyalty Survey

Edward Niedermeyer — Tue, 10 Mar 2009 19:21:45 +0000

The thesis that name and form are inseparable, a truth endorsed by both the Theravedan Bhuddist text Visuddhi-Magga and Paul Niedermeyer, has found new support in the recently-released Polk Loyalty Study (PDF) (via PR Newswire). Studying brand repurchase and defection rates in Q1 2008, Polk and Co found that 55 percent of owners whose model [...]

Doth Yon Conveyance Boast Hemispherical Combustion Chambers?

Edward Niedermeyer — Fri, 06 Mar 2009 18:37:46 +0000

The question that has haunted the very soul humanity for eons—”that thing gotta hemi?”—should hopefully drift out of the vernacular, as ChryCo is offering free Hemi V8 upgrades on every Ram 1500 they sell during “shovel ‘em out the door,” uh, make that “truck month.” So yes, good sir, it’s got a Hemi. But as [...]

What Happens When You Walk On A Jeep Dealer’s Lot With $25k?

Edward Niedermeyer — Mon, 02 Mar 2009 18:40:02 +0000

The surprising answer, via Consumerist, is nothing. Well, sales-wise. Richard of tryingtostimulate.wordpress.com (the economy, you perv) built out a Jeep Wrangler online, and was quoted a price of $24k. Thinking that giving an American automaker some business would be as easy as showing up, writing a check and driving away, he visited not one, but [...]

Class Action Lawsuit Targets GM “One Percent Doctrine”

Robert Farago — Mon, 26 Jan 2009 17:34:30 +0000

GM recently settled an SEC investigation into its accounting practices. The automaker didn’t admit guilt or pay a fine, but it was confirmation– if confirmation was needed– that GM under Rick Wagoner has played fast and loose with the numbers. And when you’re as big as GM, little “tweaks” here and there can have a [...]

J.D. Power Launches Launch Control

Edward Niedermeyer — Fri, 23 Jan 2009 18:26:55 +0000

Automotive News [sub] reports that J.D. Power is introducing a Vehicle Launch Index, aimed at providing OEMs with data and feedback on product launches. For a nominal (sliding scale) fee, JDP will follow launches for the first 12 months of a model’s life, measuring ad effectiveness, consumer response, dealer gross profits and incentive spending. “There [...]