Category Archives: customer satisfaction

Cyber Insecurity – Your Car and You as Targets

Posted on 19 February 2015 by Ken Zino

The connected car is linking you to criminals with virtually no safeguards in place to protect your personal data or even to prevent the bad guys from taking over control of the car. That is the summary from a recent series and studies and forums in the U.S. and Europe.

The good news, if there is any for connected car, Bluetooth, OnStar and Smartphone aficionados is that you are likely not the primary target. Instead, hackers want to get to the treasure trove of car company databases and private networks that contain millions of bits of confidential data. Other privacy problems arise from the use of navigation computers that record and send location or driving history information to third party providers who resell it without your knowledge, let alone consent. Continue reading →

Posted in auto news, connected vehicles, customer satisfaction, mobility company, news analysis, safety, software defined vehicles | Tagged , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Chrysler Expands Takata Recall Nationally

Posted on 31 December 2014 by Ken Zino

Chrysler Group is expanding its current regional recall of Takata PSDI-4 driver airbag inflators to all 50 U.S. States and Federalized Territories at the request of NHTSA. Continue reading →

Posted in auto news, customer satisfaction, manufacturing, news analysis, quality, recalls, safety | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment

Ford Finally Kills MyTouch name with Sync3 as Replacement

Posted on 12 December 2014 by Ken Zino

In a ‘one more time with feeling’ encore, Ford Motor changed its tune on its much-derided and pioneering MyTouch voice recognition system by saying today that its future generation of infotainment and touch screen systems will be marketed as Sync3 globally. Continue reading →

Posted in customer satisfaction, distracted driving, marketing | Leave a comment

More Chrysler Group Recalls on Dodge and Jeep SUVs

Posted on 3 November 2014 by Ken Zino

A week after Chrysler Group’s dismal finish on the initial quality survey from Consumer Reports and the firing of its head of quality control, the company is recalling its best-selling Dodge Durango and Jeep Grand Cherokee models for defective airbags and malfunctioning electronic stability controls. More 250,000 are involved in the latest, supplier- caused quality problems. Continue reading →

Posted in auto news, customer satisfaction, news analysis, quality, recalls, safety | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

Huge Toyota Tacoma Pickup Corrosion Recall

Posted on 30 September 2014 by Ken Zino

Toyota claimed it is not aware of any fires, crashes, injuries or fatalities associated with its latest safety defect that it has told NHTSA about in its required legal filing. However, NHTSA has several hair-raising complaints from Tacoma owners about incidents. Continue reading →

Posted in auto news, awards, customer satisfaction, manufacturing, marketing, news analysis, quality, recalls, safety | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

Voice Recognition Growing Problem in New Cars

Posted on 29 August 2014 by Ken Zino

Automakers continue to struggle with the growing demand for automotive electronics in the so-called connected car. It turns out the car is not always connected to the web or phone or is linked in an ineffective way that is turning customers off. As a result, there is a growing case of, well, Bluetooth blues among drivers. More than half (52%) of these owners use an iPhone and 41% use an Android phone. Continue reading →

Posted in customer satisfaction, safety | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment

Automakers Flub Launch of High Tech Vehicles, IQS Shows

Posted on 18 June 2014 by Ken Zino

The latest IQS or quality data revealed today at the Automotive Press Association meeting in Detroit shows that the number of problems experienced by new-vehicle owners has increased from the previous year, as automakers continue to have severe problems with complicated technologies now being deployed in new vehicles. Continue reading →

Posted in auto news, customer satisfaction, engineering, manufacturing, news analysis, quality | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment

Baseball, Apple Pie and Red Sox v White Sox at White House

Posted on 1 April 2014 by Ken Zino

“We’re all on the same team.” And I think Big Papi put it better and more colorfully than any of us could. I won’t repeat his quote. But the point is, Boston and the Red Sox were one this season.” Continue reading →

Posted in customer satisfaction, manufacturing, people | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment

Chevrolet to Sell 4G LTE Data Connections Next Summer

Posted on 10 January 2014 by Ken Zino

What this does for the deadly distracted driving problem remains to be seen and depends whether the driver or passengers are surfing the web. There is also risk involved; electronics in automobiles are now the largest single source of customer dissatisfaction if there are glitches, dropped voice commands, screen crashes or problems connecting portable devices. Continue reading →

Posted in customer satisfaction, distracted driving, marketing | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

Auto Buyers Shopping Lenders. Captives Have Higher Satisfaction Rates

Posted on 25 November 2013 by Ken Zino

New car dealer recommendations are the most influential concerning lender choice (48% luxury and 50% mass market), but nearly one-fourth (24%) of luxury customers and nearly to one-third (32%) of mass market customers now consider multiple lenders before selecting their finance provider. Continue reading →

Posted in customer satisfaction | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

Infotainment Defects Grow in Latest Auto Reliability Data

Posted on 28 October 2013 by Ken Zino

The 2013 Annual Auto Reliability rankings revealed today before the Automotive Press Association in Detroit shows that General Motors and the Chrysler Group have barely average reliability, while Ford Motor continues to do poorly. Continue reading →

Posted in customer satisfaction, quality | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment

Financial Protection Bureau Auto Loan Regulation Anti-Consumer Says NADA

Posted on 16 October 2013 by Ken Zino

A proposed regulation stipulating flat fees in auto lending will actually end up hurting consumers because franchised car dealers will not be able to cut rates, according to the National Automobile Dealers Association. Continue reading →

Posted in auto news, customer satisfaction, financial results | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment

BMW Recalls 5-Series Cars for Defective Rear Lights

Posted on 20 September 2013 by Ken Zino

BMW said that it does not believe a safety defect exists but is recalling the cars anyway. While likely such language is lawyer dictated, the Bavarians have a precarious relationship with U.S. safety regulators. Previously BMW was fined by NHTSA for covering up safety defects. Continue reading →

Posted in customer satisfaction, news analysis, quality, recalls, safety | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

North Carolina Joins Electronic Title and Lien Parade

Posted on 20 August 2013 by Ken Zino

Legislation just signed in North Carolina directs the Division of Motor Vehicles (aka NC DMV) to start an electronic titling and lien program by July 2014. Within a year of implementation, banks, credit unions and other automotive lenders in the state will begin to replace their paper liens with an electronic exchange of data with the NC DMV. North Carolina would be the 20th state to do so. Continue reading →

Posted in auto news, customer satisfaction | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

Auto Insurance Websites Only Rated Fair for Policy Shopping

Posted on 22 May 2013 by Ken Zino

Auto insurance customers say that using insurance company websites to service an existing policy is generally easier than using them to shop for a policy, according to a new study. Continue reading →

Posted in auto news, customer satisfaction | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment