Category Archives: customer satisfaction

Chinese Maker to Pay EPA $680,000 Fine for Dirty ATVs

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency today announced a $680,000 settlement with recreational vehicle manufacturers, Loncin (USA), Inc., Longting USA LLC, and Chongqing Longting Power Equipment Co., Ltd., to resolve violations of the Clean Air Act (CAA) caused by the import of 7,115 uncertified recreational vehicles into the United States. It was the latest in a series of actions against the Chinese company and its agents. Continue reading

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Car Spy Jim Dunne Catches Revised Lincoln MKS or MKZ?

Following the Ford Jaguar debacle, success is also not a word that can be applied to Ford’s management of Lincoln, which is a poseur in the world of luxury cars dominated by the German Brands and Toyota’s Lexus, which even though it was out of the U.S. market for five months this year because of the Japan earthquake, still managed to outsell Lincoln by a better than 2:1. Continue reading

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The Top Stolen Cadillac Escalade Has New Antitheft Devices

Cadillac Escalade is more than 6 times as likely as the average vehicle to be targeted by thieves and has overall theft losses more than 10 times as big, according the Highway Loss Data Institute – HLDI. So little wonder that Cadillac in a release today is touting what it claims are new security enhancements developed to thwart thieves on Escalade models. Continue reading

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New Vehicle Sales Satisfaction Improves from 2010

Satisfaction with the new-vehicle sales process has improved from 2010, according to a new study released today. All sales satisfaction measures improved “notably” from 2010, with the greatest increase in the delivery process, despite the fact that the average length of time to complete the delivery portion of a new-vehicle sale has increased by four minutes to an average of 32 minutes in 2011. Continue reading

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GM Will Lend Cars to Concerned Chevrolet Volt Owners as NHTSA Volt Battery Fire Investigation Continues

General Motors announced Monday that any Volt owner concerned about safety can contact his or her Volt advisor to arrange for a free GM vehicle loan until resolution of the issue. A letter to Volt owners will go out today. The aggressive customer satisfaction move came after the National Highway traffic safety Administration announced on Friday that it would open a preliminary evaluation of Volt battery assemblies after NHTSA test results caused electrical fires up to three weeks after an initial vehicle New Car Assessment Program side pole crash test. Continue reading

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Initial Quality in China Achieves Historic High – Japanese Lead

Overall initial quality of vehicles sold in China averages 162 PP100 (problems per 100) in 2011. This is the lowest problem rate recorded since the inception of the study in 2000, according to J.D. Power Asia Pacific. Not surprisingly, models from Japanese brands, as a whole, have the lowest problem incidence in the China market in 2011 with an average of 108 PP100. Continue reading

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Pontiac Owners Show Loyalty to Remaining GM Brands

One year after Pontiac dealers permanently closed on 31 October 2010, General Motors has managed to maintain or increase the loyalty rate of Pontiac owners, according to by Edmunds.com. Edmunds found that 39.9% of Pontiac owners who traded in for … Continue reading

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Chevrolet and Nissan Succeed with Plug-in Hybrids and EVs as the Business of Plugging In Shows First Product Results

Success is the verdict about one year after the Chevrolet Volt plug-in hybrid and Nissan Leaf EV (electric vehicle) both went on sale, it was revealed last week at the third annual Business of Plugging In Conference in Michigan. And with Cadillac, Ford, Toyota about to introduce the their own plug-in hybrids, and a pure EV version of the tiny Chevrolet Spark coming in 2013, the small niche of electric cars has the chance to grow some more. Continue reading

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DOT Fines Orbitz for Violating Price Advertising Rules

The U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) today fined the online ticket agent Orbitz $60,000 for violating federal aviation laws and the Department’s rules prohibiting deceptive price advertising in air travel. Continue reading

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Auto Industry Reputation Shows Big Gains as Airlines, oh, Crash

The latest Harris Poll that measures how the public perceives twenty-two of the nation’s largest industries shows huge shifts during the last two years. The biggest changes since 2009, when the survey was last conducted, are a huge improvement in the auto industry reputation as measured by the number of people who think that the auto industry is doing a good job of serving consumers, while there is also a “very large increase” in those who think the airline industry is doing a bad job. Continue reading

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Hyundai Recall Active on Veracruz and Santa Fe SUV Airbags

The recall appears to have been prompted by a request for an explanation about a high number of warranty claims by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA). Continue reading

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Toyota Yaris Now $14,875! Tundra and Sienna also Increase

The strong Japanese Yen is making itself felt on this side of the Pacific Ocean as Japanese automakers continue to raise prices. Japanese automakers are facing an unprecedented change in their competitiveness – they no longer have a price advantage over the Detroit Three or Korean automakers. In fact, companies that are heavily dependent on Japanese production of components and vehicles have a price disadvantage amounting to thousands of dollars per vehicle.
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Bye Bye American Dream – One in Four Could Not Pay for a Major Auto Repair in Latest AAA Economic Survey

One in four American drivers could not pay for a car repair of $2000 if faced with one today, according to the results of a survey released today by AAA. The survey also said one in eight would be unable to pay for a repair bill of $1000 – easily reached with overly complex vehicles on the road. Continue reading

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Toyota Recalls 80,000 Highlander Hybrid and RX 400h Vehicles

Toyota Motor Sales, USA (TMS) today said that it will recall about 45,500 Highlander Hybrid and 36,700 Lexus RX 400h vehicles sold in the U.S in what appears to be the first recalls for its hybrid drive system.

In a filing with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), the Japanese company said that the so called Intelligent Power Module (IPM) located inside the Hybrid System Inverter contains a control board with defective transistors. Transistors on the control boards in some of 2006-2007 model year Highlander Hybrid and Lexus RX 400h SUVs were inadequately soldered and could be damaged from heat caused by a large current flow during high-load driving. Continue reading

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Quality Drops Drastically as Automakers Introduce New Models

After a four year run of improving quality, the trend has reversed itself as the initial quality of 2011 new vehicle launches has declined considerably in the latest study. Overall initial quality improved to an average of 107 problems per 100 vehicles (PP100) in 2011 from 109 PP100 in 2010. However, launch models – vehicles that are all-new or have had major redesigns – saw ratings drop by 10% to an average of 122 PP100 in 2011 from 111 PP100 in 2010. Continue reading

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