mustang_sallad

Okay, I really don't wanna start another one of those, Asia vs USA things again, but just thought that I'd pass you guys this article from detnews.

http://autosinsider.com/apps/pbcs.dll/arti.../512020337/1148

important bits:

WASHINGTON -- After a record-breaking year for safety recalls in 2004, the auto industry has improved dramatically in 2005 -- with the notable exception of quality stalwart Toyota Motor Corp., whose recalls more than doubled.

According to data compiled by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, Toyota's recalls jumped to 2.2 million through November, compared with 1.1 million for all of 2004.

......

Among Detroit manufacturers, only Ford Motor Co. has seen an increase in recalled vehicles this year, 6 million through Nov. 17, up from 5 million for all of 2004.

General Motors Corp. has recalled 4.1 million vehicles through Nov. 17, down significantly from 10.8 million for 2004. DaimlerChrysler AG has recalled 749,000 vehicles in the United States this year, down from 5.8 million in 2004.





So Ford went up a bit this year, i think we saw that while it was happening, most painfully the new cars like the 500, that hurt a lot. But DC went from 5.8M down to 749,000!! That's incredible. Good Job to them.

1999 Black 35th GT

Interesting article Jeff. I think we'll see Ford's recalls drop again for the second MY of the new vehicles but you're right the 500 recall didn't help. But overall its amazing to see the companies getting so much better than they were in the past.
So basically Ford's went up 17%. Not bad compared to going up 100% but still I would like to see them drop even more.

Agreed, and thank you for the report.

I would like to remind fans of EVERY company that recalls are not always bad. But in fact a choice from the manufacturer to give you the quality that you as a consumer deserve.

I applaud any company that addresses an issue in a timely manner.

Zastava_101

Actually it is bad. Check recalls of GM and DC.
Ford up by 1 million.
GM down by 6.7 milion.
DC down by over 5 milion.

If Ford wants their customers to beleive that their quality went up - they can't recalls more vehicles alone than GM and DC together.

TomServo92

I noticed you completely ignored the fact that Toyota's recalls DOUBLED from last year.

Zastava_101

Yeah, but its still less than Ford or GM.

Difference between Toyota and Ford is that Toyota already have their cutomers trust and their sales are higher each month.

TomServo92

If their recalls keep going up, that may change.

Zastava_101

It might.

1999 Black 35th GT

You missed the key word of "Compared" that I put in there too.

HastaLaVista

It's a fairly meaningless statement.

If Toyota recalled 1 car last year, then 100 this year, you could claim Toyota's recalls went up 100x from last year. So what.

Toyota's went up 1.1 million.

Ford's went up 1 million.

Ford started from a higher point though. Percentages are fairly meaningless unless they indicate some sort of trend, and they don't here.

I like how that article is completely biased against Toyota. Keep in mind: "The latest comparable data from trade publication Warranty Week shows that GM's warranty costs worldwide stood at 3.2 percent of automotive sales as of March 31 while Ford's costs were around 2.5 percent. DaimlerChrysler's warranty costs were 5.2 percent, while Toyota's were 1.2 percent, according to Warranty Week, which cautions that the figures might not be entirely comparable because of different accounting systems and currencies."

Don't see that in the headline though.

1999 Black 35th GT

The fact of the article is pointing out that the certain company's recalls are rising at a high rate. Thats all.

Also I think you're ignoring the fact Jeff asked not to turn this into a Ford VS. Toyota arguement which it seems you have blatantly ignored.

If you continue to turn this topic into one of those debates then I think it needs to be locked.

I'm going to respect Jeff's wishes. Can you?

Zastava_101

So are you saying that its better to recall 5 mill vehicles one year and 7 mill next year than to recall 1 mill vehicles one year and 2 mill vehicles next year?

1999 Black 35th GT

Once again Zoran you failed to read my entire post. This topic was posted about this year.

And again from my first post...
I guess you did not read that part. This just further proves that you are in fact taking this personally.

And from my previous post:
If you respect the wishes of the topic starter then you can PM me. If you continue to act like a child, you shouldn't post anymore on this topic. I suggest you quit while you are ahead.

Zastava_101

I know what you said. You said that its better to go from 5 mill to 6 mill (Ford) than to go from 1.1 mill to 2.2 mill (Toyota). You didn't use names Ford and/or Toyota, but you used both of their numbers for example.

1999 Black 35th GT

Incorrect. I said percentage wise it is better to raise by 17% than over 100%. And if you look at the overall amount of how many vehicles of Ford are on the road compared to the other company than it will make sense to you.

And since you can't respect the topic, you have yet again been reported.

My advice to you in the future is to be respectful of peoples wishes and to not put words in peoples mouths :nono:

jgsmuzzy

Let's discuss the article at hand. Everytime a thread is started regarding USA V Asian quality, we have the same argument. I am sick of it.

I class this as taking the thread off topic and it will not stand. Please read the original post and comment on it. I do not want to repeatedly see the same USA sucks, Asia is great, or vice versa for that matter.

Thank you, now back on topic.

Jeff, nice find, it is good to see that quality is improving, let's face it, there is still a lot of ground to make up, but at least it seems that there is a lot of work going into it.

Zastava_101

I'm glad to see big improvement in Chrysler because my next car might be 300C.

1999 Black 35th GT

Thanks for the words of wisdom James!

HastaLaVista

How can someone start a topic saying, "I don't want to make this an import vs domestic thing", and then promptly state import vs. domestic numbers?

Not a question of turning it into that, that's how the topic started.

Now, if he had written about Toyota and not mentioned domestics at all I'd agree. But that's not what's there.

mustang_sallad

HE'S RIGHT! I'M SO SORRY!!!

Basically, i think these numbers just show that while both chrysler and GM are improving in that area, Toyota and Ford seem to be getting a little worse. You could argue quite a while about whether its the absolute or relative numbers you should be looking at, as in total change in recalls or percent change in recalls... personally, i think a percentage gives you a better idea of the trends going on and stuff.

Either way, i think it sucks a lot that ford's numbers have gone up despite the presence of these new cars that should be part of a big turn around. Chrysler on the other hand practically abolished all their recalls... well not quite, but you know what i mean. Now how did they do that? That's what i wanna know. Does it come down to the assembly line and the guys actually putting the cars together, or the guys putting together parts that end up in the cars, or is it thanks to good engineering, white collar guys thinking things through really well before finalizing the product.

1999 Black 35th GT

Because he wasn't intending to start a whole discussion but just make an article known.

No Jeff, post away. Just because a fact is posted doesn't mean we have to find a reason to argue.