Detroit automakers still grapple with perception gap
"Import intenders" is the term used for car buyers who don't even consider domestic vehicles when planning their next purchase. And according to J.D. Power, they make up 54-percent of car buyers. In spite of Detroit's efforts, and in spite of improving testing scores, the Big Three have been unable to sway those buyers to their brands.
When Ford's ad agency put on a promotion called Swap My Ride, ordinary folks who drove Ford vehicles for a week raved about them. Buick just joined Lexus at the top of the J.D. Power long-term reliability survey. Yet when market research firm CNW holds focus groups with cars that have all of their branding removed, if people think the car is American their opinion of it automatically drops -- even if they're talking about a Toyota Camry. Having driven the new Cadillac CTS, which is a very good car, the biggest hurdle the brand will face when trying to lure BMW buyers is not the quality of the CTS -- it's the word "Cadillac."
There are a host of potential reasons for the reflex judgment of American cars = lesser quality. Detroit is building better cars than the ones that created the perception in the first place, but Ford, GM, and Chrysler aren't having much luck changing it. They are sure they can get more people to change their minds if they can just get them in the cars -- but they have to get them to even consider getting in the car. A solution is not just around the corner, but the first step will be to keep building good cars .
[Source: Wall Street Journal via Edmunds]
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 6)
Kumar 9:06AM (9/18/2007)
I saw a 'swap my ride' commercial last night where they tried to give some guy a 2008 Focus for a week. He told them to come back in a few years when the 'better' version was here ;)
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Ben H. 9:31AM (9/18/2007)
The first generation was clearly the best design. I wasn't happy about it, but some people though the SVT Focus was a Honda and they said they liked it. Many were surprised to see it was a Ford.
Don 8:57PM (9/18/2007)
The first gen Focus was a recall-laden nightmare...I know, I drive a 2000 SE sedan.
I've been in an '07 Focus wagon, too...and that thing ain't gonna change perception.
Dave in MI 9:06AM (9/18/2007)
Perception takes years or decades to change. That's why Toyota gets a free pass in the face of very large recall numbers. Things will change if they continue to do the right thing.
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Don 8:55PM (9/18/2007)
But can the domestics weather the storm UNTIL perception changes?
Geeze, I sure hope so.
Dave in MI 9:06AM (9/18/2007)
Perception takes years or decades to change. That's why Toyota gets a free pass in the face of very large recall numbers. Things will change if they continue to do the right thing.
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Matt 9:10AM (9/18/2007)
It is sad the amount of ignorance when it comes to American cars. Take the Ford Crown Vic. After being used for 100,000 miles of severe police use, they go on and do another 300,000-500,000 as taxis with only routine maintenance being done. Granted cars like the 2008 Focus don't help Detroit, but there is still a huge amount of ignorance when it comes to American cars.
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Bill 9:33AM (9/18/2007)
The Crown Vic is a tough car, but design and aesthetics count for a lot. Reliability and longevity isn't all that matters. I don't care if a car is built to last a million miles, I want it to look, feel, and drive well, and have a design theme and technology that is of this century. I am not averse to American cars, in fact I WANT to buy one, but during most of my life, the domestics have not made cars that suit my needs and budget. When they do, I'll definately consider them.
Don 8:59PM (9/18/2007)
Uh, I care if a car's built to last a million miles.
psarhjinian 11:58AM (9/19/2007)
The Crown Vic lives on not because it's reliable, but because it's cheap to fix. This is great for fleets, but in the hands of a non-fleet owner, the car still has problems and they still need a mechanic.
Old-school gearheads and fleet managers love the Panther because it's easy to get parts and the mechanicals are easy to work on. It's not hard or expensive to keep a car running for 500K if you have the knowhow and don't care about other things (ICE, power accessories) breaking. For those of us who don't care and don't manage 50+ vehicles, a Camry or Fusion is better in every single way, including reliability.
The car is an entire package, not just an engine. If your brakes warp prematurely, or your light burn out or your power steering glitches you, the average consumer, don't care if the engine is still good to 500K. Domestic fans need to understand this because, even though they're doing better, it was still annoying as heck to deal with up until at least 2000 and it's still an issue for some products. I don't care that the 3800 V6 and Hydramatic 4AT are solid and reliable every every other damn thing goes.
I'll use my own personal example: my Saab 9-3 is at 180K. It's chewed transmission mounts, several sets of brakes, some emissions equipment, an AC compressor and a heater core. The powertrain is solid and might go for years, but, frankly, I don't care as my old Corolla didn't see anything like this until 400K. Yet Saab fans push the million-mile Saab powertrain achievements while neglecting the buggy mess that the rest of the car can be because they're gearheads to the core.
I've heard truck people say the same thing: "Oh, my F-150 has 750K on it and the engine still runs fine!". That's nice, but what about the rest of the vehicle? The difference here is that truck people, especially fleet truck people, only give a damn about the powertrain. The rest of the stuff is the fleet repair guys' job to fix.
Normal people, who buy Civcs and Camries and such to get groceries and pick up kids, will not tolerate this kind of crap. These people got, holistically (there's the word again) a better experience in their Honda or Toyota then in their GM or Ford.
If the domestics have turned this around, good for them. But they made their troubles in 1970 with the likes of the Dodge Aspen or Ford Gran Torino, kept it going with the cars like the Citation and Cavalier and didn't realistically catch up until the Ford Focus (in terms of performance) or the post-2000 W-Bodies (in terms of reliability). That's 25 years of ill-will, which is way longer than Hyundai's "Pony/Stellar" period.
Good luck with that.
geo.stewart 9:11AM (9/18/2007)
the japanese are going to have to stumble somewhere for there to be a major shift. That is what gave the Japanese a shoe in the door in the 80's when they stepped up the offensive.
The Big 3 have superior products in several areas and have taken the approach in offering a bigger or better car for the same or less money. (CTS vs 3-series, Enclave vs RX350...)
but human nature for most is to abhor change if there is no pain. Until there is pain with owning a Japanese, it will be hard for the US to gain much. They will have to whittle away unless the Japanese stumble or the US makes a giant leap.
Teh best bet in the short term seems to be the luxury brands as the BMW/MB/Audis have significant margin that the US can chip away at. GM is doing a good job with the CTS and Buick Enclave and has a winning formula there. Ford and Chrysler need to find their bearings for luxury.
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Gardiner Westbound 9:12AM (9/18/2007)
GM is pinning its comeback hopes on new products like the Buick Enclave and claims its cars are as good as Asian products. Unfortunately a recent report confirms GM quality is still unacceptable. The reviewer's specially prepared press vehicle's power seat moved in fits and starts, the transmission hunted for gears, and fuel economy sank to 17 mpg notwithstanding a mighty effort by GM engineers to correct it.
http://www.usatoday.com/money/autos/reviews/healey/2007-09-14-enclave_N.htm
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Viv 9:15AM (9/18/2007)
And no japanese press car ever had problems?
TBSS in the D 9:28AM (9/18/2007)
That is a really stupid review. I have driven all three and the Enclave is clearly the best. I really do think he had a bad one or he just woke up on the wrong side of the bed. You also have to remember that this is a brand new car in a brand new plant. There were a few minor bugs at first, but I know first hand that GM is doing everything possible to fix them. My buddy has an Outlook and it had 3 service bulitins and the seat issue. They took it in and it was fixed in a couple of hours and they gave him a rental. The service manger personally called him to set up the appointment and they bent over backwards to make it an easy fix. They have 15,000 on it already and it is running like a champ. They are also averageing 19 CITY and I drove it 800 miles on a trip a few weekends ago and averaged 21-22 going 75-80mph. For a CUV so big that is really good.
Mallory 9:52AM (9/18/2007)
This review is the exception - most reviewers praised the Buick as well as its siblings so I wouldn't go so far as to say this one odd review "confirms that GM quality is unacceptable." If you want confirmation from USA Today as to quality all you need to do is visit http://www.usatoday.com/money/autos/2007-08-09-jdpower-study_N.htm.
When most reviewers like a car and one other reviewer uses words like 'tortured', 'inexplicably', 'harass', 'nervously hunted' and 'crummy' you have to stop and wonder. He questions reliability yet praises the Mazda CX-9 as "a very classy alternative" even though Mazda has CONSIDERABLY worse long term dependability than Buick. Personally I've driven every SUV in this class and to me, the Buick/Acadia/Outlook triplets are without peer in the quality and value department.
w3weasel 9:15AM (9/18/2007)
Quote:
the first step will be to keep building good cars
So true. I know that all American cars aren't crap, but these companies need to establish a track record for quality, which (despite some good offerings) can take a few years before a skeptic like me will begin to trust.
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Ligor 9:14AM (9/18/2007)
funny how the european brands find it hard to keep their buyers after they discover how much a pain and $$ it is to maintain them.
On that focus, i'd rather take the current one over this re-fresh that looks like it was slapped ugly from day one.
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Tim 9:21AM (9/18/2007)
I drove an 07 Focus recently and I was surprised how poor the quality was. The steering wheel was cracking and all the interior bits were splitting at the seems. The Window washer pump was broken and the interior paneling was coming apart. I might have had a lemon. Did anyone else experience this. I had heard good things about the Focus. I think Ford here is behind Chevy cobalt 06, hyundai elantra 06, and even the dodge Neon 05. I have been in all three and they were all better. I hope this years model improved the interior.
Ben H. 9:31AM (9/18/2007)
I think when Ford changed the Focus to the more bland styling, tooling changed its quality. The 00's to the 04's were the better ones I recall, even with the FYM problems.
Drewboy 10:52AM (9/18/2007)
Tim, sounds like you had a lemon. My wife's (well, technically mine) '03 Focus is still like-new.