« Why does KABC-7 have to be so annoying? | Main | India will kill us -- economically, that is »
November 12, 2006
Quality is job #1 -- in Japan
For those fans of Detroit iron who keep urging guys like me to give the domestic automakers a second choice, Joe Sherlock has an effective response.
Still On The Wrong List: An article in the Detroit News proclaims that "American brands' reliability gradually closing in on Japan" but the Consumer Reports data cited indicate that the Most Reliable List includes 3 Acura models, 8 Hondas, 5 Lexi, 3 Subarus and 15 (!!) Toyota models. Overall, 39 of the 47 vehicles with the highest predicted reliability scores were Japanese.
On the Least Reliable List were 2 Cadillac models, 4 Chevrolets, 3 Fords, 3 Volkswagens and 7 (!!) Mercedes models.
It must be especially galling to the once vaunted German engineers that they're in such -- ahem -- esteemed company.
Posted by Mike Lief at November 12, 2006 09:11 PM
| TrackBack
Comments
Toyota makes a lot of cars in America. They make no secret on how they do it. They even run a school their competitors can attend to learn how they do it. They give factory tours. There are books on industrial engineering (eg The Toyota Way). Despite this it isn't some simple secret sauce - it is constant refinement of manufacturing processes to get it right. It is an attitude. When they decided to redesign the Toyota Sienna for the North American market they didn't do traditional market research or focus groups. The man (Japanese) tasked with that stood in a Home Depot parking lot for 8 hours and watched people try to put 4 by 8 sheets of plywood into their cars. He drove a Toyota Siennna through all 50 states and across Canada. From that he learned about American driving habits and what they had to change to improve the mini van.
There is no secret, there is Detroit iron complacency.
Posted by: jim at November 13, 2006 08:26 AM