Automotive News, Media & Press - Welcome Back GM!!!

Its about time GM started turning things around. Maybe the Juggernaut has finally awoken. Hopefully this is a sign of things to come.

LINK: http://money.cnn.com/2007/08/08/autos/jdpa_dependability/index.htm?postversion=2007080909

Buick ties Lexus for No. 1 in car reliability
Survey finds Detroit brands making headway against Japanese competitors.
August 9 2007: 9:57 AM EDT


NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- For the first time in 12 years, Toyota's Lexus luxury brand has to share its top rank in J.D. Power and Associates' annual Vehicle Dependability Study.

And it has to share it with an American car.

Most dependable 2003 vehicles by market segment
Because brand rankings - for example Buick, Lexus, Mercury, etc. - are based on averages, not all top-ranked brands have specific top-ranked vehicles.
Sub-compact car Scion xA
Compact car Honda Civic
Compact sport car Mazda Miata
Midsize sporty car Chevrolet SSR/Ford Mustang (tie)
Mdisize car Buick Century
Large car Ford Crown Victoria
Compact premium sporty car Honda S2000
Entry premium car Infiniti I35
Midsize premium car Lexus GS
Large premium car Lexus LS
Premium sporty car Lexus SC
Compact SUV Toyota Rav4
Midsize SUV Oldsmobile Bravada
Large SUV Toyota Sequoia
Large Pickup Toyoya Tundra
Midsize pickup Toyota Tacoma
Van Oldsmobile Silhouette
Midsize premium SUV Lexus GX
Large premium SUV Lexus LX


Source:Source: J.D. Power and Associates


General Motors' Buick brand tied Lexus in the study, which measures the number of problems owners experience with their cars after three years of ownership.

Following Lexus and Buick in the rankings were GM's Cadillac luxury brand, Ford's Mercury brand and Honda's Honda brand.

Toyota's mass-market Toyota brand ranked sixth.

"Consumers don't necessarily need to pay premium prices to obtain high quality and dependability," said Neal Oddes, director of product research and analysis for J.D. Power and Associates.

"With three non-premium nameplates - Buick, Honda and Mercury - ranking within the top five," he said, "and particularly with Buick tying with Lexus for the top rank, consumers seeking a vehicle with strong dependability have good choices at various price levels."

J.D. Power Vehicle Dependability Study is based on responses from more than 53,000 original owners of 2004 model year vehicles.

Owners of the top-ranked Lexus and Buick vehicles experienced 145 problems per 100 vehicles. Owners of second-ranked Cadillac vehicles experienced 162 problems per 100 vehicles.

The lowest-ranking brand was Land Rover, Ford's European luxury SUV brand. Land Rover owners experienced 398 problems per 100 vehicles, according to the survey.

J.D. Power and Associates also ranked specific vehicles within their respective categories. The top-ranked sub-compact car, for example, was the Scion xA from Toyota's youth-oriented Scion brand.

The top-ranked compact car was the Honda Civic and the top-ranked Sporty car was the Mazda Miata.

The Chevrolet SSR, a low-slung convertible pickup, and the Ford Mustang tied as the most dependable midsize sporty cars, and the Ford Crown Victoria ranked as the most dependable large car.

Lexus vehicles topped five categories, more than any other brand. Lexus had the top-ranked premium SUV, large premium SUV, premium sporty car, large premium car and midsize premium car. Toyota's Toyota brand topped four categories.

Good job, GM. Can we have a link to read the whole thing? Thanks!

The link is at the top now

That is good to see, where is pssonu now?
I am curious as to how the Tundra does so well as they sell like an 1/8 of what Ford or GM do.

That is good to see, where is pssonu now?
I am curious as to how the Tundra does so well as they sell like an 1/8 of what Ford or GM do.

:lol:

Quite true. Bets he never sets foot in this thread? It would clash with his delusional view of the world. lol

That is good to see, where is pssonu now?

Just what I was thinking as well. Don't worry, our resident TOYfanboy will try to come up with some pro Nippon Giant :bs: !! Otherwise, "piss" will fabricate something to boost/support his favorite country & manufacturer.

The link is at the top now

Thanks, man. I enjoy reading those. :)


The lowest-ranking brand was Land Rover, Ford's European luxury SUV brand. Land Rover owners experienced 398 problems per 100 vehicles, according to the survey.

I have always found those the ugliest, overpriced...vermin of the utility world.

Plus, the SSR has always been under rated! Even the 5.3L. They are really good vehicles and the comfort is much better than an F body.

I was suprised to see Cadillac at 3rd. Out of the Top 3, GM represents 1 and 3.

Personally, I have been a Cadillac fan through the thick and thin. Seriously, how can you give up on such an innovative company?

1st water cooled v8
1st enclosed body
1st electric start

I mean the company used to put optic fibres in all your tail and turn lights and run them to your mirror so you could check your lights going down the road.

Cadillac will always have market presence. No one even remembers the Cimmaron now!

Cadillac has always made some good stuff. I have always been a huge fan.
I am going to trade my 03 in on an 08 man those things are nice.

Nice going GM! :cheers:

Personally, I have been a Cadillac fan through the thick and thin. Seriously, how can you give up on such an innovative company?

1st water cooled v8
1st enclosed body
1st electric start

I mean the company used to put optic fibres in all your tail and turn lights and run them to your mirror so you could check your lights going down the road.

Cadillac will always have market presence. No one even remembers the Cimmaron now!

Even the BEST car maker in the world can go under - Witness Duesenberg.

And sadly, technology aside, we haven't seen it's equal since. :(

I thought I heard something about the company coming back? Maybe it fell through.

I mean you are talking about a super expensive car even back then. Cadillacs were not even in the same remote price range. There was some expression. I can't remember. "What a Duesenberg!" Not sure. It meant something overboard.

I thought I heard something about the company coming back? Maybe it fell through.

I mean you are talking about a super expensive car even back then. Cadillacs were not even in the same remote price range. There was some expression. I can't remember. "What a Duesenberg!" Not sure. It meant something overboard.

"It's a Duesy". It entered popular expression and means something truly large/outrageous/amazing/etc. Such as when Bugs Bunny tells someone who just fell off of a cliff "watch that first step, it's a Duesy!". It's still used today.

Similar to calling something "the Cadillac of (whatever)", only much more broad and universal in it's application.

Super expensive? Sure. But so what? We're talking abou the worlds BEST cars (in their day). Hands down, bar none. They had all the luxruries one could hope for back then, plus exquisite styling, and supercar performance. Even to this very day they are good performers and great driving cars. Plus they had Inline 8 cylinders, with Dual OverHead Cams, and on the SJ, a super charger. You can take one on the road today and have no fear merging on the highway and even blow the doors off some of the korean and lower end japanese appliances.

The closest we've seen are M-B's attempt to revise and re-vamp the Maybach name, and the Cadillac 16 (though that boxy Rolls is trying to play in that space as well). Arguably, the Cadillac 16 semi-concept is the closest.

But even that falls short somehow. It's got some of the flash and panache, and most of the elegance. But it's still just another big car. It somehow needs more of everything.

And the Maybachs are just big, super expensive Mercedes-Benz's with extra plushness added. It's only a third of the point really.

Someone did attempt to revive the name in the 70s, but it didn't go over well. Haven't heard anything about it since.

If there is a direct relation to Fred or Augie, and they can live up to the standard, then I'm all for it. But somehow, I just don't see it happening. (or surviving - American car haters like pssonu and Jeremy Clarkson have done serious damage and cars from this country in that price range may not be accepted in the market (unless they are the real thing from the late 20s and 30s).

What I was talking about was in SAE's Automotive Engineering Magazine. I saw it a long time ago, but, I remember stuff like that.

I attempted to search the and found a reference:
http://images.businessweek.com/ss/06/01/duesenberg/source/1.htm

http://www.duesenbergcustomcoach.com/torpedocoupe.html

When I read the magazine it sounded like a real company. From these webpages it sounds like a 1 man outfit only making a couple non-production cars.

Excaliber anyone?

Nice to see GM making a come back. They shouldn't of fallen behind in the first place. Lets not do that again! :cheers: