Coward
From a Detroit News article:
Lori Queen, a GM executive for small cars, couldn't take it anymore. In an e-mail exchange with Automotive News, she wrote that the editors and reporters who put together the Consumer Reports auto issue are "the most unprofessional group of people I have ever worked with."This brutal exchange has most likely come as a result of Consumer Reports naming a Japanese vehicle in all ten of their categories and its brutal review of the Cobalt.
She added: "They are totally nonobjective and go to great extremes to paint a picture for their paid subscription readers, who primarily buy Japanese cars.
"They don't consider price or price differences, they don't consider model mix or consumer preferences, they buy the cheapest car they can find (generally), and then base all their opinions on a limited sample."
The reason I bring this up is because GM's CEO, Rick Wagoner, immediately telephoned the head of Consumer Reports to apologize for the comments because Wagoner, or Captain "No Balls" Douchebag, didn't have the cajones to admit that this is, in my opinion, GM's true internal opinion of Consumer Reports.
Message to Rick: Grow a set of balls and admit the truth -- you hate Consumer Reports for their biased subjective opinions. Stop taking cues from the Democratic Party with your spineless public relations and actually voice your opinion.
As a side note, I agree with a lot of what Lori Queen has said. J.D. Power has consistently ranked the Malibu above Japanese products like the Accord and Camry in terms of customer satisfaction, reliability, and quality. It also boasts better performance, power, and fuel economy yet somehow never stacks up well in Consumer Reports. A little too ironic, don't ya think?
An AutoBlog comment sums up perfectly the bias of Consumer Reports:
CR offers another source of information that one can review before purchasing a car. However, their reviews should not be considered the final word on a product. I remember reviews on the GEO Prism/Toyota Corolla twins and the Toyota would score higher on reliability than the Prism, even though the cars were built on the same assembly line.The cars were mirror images of themselves. The only difference was the badge on the front of the car.
The most likely reason has to do with the perception the owner has of the car and it could be argued that someone who has Toyota is more likely to keep up with maintenance than someone who owns a GEO (different demographics).
Tags: Rick Wagoner, Lori Queen, Consumer Reports, Public Relations & Balls
posted by Aventius @ 5:19 PM
13 comments
13 Comments:
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
wait, you mean unions cause problems? you don't say.
as for design, the camry has all the appeal of a toilet plunger and the new civic interior (not exterior, which I like) makes me want to puke and take Adderall for its ADD inducing effects.
its hard to dig yourself out of the grave when "objective" reporters don't give you a chance.
Lori Queen wasn't bashing Japanese cars. Nowhere in her statement was anything to that effect mentioned. Simply, she's arguing that American cars are on par or better and that personal biases leftover from the 80s when foreign automakers were kicking the living shit out of domestics in terms of reliability and quality, has created a system where domestics are not even considered anymore.
Foreign cars are automatically assumed to be reliable while domestics are assumed to be shit and have to earn their place -- which is not an objective way to do anything -- especially if you're sole goal is to provide objective analysis of products to the American consumer.
As for VW, I agree and that topic is one thing that I actually have drafted to put up but have been lazy in finishing it. VW and all their brands have horrible quality problems and no one mentions it because they are the darling yuppie automobile and their consumers, no matter how many times in the shop, faithfully defend their cars to end. In that effect, they remind me of Apple -- their image is what sells the car, not anything technical and their consumers are zealots unable to see the truth (like how Macs suck for gaming and have their disadvantages in some aspects -- which I concede).
And the same goes for the Korean automakers. They as well have absolutely horrible quality and reliability. That's why they need those 7 and 10 year warranties.
Now, don't get me wrong, there are many Japanese cars I like and appreciate. Honda and Toyota make good products. I'm just asking that domestics get a fair shake -- which they are not getting.
Its true, I am a staunch defender of the not only GM but the American automotive industry because I see it as a symbol of the slipping manufacturing industry in America and its downfall would destroy an entire region of the US and severely hurt the economy. A bankrupt GM and Ford would decimate the entire Southeast Michigan region much like Flint was in the 80s (a la Michael Moore's depiction in "Roger & Me" which is by far his best film) but I do have some objectivity. In ever entry I've had about GM, I've criticised them as well for their mistakes.
Also, the domestics are not only being snubbed in the media but with the government as well. For instance, Kia just inked a deal with the state of Georgia to build a new plant. The state of Georgia is paying them $400 million for the opportunity of just 2,500 jobs. The state is giving tax benefits of $160,000 for each job to the company -- even though analysts have predicted that even without the money, they would have located the plant in Georgia anyway so that they're supply chain with the nearby Hyundai plant in Alabama could work together.
Oh... and why is it the automakers responsibility to enlighten the public about the poor quality of VW and Korean car makers?
More importantly, why can't automotive journalists take one day from discussing how GM is going to bankrupt in five days, er.. ten days... er, next month... or in two months... TO ACTUALLY DO THEIR JOB AND REPORT THE TRUTH THAT AMERICAN AUTOMAKERS AREN'T THE WORST AND CONSISTENTLY RANK ABOVE AVERAGE AND GASP, SOMETIMES RANK HIGHER THAN HONDA AND TOYOTA.
ditch unions? what is this crazy talk?!! god forbid workers have an outlet to fight for their rights. wouldn't you rather be an american auto worker than a japanese one? i've seen that movie with michael keaton and norm from Cheers!
here's my problem with consumer reports:
they're data is not based on scientifically valid sampling and is not representative of the population. their samples are not random. they sample only their subscribed reader base.
furthermore, their reviews are completely subjective and they even tell you that in the small print. nothing in consumer reports is objective.
for instance a review of a car. "the exhaust sound was loud". Ok now how loud was it. oh wait, no measurement was taken. more importantly, they question the subscriber to relate it to competitive products but without objective scientific data, personal bias is a heavy influence.
now, the subscribers to consumer reports tend to buy what consumer reports recommends and during the 80s and 90s (and rightfully so) they recommended anybody but domestics. so, their subscriber base drives substantially more foreign vehicles than domestic vehicles.
so, when the subscriber is comparing subjectively the relative exhaust loudness, which one do you think they are going to pick as the louder car --- the domestic -- because they own the foreign car.
another example is the reliability analysis of volkswagens and consumer reports repeated selection of the passat as a "best buy". Mind you that Volkswagens are consistently priced higher than competitive products and the brand, according to numerous other sources, is one of the top firms with serious quality issues. Volkswagen consistently ranks in the bottom five in brand quality reports.
So, why then would the Passat being labeled a "best buy" year after year? Bias.
Consumer Reports proves that an independent non-profit organization can still have a substantial bias even if it strives to be unbiased.
the UAW is not a union. its a global scam on the domestic automotive market. the UAW doesn't want fair pay and benefits -- they want everything and the kitchen sink.
Evidence: UAW members pay 7% of their healthcare costs -- salaried GM workers pay 27% while the US average is 31%
Evidence: The job bank -- union members are not permitted to be transferred like salaried workers -- so if a plant shuts down, domestic automakers have to pay them TO NOT WORK
Evidence: You can't fire a poor performing union worker
Evidence: Union workers pay rate is astronomical compared to the skill required. People at McDonalds work harder for $5.15 an hour. Ever seen Roger & Me? Remember the scene where laid off union workers took jobs at McDonalds but kept quitting and getting fired because they couldn't hack it? Just a glaring example of how overpaid union workers are. Tell me why they deserve to be paid $30 an hour to screw in a bolt all day at a leisurely rate.
I've worked in car plants and McDonalds employees work twice as hard for a fraction of the pay.
I, like Hamburger, are not anti-unions, just anti-UAW.
The whole issue with Consumer Reports can be summed up pretty easliy.
1) JD Powers, and other similiar surveys, are based on contacts with actual car owners who provide feedback on actual experiences.
2) Consumer Reports evaluations are based on questionably biased evaluations by CR editors.
3) Consumer Reports annual review is based on actual magazine subscribers. Owning the vehicle being evaluated is never substantiated. Sheer demographics of their subscriber's provides substantial bias against domestic brands.
And that's why so many Americans are running out to buy GM, Ford, and Chrysler vehicles.
Amen.
Chevrolet is still the #1 selling brand doofus.
and I agree Hamburger but Oldsmobile is already gone. But yeah... Goodbye, GMC Truck, Buick, Pontiac, Saturn, Sell Saab, and combine Holden, Opel, and Vauxhall into one brand because they are anyway. They all are just Opel with different names anyway.
So Basically:
Chevrolet
Cadillac
Hummer
and perhaps a Saturn/Pontiac brand to combat Scion but I question that choice. I worry that if GM would do that, they'd eventually given their "Scion" brand minivans and pretty much destroy the division.
The reason they really can't get rid of divisions/brands is because of their immense and overpopulated dealer network. There are WAY too many dealers and what do you tell the Buick/GMC Truck/Pontiac dealers when you get rid of them?
I realize that it would be good for the company but it would be horrible public relations. The media would kick up a shit storm.
CaRZ!
CaRZ? Are you trying to hip it up for the kids like Henderson Valley eggs?
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