It’s easy to take potshots at the American auto industry these days; a one-eyed drunk could hit that target. I’d rather take a minute to praise it.
Amid a fusillade of attacks targeted at their management (in)abilities and cost-containment failures, American carmakers, it seems, have dedicated themselves to eliminating one of the core lean wastes: defects. A recent Bloomberg article on car quality reported that J.D. Power’s annual rankings showed sizable improvements among Ford, Chrysler, and GM vehicles. The article quotes David Sargent, vice president of automotive research at J.D. Power, as saying that “the difference in reported problems between Toyota, Ford, and Chevrolet brands is ’statistically insignificant.’ ”
Of course, this is no overnight effort. Take a look at this passage from an EPA case study of GM, filed under the “Lean Manufacturing and the Environment” heading:
In the early 1990s GM realized that it was not sufficient to just lean GM’s operations, as GM (and the customer) directly bears the costs of supplier waste, inefficiency, delays, and defects. GM assigned a group of engineers to work more closely with its suppliers to reduce costs and to improve product quality and on-time delivery.
Back in the 1990s, GM and its domestic counterparts had some catching up to do in the quality arena. But the effort was well worth it. Few things destroy customer value as quickly as a product that doesn’t work properly. (A notable exception to this, in my opinion, was the public reaction to the Ford Explorer after the widespread failures of its Firestone tires and the resulting rollovers. The dangerous defects appeared to do little to crimp the Explorer’s popularity, indicating either a strange faith in Ford or a strange disregard for safety among those who professed that their SUV purchases were all about safety.)
As GM and Chrysler remake themselves post-bankruptcy and Ford looks to resurrect its glory days, all three will boost their cause immeasurably by chasing defects out of their products. In fact, that might be the single most important contributor to a Big Three rally.
3 Comments
Hi; Overall, I think the American auto makers are finally making tremendous strides in quality and design. However; The average cost of a new car is way beyond the financial reach of the average consumer. The management,workers and the powerful auto union are to be blamed for their present situation-their costs are out of control.We have forgotten that the American auto industry taught the rest of the world to build and design cars. The auto industry forgot it’s roots and became arrogant over the years designing crap. In 1985,they almost destroyed the Caddilac. ( They did excellent with the Corvette.-I own a 1985 Corvette and love it. -GM did well here. ) Also, the American car is really no longer ‘American- it has too many foreign parts and too much foreign mfg.to make it. In summary; I feel that the American auto indusrty will survive-but much smaller in size. We can design and build better cars than Japan or Europe if we really put our minds to it. Right now it appears that many cars are beginning to look alike again. Thank you,Chuck Branchini-Enfield,Ct.
Who are you kidding? The “US” auto industry deserves everything it receives. That’s the price that should be paid for short sighted thinking. What happened to the lessons learned from the ’70s when Detroit was handed their butts by forward thinking companies. I will continue to support the American auto workers but only those building my Camry in Georgetown Kentucky USA.
Continuing to think of the U.S. automakers with the single mindset of the “Big Three” is misleading. Actually, Ford has already taken those strides and now stands at the top of initial quality rankings, where we’re tied with Toyota. In addition, Consumer Reports now recommends 70% of Ford’s lineup. And it’s beginning to show, as we have gained market share in 8 of the last 9 months and as we continue to expand production to meet demand. Scott Monty Global Digital Communications Ford Motor Company @ScottMonty