Sigma Quality

from: The Car Connection
Many a General Motors heart was gladdened by the news that the latest J.D. Power survey of initial quality awarded GM's Lansing Grand River operation its highest Gold award for 2004 models produced by North American assembly plants.

Lansing Grand River's Cadillac models registered only 74 problems per 100 vehicles among owners/lessees after 90 days. This was second only to the vaunted Lexus top-end models made in the Toyota Tahara plant inJapan.

It was also a significant improvement for LGR products over the year before, despite the fact new variants had been added to the product mix. Production of the Cadillac SRX "station wagon" was added last August and the CTS-V "luxury hot rod" in January. The new STS assembly officially starts June 1.

In addition, LGR's 74 rating was considerably better than the number two and three highest quality North American assembly plants, GM Hamtramck at 91 and Ford Wixom, a hair behind at 92. (The industry average for light vehicles sold in the U.S. was 119.)


Yet another feather in Cadillac's already full-o-feather's cap.

Let's hope Zeta and all the other new platforms do this well, or even better, for GM.

Always good to hear.

YEAH... yay for the :usa: !!!

Now, where are those pesky Toyota and Honda owners again...
you know, the ones who say imports have better quality and all that... :think:

Man oh man, are those days gone. Now if only we could convince Joe Q. Public that US cars are as good or even better than what's offered from foreign companies... :(

Originally posted by ProudPony
Man oh man, are those days gone. Now if only we could convince Joe Q. Public that US cars are as good or even better than what's offered from foreign companies... :(

That's where the struggle lies. There are still some very strong negative perceptions out there about U.S. cars, and while most U.S. brands have caught up there's still some work to be done (see: GM recalls in 2004 :mad: )

Speaking of GM recalls and Sigma, let's not dance yet, as I heard this weekend that ALL SRX models are being recalled for brakes. :no:

Originally posted by Z28Wilson
Speaking of GM recalls and Sigma, let's not dance yet, as I heard this weekend that ALL SRX models are being recalled for brakes. :no:

This got by me...
not causing fires like the ones on last years Dodges are they?

Regardless, not a good thing though.

Originally posted by Darth Xed
Yet another feather in Cadillac's already full-o-feather's cap.

Let's hope Zeta and all the other new platforms do this well, or even better, for GM.

The CTS gets Consumer Reports worst reliability rating - the infamous black spot for "poor.":shame:

Interestingly, the competition at Lincoln (LS) and Volvo (S80 T6) is rating an "average" score and only Lexus is getting the best rating. Kudos to Ford.:thumb:

Originally posted by redzed
The CTS gets Consumer Reports worst reliability rating - the infamous black spot for "poor.":shame:



Really?

I could be wrong, I don't have a CR subscription, but I thought CR did not rate a car until like 2-3 years into production because of a lack of a long-term sample...???

Even if this is true (I'd love a link) , it bucks the trend of what EVERYONE else has said.

Originally posted by redzed
The CTS gets Consumer Reports worst reliability rating - the infamous black spot for "poor.":shame:

I'm with Darth, do you have a link to this info or something? Everything I've heard about the CTS up to this point (aside from its radical styling) has been nothing but good.

Originally posted by redzed
The CTS gets Consumer Reports worst reliability rating - the infamous black spot for "poor.":shame:

Interestingly, the competition at Lincoln (LS) and Volvo (S80 T6) is rating an "average" score and only Lexus is getting the best rating. Kudos to Ford.:thumb:

Sounds like a typo, The car hasn't been out long enough to test reliability, The CTS has been kicking @ss according to most reports. JD power, CTS vs. Other Lux crs (http://viperfire.com/jd_powerCTS.jpg)

Originally posted by ProudPony
Now, where are those pesky Toyota and Honda owners again...
you know, the ones who say imports have better quality and all that... :think:

Man oh man, are those days gone. Now if only we could convince Joe Q. Public that US cars are as good or even better than what's offered from foreign companies... :(

These initial quality studies are not very good barometers of a vehicle's true quality. Remember that the H2 received poor marks in these studies because its fuel economy was below owner's expectations, hardly a "quality" issue.

True quality is how a vehicle performs after being on the road 5 or 10 years. And right now, the only GM vehicles that have been on the road for 5-10 years are those that were made 5-10 years ago, a time when GM's vehicles were probably not as good as today's. So it's going to take at least another 10 years before the true quality (good or bad) of GM's current crop of vehicles is known by the public. In other words, it takes a long time to turn around a reputation.

Well, redzed likes to drop these "factual" nuggets to bash GM products, but rarely can back them up.

...so I am not surprised he hasn't come back to this thread with a response.

Originally posted by Darth Xed
Well, redzed likes to drop these "factual" nuggets to bash GM products, but rarely can back them up.

...so I am not surprised he hasn't come back to this thread with a response.


Yeah, I don't think anyone takes redzed seriously.

Originally posted by Darth Xed
Well, redzed likes to drop these "factual" nuggets to bash GM products, but rarely can back them up.

...so I am not surprised he hasn't come back to this thread with a response.

Actually, I've got better things to do.:o

If you don't believe me, pick up the current issue of CR.

Originally posted by Z28x
Sounds like a typo, The car hasn't been out long enough to test reliability, The CTS has been kicking @ss according to most reports. JD power, CTS vs. Other Lux crs (http://viperfire.com/jd_powerCTS.jpg)

Consumer Reports accepts no advertising, and gets its revenue from subscriptions. They don't "borrow" test vehicles from the manufacturers' press fleets, they buy them from dealerships just like a real consumer would. The reliability results published in CR come from the surveys mailed directly to subscribers. The CTS has been out more than long enough for reliability results to have been compiled.

JD Power gets paid when manufacturers publicize the survey results. Anyone notice that Hyundai just started touting the Sonata as the "highest initial quality entry midsize?" GM has also shelled out to JD Power as well.

Let's see...the survey company gets paid when automotive manufacturers use positive survey results in product advertisements. No conflict of interest there...or is there?:lol:

Originally posted by redzed
Consumer Reports accepts no advertising, and gets its revenue from subscriptions. They don't "borrow" test vehicles from the manufacturers' press fleets, they buy them from dealerships just like a real consumer would. The reliability results published in CR come from the surveys mailed directly to subscribers. The CTS has been out more than long enough for reliability results to have been compiled.


I beleive CR got sued for riging test in the 80's, Plus if surveys mailed directly to subscribers that isn't a random sample.

Originally posted by redzed
Actually, I've got better things to do.:o

If you don't believe me, pick up the current issue of CR.

You've got better things to do?!?

Well, you have time enough to post it... you'd think you'd have time enough to back it up.

Originally posted by Darth Xed
You've got better things to do?!?

Well, you have time enough to post it... you'd think you'd have time enough to back it up.

If you don't believe me, go to a book store or public library. The Cadillac CTS has Consumer Reports worst reliability rating.

CR sends out more than 4 Million surveys for cars and only gets something like 400,000 back. In order for a survey sample to be "scientific" you want OVER a 90% return. All of CR's survey based info for anything is pretty much useless.

CR sends out more than 4 Million surveys for cars and only gets something like 400,000 back. In order for a survey sample to be "scientific" you want OVER a 90% return. All of CR's survey based info for anything is pretty much useless.

There's a more inherent flaw. Peoples attitudes and biases come out in any survey. Based upon the Joe blow public, there's definitely a double standard regarding US and foreign cars that we've discussed many times. That will skew any survey, irregardless of how well the questions are constructed to avoid bias (which CR will never point out since this invalidates all of their "scientifically" colected data). Science and opinion are two very different items. Humans are very fallible, just look at how well eyewitnesses identify a perpetrator. Around 60-70% of the time they are correct, yet that holds the greatest sway with a jury. DNA is nearly infallible, yet how many years did it take for that to sink into people's heads.

Consumer Reports is completely biased towards import cars.

On another note, the new 3.6 V6 CTS got first place in Road & Tracks massive sport sedan comparision in this months issue. I don't have the issue in front of me, I just flipped through it at the store but the CTS beat out BMW, MB, plus a bunch other imports and the new Chrysler 300.

One of there highlighted quotes from the article was something like "This car (CTS) is what a BMW should drive like"

That Road and Track article was a good one...