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Article pasted here:
June 22nd, 2009
Cars & TrucksThe Case for GMVolt
What Quality Gap?
By Rick Spina
North American Vice President, Quality
Today’s quality announcement by J.D. Power and Associates suggest it’s time for perception to sling-shot its way into reality when people think about General Motors — especially when it comes to quality. When I hear or read disparaging remarks about GM vehicle quality, I get rattled because more often than not, the comments are not true.
For all the naysayers out there … get this … in the J.D. Power & Associates 2009 Initial Quality Study, Cadillac, our flagship brand, improved by 19 percent since last year’s study and comes in third, just behind Lexus and Porsche. That’s pretty darn good considering brands typically improve around 5 percent a year. And Chevy, our volume leader, eliminates the quality gap to join company with very competitive import brands like Honda and Toyota. Simply put, the quality gap is history.
Thirteen GM models placed in the top three of their segments, one less than Toyota. Two of our plants earned the Silver (Oshawa Car) and Bronze (Bowling Green, KY) quality awards. In fact, seven of the top ten plants in North America are GM plants, which is a true testament of our manufacturing capability.
There are many third-party studies that report on vehicle quality and they all use various methodologies to gather data. We pay close attention to this particular study because it represents the voice of our customers. We listen carefully to what they say about their vehicle ownership experience. Their input is translated into engineering requirements, or specifications if you will, and incorporated into our continuous improvement initiatives.
We’ve been working on improvements for a long time, we’re getting good results in many areas and admittedly we have work to do in others. I can assure you, though, quality is integral to everything we do. Quality doesn’t just happen, it is deliberately planned early in the design phase of vehicle development where aggressive targets are set for every phase of development, including vehicle assembly in our plants. Numerous quality check points, or ‘valves’ as we call them, allow for thorough reviews to make sure customer needs and expectations will be met. Of course, there are hundreds of validation tests of parts and components along the way to make sure that, when all the parts come together on the assembly line, our vehicles will not only look appealing but will last over the long haul.
Getting it right by our customers’ standards drives the entire development process. By all of our internal measures, we’re getting the job done. And, our customers confirm that in the Initial Quality Study. But don’t take my word for it, check out J.D. Power’s news release and see for yourself. And if you don’t believe our customers, go to a dealership and try out our cars and trucks … then let me know what you think.
Posted in Cars & Trucks, The Case for GM, Volt | 97 Comments
Article pasted here:
June 22nd, 2009
Cars & TrucksThe Case for GMVolt
What Quality Gap?
By Rick Spina
North American Vice President, Quality
Today’s quality announcement by J.D. Power and Associates suggest it’s time for perception to sling-shot its way into reality when people think about General Motors — especially when it comes to quality. When I hear or read disparaging remarks about GM vehicle quality, I get rattled because more often than not, the comments are not true.
For all the naysayers out there … get this … in the J.D. Power & Associates 2009 Initial Quality Study, Cadillac, our flagship brand, improved by 19 percent since last year’s study and comes in third, just behind Lexus and Porsche. That’s pretty darn good considering brands typically improve around 5 percent a year. And Chevy, our volume leader, eliminates the quality gap to join company with very competitive import brands like Honda and Toyota. Simply put, the quality gap is history.
Thirteen GM models placed in the top three of their segments, one less than Toyota. Two of our plants earned the Silver (Oshawa Car) and Bronze (Bowling Green, KY) quality awards. In fact, seven of the top ten plants in North America are GM plants, which is a true testament of our manufacturing capability.
There are many third-party studies that report on vehicle quality and they all use various methodologies to gather data. We pay close attention to this particular study because it represents the voice of our customers. We listen carefully to what they say about their vehicle ownership experience. Their input is translated into engineering requirements, or specifications if you will, and incorporated into our continuous improvement initiatives.
We’ve been working on improvements for a long time, we’re getting good results in many areas and admittedly we have work to do in others. I can assure you, though, quality is integral to everything we do. Quality doesn’t just happen, it is deliberately planned early in the design phase of vehicle development where aggressive targets are set for every phase of development, including vehicle assembly in our plants. Numerous quality check points, or ‘valves’ as we call them, allow for thorough reviews to make sure customer needs and expectations will be met. Of course, there are hundreds of validation tests of parts and components along the way to make sure that, when all the parts come together on the assembly line, our vehicles will not only look appealing but will last over the long haul.
Getting it right by our customers’ standards drives the entire development process. By all of our internal measures, we’re getting the job done. And, our customers confirm that in the Initial Quality Study. But don’t take my word for it, check out J.D. Power’s news release and see for yourself. And if you don’t believe our customers, go to a dealership and try out our cars and trucks … then let me know what you think.
Posted in Cars & Trucks, The Case for GM, Volt | 97 Comments