Ford Motor Co. announced today it has reduced global warranty costs by $1.2 billion during the past two years — $100 million in 2008 and $1.1 billion in 2007. If there’s a surprise here, it’s that the savings in 2008 were so much smaller than those one in 2007. Even though the big gains in reliability were made in the… More →
Month: January 2009
Upgraded navigation
I’ve been hearing for some time that the site isn’t the easiest to navigate (to put it mildly). We’ve been making tweaks here and there for some time. But more remained needed. So I’ve spent much of the past few days making some additional changes: Box near the top of all results pages that includes links to the other results… More →
When does a car start to feel old?
I recently came across an interesting question on a forum for the Mazda6: at which point did your car stop feeling new? More pointedly: when does a car start feeling old, and what change makes it feel that way? Repairs are one thing. But what many people really want to avoid is the feeling that they’re driving a piece of… More →
New Vehicle Reliability Comparison pages
When we posted the first set of results for the Vehicle Reliability Survey, only 35 models were included (and only 21 if you weren’t logged in). So it made sense to provide all of the results on a single page, in a single table. Now, as we prepare the tenth set of Vehicle Reliability Survey results, this format has become… More →
TrueDelta Coverage by Fox News Detroit
My first time on TV, as part of Fox News coverage of the Detroit auto show (NAIAS). And these guys were real pros. A joy to work with them, and very educational.
Even Toyota is piling on the rebates
As it becomes clear that auto sales aren’t going to be picking up any time soon, even Toyota is relying on rebates more than ever before. And, unlike six months ago, small cars are also getting significant cash on the hood. You’ll find a $1,500 rebate on the Corolla, a $1,250 rebate on the Matrix, and even a $500 rebate on the… More →
NAIAS 2009: third day
The third day contained little in the way of presentations. First, I visited the Eco drive event in the basement. In past years, they stuck suppliers and the Chinese down here. This year, with Nissan and Porsche absent and others asking for less space, those got space on the main floor. So what to do in the basement? How about… More →
BMW dials it back
Look at these photos from the interior of the redesigned-for-2009 BMW 750i. What do you see? Not seeing anything terribly unusual? Well, that’s my point. The shifter–albeit one sourced from Sega–has returned to the center console, displacing the iDrive controller to a secondary position. And the seat controls have assumed a conventional layout rather than the complicated knob-and-sector affair and… More →
NAIAS 2009: second day
The first presentation I attended on the second day of NAIAS was for Lincoln (no mention of Mercury). The MKT crossover has a roomy interior that manages to look and feel more upscale than that of the MKS sedan. Stitched upholstery on the center stack and center console are an improvement over silver-painted plastic. As in the MKS and the related Ford Flex,… More →
NAIAS 2009: first day
Well, the first day at the 2009 North American International Auto Show wasn’t such a bust in the end. I began the day by attending the Intro and North American Car of the Year Awards. During the intro talk the Detroit show sought to demonstrate that it was still relevant by trotting out senior executives from the auto companies that… More →