People buy cars for all sorts of reasons: styling, prestige, safety, and even color. But a reputation for quality and reliability is the one constant to almost every consumer, according to The Wall Street Journal (Oct.27,2010). With this week’s release of Consumer Reports’ rankings of new auto reliability, there is some good news for Detroit.
Ford and GM have greatly improved the reliability of their vehicles, and in some sectors are ranked better than their Asian 
counterparts. The Ford Fusion, for example, is now tops in the “family car” segment–bettering the Toyota Camry, Honda Accord, and Nissan Altima. Ford is the top American company overall.
Chrysler, sadly, has still not taken off and is dead last in the rankings. Toyota’s once sterling reputation was also dinged; its Prius hybrid fell to “average” from its once high-rating because of recalls and brake problems. BMW ranked only 24 out of 27 brands, underlining how luxury car makers face quality challenges as they insert advanced technologies (that don’t always work perfectly) into their vehicles.
Good quality, as we in OM all know, creates an upward circle: the more reliable the car, the more people are willing to pay, and then the less discounts are needed. “It doesn’t take very long to lose a good reputation, but it takes 5 or 10 years to gain one”, says a Consumer Reports director.
Discussion questions:
1. Give some examples of products (cars included) where it took years to rebuild a damaged quality reputation.
2. Why is the Honda family of vehicles ranked consistently high?
3. Ford is now ranked 10th out of the 27 auto makers. What will it take to move to the top of the pack?