Date: Mon, 15 Aug 2005 09:54:59 GMT From: Johannes <johsnospam-gets-nowhere-sizefitter.com> Subject: Re: Russelsheim plant quality
BK wrote: > > Tex wrote: > > GM promises Saabs to be built there will be of equal or better build quality > > than those from Trollhatten. > > > > http://www.just-auto.com/news_detail.asp?art=48772 > > > > This issue had been brought up a few months ago when discussion first > > swirled around Saab production shifting to Russelsheim. > > > > Of course, only time will tell whether this "primer" on quality is just for > > show or truly an aim at increasing build quality. > > > > - tex > > > > > Hello Guys, > GM at this juncture is in a worldwide quality control improvement > upgrade. The CEO has made improvement to the quality in all GM vehicles > as the major goal of the company over the next few years, and it has > begun to show. The Chevy Malibu Maxx (a Saab derivative) has received > several very good reviews, Cadillac is in a renaissance, and its SUVs > are among the highest in quality with the Saab 9-7 being very well > received by the press (Royal Ford [not a Ford dealer, but a real person] > of the Boston Globe basically said it was one of the best SUV's GM is > making). As a brand, GM has been has shown some remarkable progress in > its quality over the past two years, but still has a distance to go. I > believe Money magazine, or it could have been Forbes, had a very good > article about GM's future goals, problems and possible solutions. So Saab will be sold along Daewoo cars, such as the puny Daewoo Matiz? Now renamed as Chevrolet Matiz? Just passed a Daewoo, sorry Chevy Matiz the other day, driven by an OAP. She duly drove for 500 yards on the motorway hard shoulder before turning off at the next junction. Luckily, I spotted the problem so that I didn't collide with her when I turned off at the same junction! > In regards to the quality of car marques in the US, a good chunk of the > major European makers are pretty low on the list (Mercedes was pretty > much at the bottom), the Asians are mostly at the top (Toyota holds the > crown), and the US brands are spread through out the middle (all the US > marques have been slowly improving, Chrysler the quickest). It would > seem that VW/Audi, Mercedes, Porche and BMW are all having some sort of > quality issues over the past few years. Volvo appears to be the > exception. Check out JD powers for the list. So are you saying that (GM) Saab does not need to be better than 'average'? > As to Saab, they are like any other marque, they have good product > builds and bad product builds. For every good Saab story I have heard, I > have heard a sob story. My mother had a 1988 Saab 9000 and it was really > fun to drive when it wasn't in the shop- 2 transmissions, numerous break > jobs and a host of other issues. I have had a 1986 900t for the past six > years and only have had to maintenance until this year, and it was a > doozy- over $4000 dollars so far (I had to replace the entire break > system except for one break line, the exhaust system from the back of > the manifold back, including the turbo, and there were eight separate > rust holes in the floor. Hey, the car is twenty years old in February) > The car has had one ongoing issue of electrical shorts, that is to say, > frustrating at the least. I am currently running three electrical > bypasses on the car. > > This is a Saab lovers posting board and we all love the brand. It is too > easy to blame GM for every little problem Saab has since '94. Remember > that Saab has a history as a "quirky" car - that means it has "issues" > in the past, both good and bad, before GM came along. Before GM bought > Saab, there was a good chance that it could have become another AMC, MG, > Fiat or Renault - out of business or a small, unimportant regional player I definitely disagree that there could be a connection between "quirkiness" and "issues". Saab has in the past pioneered innovative solutions that were better than previous solutions, that is Saab has advanced the motor car: E.g. dual brake circuits, better turbo charging control systems, stronger bumpers (fenders) on C900 and 9000, interior seats and ergonomics.
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