[Mr. Wyndham]

It seems that despite the fact that more people are wary of buying a GM vehicle, some folks that were on the fence may be more seriously considering that same vehicle.

Think about the figures below for a second....48% reduction in warranty repairs....Wow.

Results Change Perceptions

By Rick Spina
GMNA Vice President, Quality

Buick ranks first, in a tie with Jaguar, beating perennial chart topper, Lexus, in the J.D. Power and Associates 2009 Vehicle Dependability Study Results. Don’t believe me? Check out the news yourself here. While you’re there, check out the ultra-competitive midsize car segment. There, you’ll see the Buick LaCrosse at the top of the list. I’m especially proud of this because the LaCrosse is on the heels of the newly-launched Chevrolet Malibu earning the top midsize segment spot in J.D. Power’s 2008 Initial Quality Study this past summer.

Let me just point something out here … the midsize car segment is the most-competitive, highest-volume segment in the industry and GM vehicles - the Chevrolet Malibu and the Buick LaCrosse led in both initial quality and vehicle dependability. What does this mean? It’s proof that we’re capable of getting quality right from the start and down the road.

Are we surprised? Well, it’s always different to see it in print, but in all honesty, no, we’re not surprised. Since 2006, we’ve reduced our warranty repairs by 48 percent. With this reduction in warranty repairs, which really started its steady rate of improvement in 2002, GM is able to offer the industry’s best warranty coverage - 5 Year/100,000 Mile limited powertrain warranty (transferable, no deductible, covers 900+ parts and includes roadside assistance and courtesy vehicle.)

How did we effectively cut our repairs in half? Well, it’s not any one thing - it’s a complement of processes, tools and systems. For example, we’ve enhanced our general durability test evaluations by looking at each incident on every test vehicle we can validate long term quality, and moreover, address any issue that might come-up, early. Now, over the past few years, we’ve been taking all of the best practices we learned from Buick and incorporating them into our entire brand portfolio.

Finally, the thing about this study that makes us feel particularly good is not just that it validates that the hard work we’re doing. We feel good because we are getting results in the real world; our customers are providing the confirmation. In the end, that’s what it’s all about - the customer. And we’re changing customer perceptions on GM quality one customer, one vehicle, and one third-party source at a time.

http://fastlane.gmblogs.com/