mkaresh Posted November 19, 2009 Share Posted November 19, 2009 According to today's Detroit News, Chrysler is claiming that they will be a (though not "the") quality leader by the end of 2012. They (and many other auto makers) have made similar claims before. Sometimes they achieve these goals. More often they don't. Chrysler's chances? Chrysler is increasing its odds of success by making what appear to be substantial changes to its organization and culture. A new senior VP of quality has been hired away from Nissan (they're a quality leader?). The quality organizatioin has been enlarged from 200 to 1,700 people. These people have been organized into cross-functional teams focused on the quick execution of needed changes. Perhaps the biggest change of all: Chrysler now claims that they will tackle problems rather than pretending they don't exist or ignoring them and hoping they'll go away. (Which has been proven to result in customers going away.) Unknown: whether these people really have the pull to get their requested changes executed. Large organizations are chock full of special teams charged with getting something done, but without the pull to actually get it done. Is this one of those? Chryler claims that engineering changes have already had a substantial impact on existing products. Supposedly, while 75 percent of defects were design-related last year, with the remaining 25 percent occurring during assembly, the ratio is now 50-50. If we assume that the number of assembly defects has not changed, this implies that the total number of defects has already been cut in half. Too good to be true? Are these just rough, shoot-from-the-hip numbers? Perhaps, but if the head of quality is dishing out such numbers...not the most promising sign. Also, why haven't the assembly-related problems come down, if this is the case? These should be easier to quickly reduce than the design-related problems, since you don't have to design and validate new parts to fix them. TrueDelta promptly updates its Car Reliability Survey results four times a year, not just once after a lengthy delay. So if Chrysler's quality does improve, it will show up here first: Car Reliability Survey results Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sherminator98 Posted November 19, 2009 Share Posted November 19, 2009 That should be easy...they won't be building anything then :P Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PREMiERdrum Posted November 19, 2009 Share Posted November 19, 2009 Pigs Vow To Fly by 2012 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RichardJensen Posted November 19, 2009 Share Posted November 19, 2009 (edited) :sigh: Here's the formula: Pick a worthy goal Pick an unreasonable target Pick a deadline far enough out to assure most people will forget about your prediction. Bill Ford's 25% SUV fuel economy improvement was a classic example. This is no different. Edited November 19, 2009 by RichardJensen Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aneekr Posted November 19, 2009 Share Posted November 19, 2009 That should be easy...they won't be building anything then :P Zero vehicles = Zero defects. Chrysler's quality ratings will be infinitely better, literally! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aneekr Posted November 19, 2009 Share Posted November 19, 2009 :sigh: Here's the formula: Pick a worthy goal Pick an unreasonable target Pick a deadline far enough out to assure most people will forget about your prediction. Bill Ford's 25% SUV fuel economy improvement was a classic example. This is no different. So true! Chrysler has taken this procedure and applied the "rinse, lather, repeat" rule. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
twintornados Posted November 20, 2009 Share Posted November 20, 2009 My name is Chrysler, and my PR department is full....of bull Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mettech Posted November 20, 2009 Share Posted November 20, 2009 My name is Chrysler, and my PR department is full....of bull Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ford Jellymoulds Posted November 20, 2009 Share Posted November 20, 2009 (edited) LOL just fell off my chair. With a little help & expetise from fix it again Tony no doubt. Still at least their quality is a lot better than Toyota at the moment, you gotta give them credit where credit is due. "Only way is Up". Go Chrysler go baby go don't let the bastards grind you down l like Jeep & Fiats 500. LINK Edited November 20, 2009 by Ford Jellymoulds Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ausrutherford Posted November 21, 2009 Share Posted November 21, 2009 What a joke! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Extreme4x4 Posted November 21, 2009 Share Posted November 21, 2009 So, Fiat............. a company that most do not equate to quality, is going to show Chrysler................ a company that most do not equate to quality................. how to fix their quality?? The expression "the blind leading the blind," comes to mind. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
J-150 Posted November 21, 2009 Share Posted November 21, 2009 So, Fiat............. a company that most do not equate to quality, is going to show Chrysler................ a company that most do not equate to quality................. how to fix their quality?? The expression "the blind leading the blind," comes to mind. remids me of that joke about the glass bottomed boats in the Italian navy... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jpd80 Posted November 21, 2009 Share Posted November 21, 2009 (edited) :sigh: Here's the formula: Pick a worthy goal Pick an unreasonable target Pick a deadline far enough out to assure most people will forget about your prediction. Bill Ford's 25% SUV fuel economy improvement was a classic example. This is no different. You're a "cruel man" Richard Jensen, :D Guess that proves your point, eh? Edited November 21, 2009 by jpd80 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TomServo92 Posted November 21, 2009 Share Posted November 21, 2009 It'll never happen. The world will end before then..... :shades: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pioneer Posted November 21, 2009 Share Posted November 21, 2009 remids me of that joke about the glass bottomed boats in the Italian navy... Never heard that one. What's the joke? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ice-capades Posted November 21, 2009 Share Posted November 21, 2009 Quality leader under Fiat control? Funny! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
J-150 Posted November 21, 2009 Share Posted November 21, 2009 Never heard that one. What's the joke? Q: why does the new Italian Navy have glass bottomed boats? A: to see the OLD Italian Navy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RichardJensen Posted November 21, 2009 Share Posted November 21, 2009 Has also been said of the Spanish Navy..... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
twintornados Posted November 21, 2009 Share Posted November 21, 2009 ...and Polish navy... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AngeloD Posted November 22, 2009 Share Posted November 22, 2009 Don't count Chrysler out on this. They have had some remarkably reliable and trouble free products in the recent past. For example, Consumer Reports found the PT Cruiser to be the single most trouble free vehicle they ever surveyed for a few model years. It can be done. Volkswagon has certainly turned around the abysmal quality of at least the Rabbit/Golf in a remarkably short 3 years. Again, looking at CU, the Golf gets pretty much all red doughnuts in every catagory over the past 3 years. Most of Chrysler's problems seem to be from crappy components, particularly the electrical components (window regulators, control modules, etc.). Now that the Germans are out of the picture and no longer leaning on suppliers for a quality-killing 20% across the board cost reduction, quality can only improve. Here's hoping FIAT can get all of the crap quality German components out of the Chrysler cars ASAP. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PREMiERdrum Posted November 22, 2009 Share Posted November 22, 2009 Don't count Chrysler out on this. They have had some remarkably reliable and trouble free products in the recent past. For example, Consumer Reports found the PT Cruiser to be the single most trouble free vehicle they ever surveyed for a few model years. It can be done. Volkswagon has certainly turned around the abysmal quality of at least the Rabbit/Golf in a remarkably short 3 years. Again, looking at CU, the Golf gets pretty much all red doughnuts in every catagory over the past 3 years. Most of Chrysler's problems seem to be from crappy components, particularly the electrical components (window regulators, control modules, etc.). Now that the Germans are out of the picture and no longer leaning on suppliers for a quality-killing 20% across the board cost reduction, quality can only improve. Here's hoping FIAT can get all of the crap quality German components out of the Chrysler cars ASAP. The same can be said of the Panther... leave it on the market unchanged for a decade and you'd better have worked out all the kinks! The evidence isn't just anecdotal, either. As a whole, ChryCo just hasn't performed very well in any of the major studies, and I don't recall seeing any remarkable improvement. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark B. Morrow Posted November 23, 2009 Share Posted November 23, 2009 ...and Polish navy... I do believe that joke involved the installation of screendoors on their submarine fleet. :lol: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
J-150 Posted November 23, 2009 Share Posted November 23, 2009 I do believe that joke involved the installation of screendoors on their submarine fleet. :lol: LOL!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.