Article Comments: Perception Is Reality

149 messages, Last post on Feb 12, 2007 at 1:54 PM

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Article comments for Perception Is Reality - Witness the tale of two companies — Toyota and General Motors. Despite recalls and public relations woes, Toyota's image of bulletproof quality persists, and sales and market share rise. Despite concrete evidence to the contrary, GM's reputation for inferior quality remains, while sales and market share decline. (more)

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#43 of 149 Re: . [tjw1308] by 210delray Sep 10, 2006 (7:35 pm)
Replying to: tjw1308 (Sep 10, 2006 7:24 pm) Actually, the Initial Quality Survey is after the first 90 days! Still for the birds, though, as I had my '80 Volvo for 21 years from 1982-2003. And I've been very happy with my former '97 Camry and two current Camrys. Replies to this message: tjw1308 (Sep 11, 2006 7:50 am) Mr_Shiftright (Sep 11, 2006 9:20 am) terry92270 (Sep 11, 2006 9:57 am) tjw1308 (Sep 11, 2006 10:41 am) and 2 more...
#44 of 149 Re: Perception's [bmk32] by anythngbutgm Sep 10, 2006 (7:43 pm)
Replying to: bmk32 (Sep 10, 2006 6:59 pm) In the case of the Cobalt mentioned in the article, having no side airbags even AVAILABLE is a big misstep.
#45 of 149 losing faith in a brand by carlisimo Sep 10, 2006 (9:54 pm)
I've had two computer speaker sets fail, both from what's probably the biggest brand out there. After the second one... I'm not going back. I don't care if 10 years from now they've "caught up" and have products that are arguably just as good. There are plenty of other brands out there and I'd give many of them a chance before going back to my old brand. I'm sure many former customers of any brand are the same way. So what if your old brand's cars are "just about as good" now? The brand insulted your intelligence by letting you down more than once, and you want revenge. Maybe if 10 out of 10 experts agreed they were now the best, you'd consider... but 9 out of 10 isn't enough, and for GM and Ford it's more like 4 out of 10 experts at best. It doesn't help that the domestics tied their fates together... they complained together, they built bad products together... now many people once burned by Ford won't buy GM either. Replies to this message: terry92270 (Sep 10, 2006 10:16 pm)
#46 of 149 Re: losing faith in a brand [carlisimo] by terry92270 Sep 10, 2006 (10:16 pm)
Replying to: carlisimo (Sep 10, 2006 9:54 pm) GM, through its GMAC and Ditech lending arms, and Ford, through Ford Motor Credit, are both in the Finance Business more than the automobile business. Is anyone surprised to learn those divisions are more profitable, ten times over, than their manufacturing ones I heard this from an employee this week, who was obviously on a personal call from work: "Well, getting married last year, and a baby on the way this year, we can't afford to get a good car now, so we will be settling on a Chevy. It isn't so bad, and maybe in a couple of years things won't be so tight and we can get rid of it."
#47 of 149 Re: . [tjw1308] by 99si2fun Sep 11, 2006 (4:24 am)
Replying to: tjw1308 (Sep 10, 2006 7:24 pm) Sorry, If I had to choose between driving the camry and taking the bus, I'd choose the bus. At least then I would have some excitement on my morning commute. The do not like the camry. I don't care if it is so phenomenal that it can bring water to the desert or feed the hungry, I don't like that car.
#48 of 149 Re: Perception is reality, and reality is a state of mind... [terry92270] by lemko Sep 11, 2006 (4:39 am)
Replying to: terry92270 (Sep 10, 2006 3:26 pm) They don't want to be faced with some major repair they are stuck with out of pocket in the time they own the car. They don't want cheesy looking instrumentation or a dashboard that begins to split in a couple of years, or upholstery where the seams unravel before they even get 30K miles on it. In other words, they want something like my 1988 Buick Park Avenue or 1989 Cadillac Brougham. Replies to this message: terry92270 (Sep 11, 2006 7:14 am) rockylee (Sep 13, 2006 5:43 am)
#49 of 149 Re: Perception is reality, and reality is a state of mind... [tjw1308] by phinneas519 Sep 11, 2006 (6:17 am)
Replying to: tjw1308 (Sep 10, 2006 4:05 pm) Actually, in terms of price gap, I was referring to a comparable G6 trim level to a comparable Camry trim level. There is undoubtedly a big disparity between the prices. It's there in black and white, without question. I could argue until I'm blue in the face that most vehicles are simply transportation appliances and paying a premium for one does not necessarily mean you are better off than someone who had purchased a cheaper one. Perceptions, unfortunately, are often immune to logic and common sense, so it's just a waiting game or perhaps time for domestic makes to turn their back on customers who have essentially done the same (IMO). Replies to this message: tjw1308 (Sep 11, 2006 7:46 am)
#50 of 149 Re: Perception is reality, and reality is a state of mind... [lemko] by terry92270 Sep 11, 2006 (7:14 am)
Replying to: lemko (Sep 11, 2006 4:39 am) Let's try living in the 21st Century, ok? Replies to this message: rockylee (Sep 13, 2006 5:43 am)
#51 of 149 Re: Perception is reality, and reality is a state of mind... [phinneas519] by tjw1308 Sep 11, 2006 (7:46 am)
Replying to: phinneas519 (Sep 11, 2006 6:17 am) Trim level is NOT the same as comparable equipment. If you are looking at the top of the line G6 (which arguably isn't even a Camry competitor), you have to ADD a lot of options to make it comparably EQUIPPED. Then look at gas mileage, resale, cost of ownership, etc... I'd love to defend a product I grew up with (GM), but frankly there a LOT of manufacturers that kick GM's teeth in these days when you look at the BIG picture and not just MSRP on the top of the line model (which lacks equipment STANDARD in the top of the line Camry or others). And for the person willing to take the bus instead of driving a Camry: Hey, it's a free country. It's your money, and there are a lot of choices. Statistically though, you are in the minority. I'm not saying it's the best car ever built, but have you actually put any miles (100+) on a 2007 V6 Camry? It's a beast these days, and a lot of fun to drive. The 2006 and below wouldn't have been a top choice of mine either, but the 2007 is a completely different animal... marred perhaps by only perception. T
#52 of 149 Re: . [210delray] by tjw1308 Sep 11, 2006 (7:50 am)
Replying to: 210delray (Sep 10, 2006 7:35 pm) Ok, 90 days for the IQS. My mistake... But woohoo?! A GM car that can stay problem free for 3 WHOLE months!!!??? High Five!?!? Would you like a medal for that too, or is the trophy enough? LOL T Replies to this message: Mr_Shiftright (Sep 11, 2006 9:20 am) terry92270 (Sep 11, 2006 9:57 am) tjw1308 (Sep 11, 2006 10:41 am) Mr_Shiftright (Sep 11, 2006 3:44 pm) and 1 more...