German Cars are Least Reliable Says Study
German cars are among the least reliable and some luxury vehicles are particularly bad, says a survey conducted by The Consumers’ Association.
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German Graduates Reluctant to Work in Asia Eastern Europe
Product NewsDespite the recent expansion of the EU, German university graduates are relatively uninterested in developing their careers in one of the accession countries, a new report has found.
Michelin Set the Standard in Japan
Product NewsMichelin’s winter tyres have come out on top in a survey conducted into customer satisfaction in Japan.
Research company, J.D Power Asia Pacific, performed the study, which showed of the five tyre brands ranked by the customers, Michelin scored highest with 655 out of a maximum of 1,000 points. The overall industry average is 586.
MRF Tops JD Power Study
Product NewsIn India, MRF has topped a JD Power study on OE tyre customer satisfaction for the third year running. More than 1,500 owners took part in the study, assessing tyres on 20 different attributes. Bridgestone, JK Tyre and Goodyear were behind MRF in the ratings. This year’s study was the first to deal solely with radials, as these account for nearly all tyres fitted to new passenger cars in India. The survey also revealed that more than 20 per cent of new-vehicle buyers choose the brand of tyres fitted on their new car.
German drivers happiest driving Japanese cars, says study
Product NewsCar drivers in Germany, long held to be home to some of the best engineered vehicles in the world, are happier driving Japanese cars than German ones, a consumer satisfaction survey has shown. The survey, complied by German drivers association ADAC and the Center for Automotive Research (CAR) group, asked more than 38,000 German car owners how satisfied they were both with the product and the service they received from manufacturers. German industry stalwarts Mercedes, Volkswagen and Opel came in near the bottom of the pile, while Japanese names clinched the top seven places. Porsche, the world’s most profitable carmaker famed for its growling sports cars, was the only German company to make it into the top ten. Japan’s Toyota, maker of the world’s best selling car, the Corolla, and the envy of the auto industry due partly to the efficiency of its plants, topped the list. Subaru, Honda, Mazda and Nissan completed the top five.
Michelin tops JD Power Taiwan survey
Product NewsMichelin has come top of the JD Power Asia Pacific 2003 Taiwan OE Tyre Customer Satisfaction Index. 900 owners of new vehicles in Taiwan were questioned about their tyres up to 18 months after the purchase. Michelin scored 827 points out of a possible maximum of 1,000. Goodyear was the second-placed brand, with 810 points.
Cooper does well in magazine survey
Product NewsCooper Tire & Rubber Co. has been ranked 19th in the list of Most Successful Engineering Companies, compiled for the trade publication The Engineer. The performance of 900 companies with facilities in the UK were rated on such criteria as percentage change in turnover and operating profit and earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA). The survey also concluded that the most successful companies view R&D as a function vital to the success of a company rather than an expense off the bottom line.
JD Power says buyers don’t use the Internet for tyres
Product NewsAccording to JD Power’s recent survey of North American buyers, whilst the Internet has become a regular shopping tool for nearly two-thirds of new-vehicle buyers, few vehicle owners use the Internet when it comes time to buy replacement tyres. The study finds that more than 60 percent of tire buyers access the Internet, but only 16 percent of those who access the Internet use it when they need to buy replacement tires. “The desire to discuss their needs with a tire salesperson and their intentions to buy from the same retailer are key reasons tire buyers do not use the Internet as a tire shopping tool today,” said Jeff Zupancic, director of the tire practice at J.D. Power and Associates. Of course, since the JD Power survey relates to new car owners it only touches on that fraction of the market. The larger, used car sector may make a different use of the Internet for tyre purchases.
Survey Shows Tyre Fly Tipping On Increase In UK
Product NewsA national survey of members of the National Tyre Distributors Association reveals that over a third of respondents have been the victim of illegal fly tipping of tyres within the past six months. Results vary according to location; 70 per cent of dealers in South and West Wales reported fly tipping on their premises, while the best area was the North East (25 per cent) and the worst was the South East and London, where 95 per cent of dealers reported illegal tyre dumping in their area.
Goodyear Eagle F1 Scores Well In Survey
MotorsportGoodyear’s Eagle F1 GS D3 performance radial has performed well in a survey of customers conducted by US mail order company Tire Rack. The tyre scored 9.4 out of 10 in the “repurchase” category, compared to the next highest score of 8.6. Tire Rack also tested the tyres against Michelin and Bridgestone in both wet and dry conditions and found that, although dry performance was comparable, the Goodyear tyre achieved the best lap times in the wet.
Survey shows popularity of mobile fitting
Product NewsAA Tyre Fit carried out a survey of 50 randomly chosen drivers who had used the company’s mobile tyre fitting service within the previous 60 days. 21 of the respondents were fleet customers, the remainder retail. 86 per cent said they would use mobile fitting in preference to visiting a fast-fit centre, while four per cent preferred the latter. The reasons given for preferring mobile fitting were “more convenient” and “it allows me to make more efficient use of my time”. Location of mobile fitting was split almost equally between home, office and roadside. The findings came as no surprise to AA Tyre Fit General Manager David Goodyear, who said: “Customers have a perception of fast-fit centres as dirty and unpleasant places where they can spend an hour or more hanging around while their new tyres, which are nearly always a distress purchase, are fitted.
America’s Best – And Worst – Cars
Product NewsJ.D. Power has carried out a quality survey of models in the US car/light truck market. Vehicles are ranked by the number of problems per 100 vehicles and this year’s industry average was 133 faults. The highest rated was Lexus (76 faults), followed by Cadillac (103) and Infiniti (110). The model scoring the worst was the Hummer (225), but there were some famous names at the wrong end of the list, with Land Rover (190) in penultimate position, then Kia (168), Mini (166) and Saab (160).
Safety Award For Pirelli
Product NewsIn the USA, Pirelli has received a prestigious award from the Rubber Manufacturers Association (RMA) for its “excellent” worker health and safety record over the past year. The Safety and Health Improvement Program (SHIP) award was presented to Pirelli at the RMA’s annual meeting. The award was created in 1981 to recognise advances in workplace health and safety and this year 174 plants from 29 member companies supplied data for the annual survey. Pirelli’s MIRS plant in Georgia was the clear winner with a remarkable “zero incidents” record.
Michelin In World Top Ten
Product NewsIn the latest PriceWaterhouseCoopers/Financial Times survey of the World’s Most Respected Companies, Michelin is ranked number nine in the Engineering sector. The list seeks the opinions of more than 1,000 CEOs worldwide, plus fund managers, media commentators, etc. Top of the Engineering list were Toyota and GM, while the top ranked company overall was General Electric, for the fifth year in a row.
Michelin Tops UK OE J D Power Study
Product NewsThe 2002 J D Power UK original equipment tyre satisfaction study has named Michelin as top performer, for the fifth year running. The survey asks more than 2,500 UK motorists to rank their OE tyres in a number of categories; quality/durability, appearance, traction, ride/handling and effect on fuel economy. Michelin achieved top ratings in all sectors. Continental achieved its highest-ever ranking, coming second, scoring well on traction, ride/handling and fuel economy. Goodyear came third, with an index score at the industry average level.
