Chrysler is betting its future on Fiat's vehicle expertise, but there's a problem: Fiat's quality is below average in Europe, according to a series of studies.
The quality issue is one more challenge facing Chrysler LLC as it emerges from U.S. Bankruptcy Court.
Chrysler, which has been dogged by its own reputation for substandard quality, plans to derive six small and mid-sized models from Fiat platforms. They are due in U.S. showrooms in a relatively swift 18 to 24 months.
Chrysler's engineering group, short-staffed from widespread layoffs, must learn Fiat methods. Some Chrysler plants will be retooled for Fiat's vehicles, and the work will be done on deadline as Chrysler survives on money from U.S. taxpayers.
Fiat posted low scores on J.D. Power and Associates' 2008 Customer Satisfaction Index studies for France, Germany and the United Kingdom. The respondents had owned their cars for about two years.
... Read moreProbably the only race that Buick and Jaguar would finish in a tie is the J.D. Power and Associates 2009 Vehicle Dependability StudySM (VDS), but both are on the top of the leader board this week. Each rank highest in vehicle dependability in a tie. Buick improves from a sixth-place ranking in 2008, while Jaguar improves from 10th place. Following in the top-five rankings this year are Lexus, Toyota and Mercury.
Toyota garners five segment awards for the Highlander, Prius, Sequoia, Solara, and Tundra. Lexus follows with four segment awards for the ES 330 (in a tie with the Acura RL), GX 470, LS 430, and SC 430. Lincoln captures two awards for the Mark LT and Zephyr. Models by Acura, Buick, Dodge, Ford, Honda, Mazda, Mercury, Nissan, and Scion each rank highest in one segment.
The Buick LaCrosse was also ranked first in the midsize car segment, beating the Toyota Camry, while the Buick Lucerne came in second in the large car segment.
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