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2023 J.D. Power Initial Quality Study shows there's less quality than last year

Vehicle inventory, vehicle pricing, and the supply chain are finally showing improvement. Vehicle quality, on the other hand, is still going the wrong way. That's the takeaway from the 2023 J.D. Power Initial Quality Study that found overall problems exceeded last year's record high. The study surveyed owners of 2022-model-year vehicles to assess the average rate of problems per 100 vehicles (PP100) during the first 90 days of ownership. The average figure for the 32 ranked manufacturers in 2020 was about 166 problems per 100 vehicles. In the 2021 IQS, that dropped to an average of 162. For 2022, the average jumped to 180 problems. For 2023, the PP100 is up to an industry average of 192 — an increase of 30 problems per 100 vehicles in just two years. Let's get to the good news first: Dodge reclaimed the crown of having the lowest number of problems per 100 vehicles at 140. Buick won last year with 139 PP100, falling to third this year. Dodge was the first American automaker to top the IQS in 2021. Its return as the least problematic gives parent company Stellantis three wins in four years after Ram was crowned in 2021. It also gives U.S. brands a four-peat after Buick topped the chart in 2022 by having owners report the fewest problems. This year's top 10 is Dodge, Ram, Alfa Romeo, Buick, Chevrolet, GMC, Porsche, Cadillac, Kia, and Lexus. Stellantis gathered a few feathers for its cap, in fact. Maserati showed the largest improvement year-on-year, followed by Alfa Romeo, and Alfa Romeo posted the lowest PP100 among the premium class, beating Porsche and Cadillac. Alfa Romeo has been vocal about working to improve quality, mentioning Lexus as a target. Last year the Japanese brand finished sixth, the Italians finished near the bottom, between Jaguar and Mitsubishi. This year Alfa jumped to third, Lexus dropped to tenth. Ram was the third-best on the list of improvers from 2022 to 2023.   The individual model with the lowest PP100 is the Nissan Maxima. Now for the troublesome bits. In the words of Frank Hanley, senior director of auto benchmarking at J.D. Power, "The industry is at a major crossroad and the path each manufacturer chooses is paramount for its future.

GM might lose 90-year U.S. sales crown over chip shortage

Automotive News editor Nick Bunkley tweeted on October 1 that according to AutoNews data, General Motors "has been the largest seller of vehicles in the U.S. every year since passing Ford in 1931." With automakers having turned in light car and truck sales data for the first three quarters of 2021, GM's 90-year-run might not reach 91. According to AN figures, Toyota was 80,401 vehicles ahead when the October workday started. Worse, GM is so far behind its historic pace that it might only sell enough light vehicles in the U.S. to match its numbers from 1958.  Meanwhile, the New York Times put a few more salient numbers to the pain GM and Toyota are enduring alongside the the rest of the industry. GM sold 33% fewer cars in Q3 2021 than it did in Q3 2019 during the dark days of the pandemic, 446,997 units this year as opposed to 665,192 last year. GM's Q3 2020 was only down 13% on Q3 2019. Over at Toyota, the bottom line showed a 1% gain in Q3 2021 compared to 2020, with 566,005 units moved off dealer lots. The finer numbers show two steps forward and one step back, though; Toyota's September sales were down 22% compared to last year.  GM remains optimistic about what's ahead, GM's president of North American operations telling the NYT, "We look forward to a more stable operating environment through the fall." We'd like to see that happen, but we don't know how it happens. The chip shortage said to have been the inciting incident for the current woes isn't over, and not only can no one agree when it will be over, the automakers, chip producers, and U.S. government still can't get on the same page about who needs what and when. Looking away from that for a second shows articles about "No End In Sight" for supply chain disruptions in early September, before China had to start working through power supply constraints, global supply chain workers started warning of a "system collapse," and roughly 500,000 containers sat waiting to be unloaded at Southern California ports — a record number seemingly broken every week. And back to chips, we're told just a few days ago the chip shortage is "worse than we thought."   For now, the NYT wrote that GM dealer inventory is down 40% from June to roughly 129,000 vehicles, and down 84% from the days when dealers would cumulatively keep about 800,000 light vehicles in stock. However, GM just announced it would have almost all of its U.S. facilities back online next week, although some would run at partial capacity.

Man on meth steals truck (and goat) from adult video store, police say

A man who was allegedly high on methamphetamine carjacked a pickup truck with a sleeping passenger inside it and a goat in the bed, pistol-whipped the passenger and then led police on a low-speed chase before finally being caught on foot and arrested, police say. It began early on New Year’s Day outside an adult video store in Carthage, Missouri, which is near Joplin in the stateÂ’s southwestern corner. Reports say Brandon Wayne Kirby, a 40-year-old from Mannford, Oklahoma, stole the truck after the driver had gone inside the store but while the passenger was sleeping. When the passenger woke up, he saw a masked man driving and pointing a gun at his head. This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings. Police say Kirby drove the GMC Sierra Heavy Duty Duramax diesel through parts of Missouri, Kansas and into Oklahoma, holding the passenger against his will. At some point, the passenger told police, Kirby ingested meth, pistol-whipped him and continued to threaten him with the gun. The passenger said Kirby eventually let him and his pet goat out on the side of the road in a rural area, which is when he was able to call 911. Police then called OnStar, which tracked down the stolen Sierra HD and slowed it down to around 15 mph. Police eventually used stop sticks to flatten the truckÂ’s tires in the city of Sand Springs and later had to nudge the truck into a ditch to end the low-speed vehicle chase. But Kirby at that point got out of the truck and fled on foot through the woods, dropping his mask and gun, which were both later recovered by police. Kirby was jailed and had charges listed as kidnapping, pointing a firearm and being a felon in possession of a firearm. HeÂ’s reportedly wanted in another county in Oklahoma for burglary and has multiple felony convictions for assault, burglary and possession of a stolen vehicle, according to KTUL-TV in Tulsa. The passenger and goat were transported back to the Creek County SheriffÂ’s Office. The Sand Springs Police Department said on Facebook: “OK 2020, it only took you 4.5 hours to get weird. Let's slow down on the carjacking-goatnapping calls for the remainder of the year.” Related Video: