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Autoblog Minute: New car customer satisfaction down according to latest ACSI report

Customers have spoken and automobile satisfaction is down in 2015. Autoblog's Chris McGraw reports on this edition of Autoblog Minute. Show full video transcript text [00:00:00] Customers have spoken and automobile satisfaction is down in 2015. I'm Chris McGraw and this is your Autoblog Minute. The American Customer Satisfaction Index or ACSI released its updated numbers and according to the survey, new car buyer satisfaction is down for the third straight year. According to an ACSI press release, customer satisfaction with new automobiles has fallen 3.7 percent, to 79 on its 100-point scale. The ACSI report is based on over 4,100 customer surveys collected in the second quarter of 2015 Sitting at the top of the industry in customer satisfaction is Toyota's Lexus brand with a score of 84. Which was good enough to dethrone Mercedes-Benz, which fell 3% to a score of 83. Of the Big Three, Ford was the only domestic automaker to maintain overall customer satisfaction with its score of 81. General Motors slipped 3% to 79 and Fiat Chrysler had a 5% drop, registering a score of 75 out the possible 100. What's driving this trend of customer dissatisfaction? ASCI points to the rise in recalls and car prices. Where do you land on customer satisfaction spectrum? Sound off in the comments with your thoughts on the current state of car ownership and brand quality. For Autoblog, I'm Chris McGraw. Autoblog Minute is a short-form video news series reporting on all things automotive. Each segment offers a quick and clear picture of what's happening in the automotive industry from the perspective of Autoblog's expert editorial staff, auto executives, and industry professionals. Chrysler Fiat Ford GM Lexus Mercedes-Benz Car Buying Ownership Autoblog Minute Videos Original Video

These cars are headed to the Great Crusher In The Sky

It happens every year. We bid adieu to some cars and trucks that will be missed, and say good riddance to others wondering how they stayed around so long. Whether they're being killed off for slow sales or due to a new product coming along to replace them, the list of vehicles being discontinued after 2012 is surprisingly long and diverse.
CNN Money has compiled a list of departing vehicles, to which we've added a few more of our own. In the slow sales column, cars like the Lexus HS 250h, Mercedes-Benz R-Class and the full Maybach lineup appear, while the Ford Escape Hybrid, Mazda CX-7 and Hyundai Veracruz are all having their gaps filled with more modern and more fuel-efficient alternatives. Obvious exceptions to the rule include models that still sell in decent numbers like the Jeep Liberty and the Chrysler Town & Country (which will eventually be replaced by a crossover-like vehicle).
Check out our gallery of discontinued cars above, then scroll down for more information.

Lee Iacocca, Chrysler's savior and godfather of the Mustang, dies at 94

Lee Iacocca, a charismatic U.S. auto industry executive and visionary, who gave America the Ford Mustang and Chrysler minivan, and was celebrated for saving Chrysler from going out of business, died at the age of 94, the Washington Post reported. He died Tuesday at his home in Bel-Air, California of complications from Parkinson's disease, his daughter Lia Iacocca Assad told the Post. During a nearly five-decade career in Detroit that began in 1946 at Ford Motor Co, the proud son of Italian immigrants made the covers of Time, Newsweek and the New York Times Sunday Magazine in stories portraying him as the avatar of the American Auto Age. One of the first celebrity U.S. chief executives, his autobiography made best-seller lists in the mid-1980s. Iacocca was a cracker-jack salesman. He encouraged his design teams to be bold, and they responded with sports cars that appealed to baby boomers in the 1960s, fuel-efficient models when gasoline prices soared in the 1970s, and the first-ever, family-oriented minivan in the 1980s that led its segment in sales for 25 years. "I don't know an auto executive that I've ever met who has a feel for the American consumer the way he does," late United Auto Workers Union President Douglas Fraser had said. "He's the greatest communicator who's ever come down the pike in the history of the industry." Iacocca also had some duds, such as the Ford Pinto, an economy car that became notorious for exploding fuel tanks. "You don't win 'em all," he said of the Pinto. Iacocca won a place in business history when he pulled Chrysler, now part of Fiat Chrysler Automobiles, from the brink of collapse in 1980, rallying support in U.S. Congress for $1.2 billion in federally guaranteed loans and persuading suppliers, dealers and union workers to make sacrifices. He cut his salary to $1 a year. Iacocca was often described as a demanding and volatile boss who sometimes clashed with fellow executives. "He could get mad as hell at you, and once it was done he let it go. He wouldn't stay mad," said Bud Liebler, vice president of communications at Chrysler during the 1980s and 1990s. "He liked to bring an issue to its head, get it resolved. You always knew where you stood with him." Iacocca often spoke of his immigrant roots and how America rewards hard work.