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The accidentally green episode | Autoblog Podcast #486

This week, consumer editor Jeremy Korzeniewski and Autoblog Green editor-in-chief Sebastian Blanco join Mike Austin and things go in a "green" direction – it just happened that way. We hit the week's news (including some green-related items), talk about the green things we've been driving, hear part of an interview with the filmmakers behind a new movie about the 2008 bailout, and then answer a listener question. The rundown is below. Remember, if you have a car-related question you'd like us to answer or you want questionable buying advice, send a message or a voice memo to podcast at autoblog dot com. Autoblog Podcast #486 Topics and stories we mention Almost half of VW TDI owners have already agreed to settle The Chevy Colorado has a military-spec, fuel cell-powered cousin 2017 Honda Accord Hybrid 2017 Hyundai Elantra Eco Jeremy's 1975 VW camper van A preview of Live Another Day, a film about the 2008 auto bailout Rundown Intro - 00:00 The news - 05:26 What we've been driving - 18:43 An excerpt from our interview with the Live Another Day filmmakers - 37:20 Listener questions - 40:00 Total Duration: 47:52 Get The Podcast iTunes – Subscribe to the Autoblog Podcast in iTunes RSS – Add the Autoblog Podcast feed to your RSS aggregator MP3 – Download the MP3 directly Feedback Email – Podcast at Autoblog dot com Review the show in iTunes Green Podcasts Honda Hyundai vw diesel scandal

Tier 1 suppliers call GM the worst OEM to work with

Among automakers with a big US presence, General Motors is the worst to work for, according to a new survey from Tier 1 automotive suppliers, conducted by Planning Perspectives, Inc.
The Detroit-based manufacturer, which has been under fire following the ignition switch recall and its accompanying scandal, finished behind six other automakers with big US manufacturing operations. Suppliers had issues with trust and communications, as well as intellectual property protection. GM was also the least likely to allow suppliers to raise their prices in the face of unexpected increases in material cost, all of which contributed to 55 percent of suppliers saying their relationship with GM was "poor to very poor."
GM's cross-town competitors didn't fare much better. Chrysler finished in fifth place, ahead of GM and behind Dearborn-based Ford, which was passed for third place this year by Nissan. Toyota took the top marks, while Honda captured second place.

Former Honda CEOs chide current boss about quality

Taking charge of a major corporation will never be without its challenges, and one of those - as Honda CEO Takanobu Ito is finding out - is filling the big shoes of those that came before. Ito's predecessors are apparently not pleased with what he's doing to the company, and are wasting no time in telling him so.
According to Reuters, two former Honda chiefs have recently visited Ito (pictured above with his predecessor Takeo Fukui) to talk to him about the Japanese automaker's quality issues, which they apparently regard as eroding the company's image. Nobuhiko Kawamoto, who served as CEO from 1990-98, reportedly came to Honda headquarters in Tokyo to deliver "stern words" to Ito last month. Kawamoto's immediate successor, Hiroyuki Yoshino, reportedly met with Ito under similar circumstances earlier this year.
Kawamoto and Yoshino are part of a larger group of former Honda executives who are concerned with the declining quality of the company's products under Ito's leadership. Where Honda once focused more on quality, collaborating more closely with parts suppliers,more recently the company has, in the eyes of those former executives at least, shifted its focus to quantity and to new technologies. That's what, the report alleges, has led to Honda recalling so many of its vehicles in recent years.