Pop Quiz about American Auto Makers like GM, Ford, etc.

American auto makers have been thrown under the bus quite frequently over the last few months by members of the media and by members of Congress.  However, Runde Auto Group urges you to seek out factual information about the American auto makers before casting judgment.  Please take a few minutes to look over this brief quiz to see how much you’re actually aware of!

QUESTIONS:

1. What country builds vehicles that occupy two of the top three spots for long-term reliability?

1. Germany
2. Japan
3. Korea
4. United States

2.  As of August ’07, which manufacturer had the most recalls in the U.S. that year?

1. Chrysler
2. Ford
3. GM
4. Nissan
5. Toyota
6. Volkswagen

3.  What brand in this group has the highest initial quality?                

1. Acura 
2. Chevrolet 
3. BMW
4. Mazda

4.  Which of the following mid-size sedans has the highest initial quality?

1. Accord (Honda)
2. Altima (Nissan)
3. Camry (Toyota)
4. Malibu (Chevrolet)

5.  Which of the following pickups has the highest initial quality?

1. Dakota (Dodge)
2. Ranger (Ford)
3. Tacoma (Toyota)

6.  Which compact car has the best economic value overall?

1. Aveo (Chevrolet)
2. Fit (Honda)
3. Prius (Toyota)

7. Which company makes the winner of the 2008 “Green Car of the Year” award?

1. Chevrolet
2. Honda
3. Toyota

8.  What sedan was selected by the North American automotive press as the “North American Car of the Year” for 2008?

1. Malibu (Chevy)
2. Camry (Toyota)
3. Accord (Honda)

9. What manufacturer had a luxury vehicle, a mid-size sedan, and a full-size truck removed from the Consumer Reports list of recommended vehicles in October of ’07 because of mounting quality issues?

1. Chrysler
2. Ford
3. General Motors
4. Hyundai
5. Toyota
6. Volkswagen

10.  What car was the best selling car in America for 2008?

1. Malibu (Chevy)
2. Camry (Toyota)
3. Civic (Honda)

ANSWERS:

1. United States. Per JD Power Vehicle Dependability Study, Mercury and Cadillac are in the top 3, along with Lexus. And in 2007, Buick was tied with Lexus for the top spot.
2. Volkswagen. According to Business Week, Volkswagen had the most recalls in ’07. The second worst was Toyota.
3. Answer:  Chevrolet (better than Acura, BMW, and Mazda) according to JD Power’s Initial Quality Survey
4. The Chevrolet Malibu has better initial quality than any competitor, including the Accord, Camry, or Nissan Altima. The Ford Fusion also beat all 3 Japanese competitors according to the JD Power Initial Quality Survey.  
5. The Dodge Dakota has the best quality for small pick-ups showing that Chrysler also can beat the imports. Both the Dakota and the Ford Ranger faired better than the the Toyota Tacoma.
6. According to Edmunds.com, the most economical car in America, taking into account not only mileage but overall ownership costs, is the Chevrolet Aveo. The Honda Fit is third and the Toyota Prius is a distant 34th …  that’s right T-h-i-r-t-y  F-o-u-r-t-h.
7. The Chevrolet Tahoe Hybrid won this award…It even beat out the Toyota Prius?  Tahoe’s 21 mpg city fuel economy rating is equal to that of the city EPA rating for the 4-cylinder Toyota Camry. 
8. GM crushed the Japanese competition in 2008 when the Malibu received 190 votes to the Honda Accord’s 95. The Accord actually came in 3rd since GM’s other finalist, the Cadillac CTS, received 165 votes. Car and Driver magazine published its “10 Best Cars” for 2008, and the Malibu made the list.  The Malibu was also chosen by Kelley Blue Book as “Best Redesigned Vehicle for 2008.
9. Toyota’s much publicized quality problems resulted in Consumer Reports actually removing from their recommended vehicles list the Lexus GS luxury car, Camry V6 sedan, and Tundra pickup. This occurred just 14 months ago.
10. I guess you can’t win them all as the Honda Civic outsold all cars in America in 2008.  And that makes sense when you take into consideration that gas was selling for around $4.00 a gallon for about half the year and everyone seemed to be scrambling for ways to minimize what they were paying at the pumps. 

If you were surprised by the answers, then you probably need to get out there and dig a bit deeper for the hard facts when it comes to vehicles that are available from American auto makers.  Make sure you have all of the correct information in hand before you shell out thousands of dollars on your next  new or pre-owned vehicle purchase.  If you are a consumer who gave up on American made vehicles because of a bad experience years ago, then perhaps it’s time to re-think your position.  Perhaps its time to re-think American … and give the Big Three the credit that is due.

American auto manufacturers: 79 US jobs per 2500 cars sold in America.

Non-American auto manufacturers: 33 US jobs per 2500 cars sold in America.

Check out www.statista.com for more info and facts about American auto makers.  

For more information on our new or predriven cars, GM Certified Pre-Owned vehicles, or our Fleet & Commercial Department, please visit Runde Auto Group or call us at 1-866-735-5200.