American Quality - Not An Oxymoron

To many car buyers "American Quality" seems to be an oxymoron but to just about everyone I've met in the auto re-marketing business the quality of the American built car is regarded as the best kept secret in the car business. Strategic Vision has released their 2008 Total Quality Awards. Both Ford and Toyota were in a dead heat, each having won or tied in five different categories.

What makes this quality award interesting is that it is not a measure of absolute reliability, rather it measures overall owner satisfaction. Owners are asked to fill out a survey that questions them regarding reliability, vehicle characteristics, dealership experience, styling, interior and exterior design and their overall perception of initial quality. This is a much more subjective way to rate the ownership experience and it differs significantly with how organizations such as Consumer Reports measures quality, which is primarily based on measured mechanical issues. As a result, the rankings of these two very different surveys offer significant differences in vehicle rankings.

So what is a buyer to do when they see contradictory survey results? It clear that you have to focus in on the specific factors that are most important to you, as a buyer and owner. When mechanical reliability is very close (as it is for most foreign and domestics vehicles today, you must weigh price, style, technology and comfort features, safety and fuel economy. The thing to avoid is generalizations and unsubstantiated popular opinion.

I've placed a link to the 2008 Strategic Vision news release and the Consumer Reports Top Picks on this Blog for reference.

Our Video!

Great news. We recieved our copy of the video for our new website and I've posted the video on YouTube and added a link above if you want to see it. This video above is a much poorer grade than what we'll have on our website but it still delivers the message. Take a look at it an let us know what you think.

Also, last Friday I scratched off "get on the Radio" from my bucket list. Friday night Niceville High School and Crestview High School had their year scrimmage game to give their fans a view of what they can expect next fall from their football teams. Since we're a new sponsor of The New FISH Radio's coverage of the Niceville High School football games, I was invited to talk to the announcer Arty Goodman about our little car business. Marlene listened in on our new portable radio and thought it came off really good. I was just happy I didn't stammer and stutter. I guess those two years of middle school drama club finally paid off! In the fall when the football season get's underway local listener can hear KISS half time segment at 1340 on the radio dial. For those outside the listening area you can catch the live streaming audio at www.thenewfishradio.com.

BTW: Life In Motion Film of Destin produce the video at a very reasonable rate. If you're in need of profession video service I highly recommend them.