USA - Four FCA US LLC vehicles led their respective segments in total quality.

• Jeep® Wrangler Unlimited named best-in-class Entry SUV for third year in a row
• Fiat 500 leads Micro Car segment in total quality for second consecutive year
• Dodge Challenger captures back-to-back wins for total quality in Specialty Coupe segment
• Jeep Grand Cherokee takes home first place in total quality among Mid-Size SUVs
• FIAT ties for title of industry’s best brand for total quality under $26,000

Four FCA US LLC vehicles led their respective segments in total quality and the FIAT brand tied for first among automakers for the best brand with vehicles under $26,000 in Strategic Vision’s 22^nd annual Total Quality Impact™ (TQI).

Four 2016 FCA US vehicles won their respective segments for total quality:

• Jeep® Wrangler Unlimited – Entry SUV
• Fiat 500 – Micro Car
• Dodge Challenger – Specialty Coupe
• Jeep Grand Cherokee – Mid-Size SUV

The Jeep Wrangler Unlimited won its segment for the third consecutive year while the Fiat 500 and Dodge Challenger both led their segments for the second year in a row.

 

TQI is based on responses from more than 39,000 owners of new 2016 model year vehicles. The quality study includes more than 155 specific aspects of the customer experience to form a unique and complete measure of the total ownership experience.

 

“We see time and again that for consumers, innovation does more to communicate quality than an absence of problems does,” said Christopher Chaney, Senior Vice President – Strategic Vision. “Whether it comes in the form of breakthrough technology, re-engineering a vehicle or creating a new model, consumers feel the positive impact of bold new directions taken by manufacturers.”

 

According to San Diego-based research firm Strategic Vision, the TQI score is a holistic measure that encompasses positive and negative product experiences. This includes reliability, actual problems, driving excitement and other measures that collectively are energized by the emotional response associated with the aggregate of all those experiences – hence Total Quality.

 

“The future of quality that is meaningful to buyers will reach beyond 'no squeaks and rattles' and reside in the successful deployment of engineering innovation and technology that is relevant, intuitive and impactful,” Chaney said.

Jeep enters a new territory, India, in it's anniversary year the Wrangler and Grand Cherokee start the sales push.

• Jeep® Wrangler Unlimited, Jeep Grand Cherokee and Jeep Grand Cherokee SRT make their Indian debut at the 2016 Auto Expo in New Delhi
• Jeep brand sales in India to start in mid-2016
• Introduction comes at a time of record worldwide sales for Jeep and continued global expansion

The growing international presence of the Jeep® brand marked another milestone today when the brand was introduced to India at the 2016 Auto Expo in New Delhi.

With a line-up of three SUVs: Jeep Wrangler Unlimited, Jeep Grand Cherokee and the high-performance Jeep Grand Cherokee SRT, Jeep brand sales in India will start in mid-2016, a year that also marks the brand’s 75th anniversary.

“Our aggressive expansion in international markets is one of the key drivers behind our current global sales momentum,” said Mike Manley, Head of Jeep Brand, FCA, and Chief Operating Officer (COO) of the Asia Pacific (APAC) Regional Operations Group. “Last year, we started local production in Brazil and China, and today, we are launching the Jeep brand in the fifth largest market in the world, India, setting the foundation for our future growth in this country.” 

The Jeep brand arrives in India at a time of record sales and continued expansion into markets outside its North American home. Jeep recorded sales of more than 1.2 million units worldwide in 2015, the highest total in its 75-year history, setting a global sales record for the fourth consecutive year.

Fiat Chrysler Automobiles N.V. (FCA) announced last year its intent to invest approximately $280 million in its manufacturing joint venture, Fiat India Automobiles Private Limited, with Tata Motors Limited. The investment in the manufacturing facility in Ranjangaon, India, will support the production of a new Jeep vehicle and is expected to begin production in 2017.

“Jeep has been one of the most awaited SUV brands in India and it is entering this important market the same year that it celebrates its 75th anniversary. The SUV segment witnessed a robust growth of 22 percent over the last five years in India and we expect it to grow exponentially in the future, creating the perfect environment for the legendary Jeep brand,” said Kevin Flynn, President and Managing Director, FCA India Automobiles Pvt. Ltd.

Jeep Wrangler and Jeep Grand Cherokee will be sold with diesel and petrol engines through a network of dealers located in key metro cities.

USA - FCA worker unfortunately dies whilst performing regular preventative maintenance.

An employee at Fiat Chrysler’s Jefferson North Assembly plant died accidentally this morning after being crushed. The UAW identified the victim as Donald Megge, 53, of Sterling Heights, Mich. 

The union said Megge, a millwright and wastewater operator, died while performing regular preventative maintenance during a shift that started at 5:30 a.m. He was working alone and was discovered at about 6:30 a.m.

An FCA spokeswoman said the incident occurred in the on-site wastewater treatment plant that services the 3-million-square-foot plant where the Jeep Grand Cherokee and Dodge Durango are assembled. 

The treatment plant is in a separate building from the assembly operations and production was not impacted.

"FCA US is deeply saddened by the tragic accident that took the life of an 18-year employee at Jefferson North this morning and our heartfelt condolences go out to his family," the company said in a statement.  

"The safety of our employees is our first priority, and we will continue to work in cooperation with the authorities, including (Michigan job safety regulators), to investigate the circumstances surrounding this terrible tragedy."

Jefferson North, built in 1991, employs more than 4,600 people, including about 4,400 hourly workers.

“Our heartfelt sympathy is extended to the family, friends and all of those who worked with UAW member Donald Megge,” Norwood Jewell, UAW vice president for the union’s FCA department, said in a written statement.

Jefferson North is the same assembly plant where an autoworker stabbed one of his co-workers to death in a dispute over a woman in September 2012. The alleged assailant fled and took his own life nearby.

Larry P. Vellequette

Warrenty Direct makes a frankenstein car out of its worst Warrenty claiments.

Costing an average of £550 when it breaks down every other month, this is the UK’s ‘nightmare’ car, according to Warranty Direct.

The automotive specialist analysed its 50,000 live policies to concoct the monstrosity, dubbed the Horrific 40RR0R, by combining the worst-performing cars from each of the categories measured by its unique Reliability Index (www.reliabilityindex.com).

With the suspension of an Audi, the gearbox of a Jeep and the electrics of a Mercedes, the fictional vehicle is a Frankenstein’s monster of the least reliable parts, ‘created’ just in time for Halloween night.

The Reliability Index calculates the trustworthiness of vehicles by measuring average cost of repair, frequency of failure, age and mileage. While the average car scores 100 in the Index, with the lower the score the better, this grim creation would be five times more unreliable, with an RI figure of almost 500.

The ‘body parts’ of the ‘Horrific 40RR0R’

Make and Model	Car part	Range
BMW M5	Engine	(04 - 11)
Audi RS6	Axle and Suspension	(02 - 11)
Jeep Grand Cherokee	Gearbox	(06 - )
Mercedes-Benz R-Class	Electrics	(04 - )
Fiat Multipla	Braking system	(99 - 05)
SEAT Alhambra	Air-conditioning	(96 - )
Chrysler 300C	Steering system	(05 - )

Overall, the Reliability Index shows that two in five vehicles need some form of repair each year and, while the average repair costs just over £350, some garage bills can spiral to a scream-inducing £35,000.    

Warranty Direct managing director, David Gerrans, said: “The Horrific 40RR0R is a bit of fun that will, thankfully, never be built, as it stitches together the cars that perform worst in each of the mechanical categories we measure.

“This large variety of vehicles that goes into the concoction proves how typically reliable cars can be dragged down by one poorly-performing part.”

Almost two fifths of Audi RS6s require a trip to the workshop to repair axle and suspension components each year, while three in every 10 Mercedes-Benz R Class vehicles report electrical faults.

Gearbox problems are rarer, but still more than one in ten Jeep Grand Cherokees will report gearbox problems annually.

A quarter of BMW M5s require repairs to their engines, while the same proportion of Fiat Multiplas will experience braking system faults.

Chrysler’s 300C is not renowned for its agility in corners but, even so, more than ten percent will require repairs to their steering systems. The same number of SEAT Alhambras will need their air-con fixed during a typical year, so drivers who like keeping their car cool should beware of the big SEAT’s asthmatic ventilation system.