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Buick takes top spot in 2022 J.D. Power Initial Quality Study

People, economies, and supply chains weren't the only things continuing to get sick over the past year. The 2022 J.D. Power Initial Quality Study (IQS) is out, showing the average rate of problems per 100 vehicles (PP100) during the first 90 days of ownership increased overall. The average figure for the 32 ranked manufacturers in 2020 was about 166 problems per 100 vehicles. In the 2021 IQS, that dropped to an average of 162. This year, the average jumps to 180 problems. J.D. Power says that figure is a record high over the 36-year history of the study. Buick leapt to the top of the rankings this year with the fewest issues, at 139 problems per 100 vehicles in the first 100 days of ownership. After Dodge became the first American automaker to lead the IQS in 2020, followed by Ram in 2021, this year marks a three-peat for U.S. carmakers. Dodge took second this year at 143 PP100, Chevrolet third with 147 PP100, Genesis the first luxury maker on the chart in fourth with 156 PP100. Between February and May, this year's study gathered responses to 223 questions from more than 84,000 new 2022-model-year car owners and lessees. The questions are designed to zero in on real-world problems new owners encounter with nine categories of vehicle features: Infotainment; features, controls and displays; exterior; driving assistance; interior; powertrain; seats; driving experience; and climate. As has been the case in the past few year, infotainment has proved to be the most problematic bugbear making scores worse. Considering features individually, six of 10 of the worst problem areas dealt with infotainment, causing infotainment's score of 45 PP100 to be 19.5 PP100 worse than the second-placed feature. Consumers ranked getting Android Auto and Apple CarPlay to connect reliably as the most troublesome.  GM didn't just score with Buick, which was one of only nine of the 33 ranked brands to show improvement this year. The conglomerate earned first place with the fewest PP100 among all the automaker groups, and scored the most model-level awards with nine, ahead of BMW with eight and Hyundai Group with three.  This year's study again showed a gap between luxury and mass-market makers, thought to be down to the amount of tech in luxury vehicles that consumers aren't properly informed about or that doesn't act as expected — that latter issue exacerbated by the chip shortage.

FCA goes all-in on Jeep and Ram brands on cheap gas bet

It's no surprise that as SUV and truck sales remain strong in the wake of unusually cheap gas, Jeep and Ram sales are taking off. What is a surprise is that FCA CEO Sergio Marchionne thinks that cheap gas will be a "permanent condition," and feels strongly enough about it to change up North American manufacturing plans. Jeep appears to be the biggest beneficiary of the product realignment. In addition to increasing the sales estimates for the brand worldwide upwards to 2 million units a year by 2018, the brand will get a flood of investment for new product and powertrains. Consider the Wrangler Pickup to be part of the salvo, as well as the Grand Wagoneer three-row announced in 2014 as part of the original five-year plan. The Wrangler four-door will get at least two new powertrains, a diesel and mild hybrid version, in its next generation. That mild hybrid powertrain may utilize a 48-volt electrical system like the one that's being developed by Delphi and Bosch – which the suppliers think will be worth a 10 to 15 percent fuel economy gain at a minimum. Down the road, in the 2020s, the Wrangler could adopt a full hybrid system. The diesel powertrain is planned for 2019 or 2020. The Ram 1500 is also pegged to receive a mild hybrid system, again potentially based on 48-volt architecture, sometime after 2020. Lastly, Jeep and Ram will take over some of the production capacity of existing plants. The Sterling Heights, MI, plant that builds the Chrysler 200 will now build the Ram 1500; the Belvidere, IL, facility that produces the Dodge Dart will take over Cherokee output; the big Jeep facility in Toledo, OH, will be used for increased Wrangler demand. In 2015, according to FCA's numbers, car and van demand went down by 10 percent, but SUV demand went up 8 percent and truck demand 2 percent. Considering that these are high-margin vehicles, FCA can't ignore the math. FCA also won't build any new factories to supplement production to meet demand, but instead are reshuffling production priorities. Think of it this way: FCA is gambling on cheap gas being a permanent part of our lives, at least into the 2020s. By doubling down on SUVs and trucks, the company stands to win big, unless a spike in gas prices changes the landscape. FCA isn't talking about a Plan B, so they're all in. It'll be interesting to see how this plays out.

FCA recalls 894k total vehicles worldwide in two campaigns

FCA is recalling a total of 893,698 vehicles worldwide in two campaigns to fix problems with inadvertent airbag deployment, failure of the anti-lock brakes, and stability control systems in the Jeep Grand Cherokee, Liberty, Dodge Journey, and Fiat Freemont. 559,703 of these vehicles are in the US. The larger recall affects 284,089 examples of the 2003 Jeep Liberty and 2004 Jeep Grand Cherokee, and there are also 13,411 of them in Canada, 6,277 in Mexico, and 48,212 outside the NAFTA region. Because of "electrical noise beyond the tolerance of the airbag electronic control module", part of that component can fail, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. This can cause the front and side airbags to deploy and the seatbelt pre-tensioners to activate inadvertently. FCA US has seven reports of alleged injuries from this problem. To fix the situation, the Jeeps need their Occupant Restraint Control modules replaced, as well as the front- and side-impact sensors. According to the NHTSA, the replacement parts won't be available until early 2016. Still, FCA US will advise owners about the problem in a letter by the end of December and will send a second notification when the components are ready. The second campaign affects 275,614 examples of the 2012-2015 Dodge Journey in the US; plus 78,148 of them in Canada, 36,471 in Mexico, and 151,476 left-hand drive units outside of NAFTA where it's sold as the Fiat Freemont. On these vehicles, water intrusion can disable the anti-lock brakes and electronic stability control, although a warning light often illuminates when this issue occurs, and the problem doesn't affect regular braking. There are also no reports of injuries or accidents. To fix the issue, dealers will seal the ABS wiring harness and will replace any already affected components as necessary, like the ABS module or the headlamp and dashboard wiring harness. Statement: Occupant Restraint Control Modules October 30, 2015 , Auburn Hills, Mich. - FCA US LLC is voluntarily recalling an estimated 284,089 older-model SUVs in the U.S. to replace their Occupant Restraint Control (ORC) modules and front and/or side-impact sensors, as required. Within this vehicle population, FCA US became aware of seven injuries caused by inadvertent air-bag deployments and advised NHTSA accordingly. The affected vehicles are not equipped with Takata Corp. air-bags. The Company is unaware of any related accidents.