The Price of Quality
By dolce_vita78
@dolce_vita78 (8062)
Philippines
October 4, 2009 1:20am CST
Early this year, General Motors recalled nearly 1.5 million midsize cars from the 1997-2003 model years. These cars have a defect that lets oil drip onto the exhaust manifold and flame up, potentially leading to an engine fire, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.
The recall included 1997-2003 Buick Regal and Pontiac Grand Prix, the 1998-1999 Chevrolet Lumina and Oldsmobile Intrigue; the 1998-2003 Chevrolet Monte Carlo; and the 2000-2003 Chevrolet Impala equipped with the naturally-aspirated (without a supercharger) 3.8-liter V6.
According to the recall notice, if the manifold is hot enough and the oil runs below the heat shield, it may ignite into a small flame and may spread to the plastic spark plug wire channel and beyond increasing the risk of an engine compartment fire.
Dealership technicians will remove the spark plug wire retention channel at the front of engine and install two new spark plug wire retainers. The quick fix is free.
Wow! How much was lost in this case just because of errors in their processes?
52 responses
@giovanni1326 (71)
•
22 Feb 10
wow, it is a lot of cars to be repaired. Even General motors is kinda rich,
it would still be a very expensive cost. It might even amount to billions if not millions. GM should have made sure that all of their car parts are of high quality because sacrificing the purchasing of more expensive parts is a lot cheaper rather than to compromise the quality, and at the end, end up having really big problems. that is why it is very important for a firm always to do it the right the first time and being consistent. I feel sorry for GM but it is their fault. they should really face the consequences of their lack of quality checking.
1 person likes this
@JAMartinez (16)
• Philippines
17 Oct 09
Maybe the workers of the company are not satisfied so they did not really do their jobs well, ^_^... They should ensure first the quality of what they use in producing the cars... Maybe there is something wrong with the products or raw materials from their suppliers. Errors really can cost a lot and at the same time it will scare some other buyers or clients...
@JAMartinez (16)
• Philippines
20 Oct 09
They should also check their processes in producing their cars.
@nhovex (12)
•
8 Feb 12
It is better that motor was recalled so that people will not be affected. People should not buy this kind of motors to avoid accidents.In the part of the company they incurred losses but atleast they save life of other people .They should make sure that they done well the process of producing a car.It was their fault if they lost and not gained profit and that was difficult for the company to recover the expenses. Imagine the producers of flip flops incurred loss how much more to the million of cars and the materials used for the processing that are expensive.
@estoestah_tilado (12)
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8 Feb 12
It is good to know they recall those could have cause accidents. But this fault could result to company's big loss by just in parts they already bought and buying new parts to replace them. This might cost them millions. Not only the money they lost but also their reputation. Yes! they recall those which are defective to ensure the buyers safety but are they sure that the trustworthiness of their loyal customers are still with them 100%. maybe there is but lower in that rate and maybe they switch to other sellers.
@zshen18 (12)
•
8 Feb 12
The company is liable for the damages. They must see and check the manufacturing area before they produced the product. They must also consider the safety of their customers. If they will continue producing the product that have not yet been checked more people/ customers will suffer.
@aims0824 (12)
•
9 Feb 12
Though I'm not familiar with the motor parts, I would say that the company would be spending much for these. 1.5 million, it's a lot. The company needs to make sure that there will be no more errors in the production process. They also need to have product testing before sending it out to the market again. The company might be able to fix what's gone wrong but it's name has been damaged. It would not be easy for the company to gain customers' trust especially it's dealing with a car. Of course, no one wants to get stucked in the middle of somewhere with a non working car.
@sweet_pea (3322)
• Philippines
14 Apr 11
I think it is better to recall these things so as not to incur more losses for the company. If people meet accidents because of these defects, I think they would spend more for the lawsuits that would be knocking on their door. Well it is good to know that company like this value public safety more than realizing profits.
@blizchell08 (22)
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11 Apr 11
i don't know the exact amount. All i know is they lost big amount of money in their negligence. They should be careful in providing their product in order to avoid losing big amount of money. And also for the safe of their customers. their are many customers that in danger because of their negligence.
@Marikaru (47)
• Philippines
11 Apr 11
For me, of course the company should protect their customers first. They must carefully inspect all units before releasing it into the market. The company should prevent their clients from any accidents or else they would be liable. Even though it would cost them big amount of money they should double check it again. Safety first for the customers.
@Geraldine012345 (22)
• Kuwait
12 Apr 11
In this issue the manufacturer should counter check all their cars before they will distribute it to the market. For them to assure the customers for their safety. In this manner the manufacturer should monitor the workers for them to be guide whenever problem occurs. They should not be very fast in producing the goods. Its better to be slow rather than fast that you are not sure in your output. Be sure that whenever you buy car you have an insurance .
@cdmdoria18 (8)
• Philippines
10 Apr 11
The cost of recalling those cars is very big. This will happen when the company is not careful in manufacturing their cars.The important thing here is to follow the correct procedure in manufacturing a car.For them to eliminate lost to there company.They should be aware in following procedure to avoid damages.
@tintinmorales (17)
•
10 Apr 11
i think a big money was lost because of the recall... the cars must really be recalled because it can cause a really big accident.. its good the engineers of the company knows what to do while cars retained not fixed... but the company really lost a lot
@naelahfaisalmasacal (16)
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31 Jan 12
ADDITIONAL POINTS
The company(General Motors) have done a worst thing that can cause a lot of incidents that can happen anytime.
The only think of how to get a higher profit without thinking the customers that will buy their cars. And so, because of this their customers will be lessen or worst they might all be gone and just transfer to their competitors.
They must always check their cars before producing it to the market because if anything happen they will be the one who will be blame of. And so, this company must always be aware on the policy and rules of National Highways Traffic Safety Administration to prevent errors in their operations.
@cecille08 (13)
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7 Feb 12
Companies should always check the processes in making products to avoid losses in profit. They have to be sure in the quality of their product before introducing it in the market. In that case, they should also improve their strategies especially in improving their products for the sake of their customers. It is better if they always think about the safety of their customers so that they would be able to obtain their trust and loyalty. Lastly, General Motors should always be aware on the rules of the National Highway Traffic Administration to prevent such problems.
@meena_artisan (39)
• Philippines
26 Feb 10
Wow.. It always gives me a headache whenever I think of nthe money involved in the procedure...hehe..But to think that they've been in the automotive industry for quite a long time then they can manage it..They had reaped what they had sow the first time then now they have to suffer the consequences..Now I fully understood what rework,negligence,poor management and maybe selfishness costs you..I suggest that they should make use of the Six Sigma during their production.^^ but that depends on the management, if they're good enough then great but if not then, Goodluck to them!...coffee time!
@chanah001 (11)
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28 Feb 10
I dont have lots of knowlegde about cars. Im wodering about the errors that the compay did. Did they have enough funds to cover up these errors? What if their customers who will bought thier products were unaware and they can encounter accidents? OMG. I bet the company has a bestfriend at the Bank of America. haha!
@Bausta (15)
• Philippines
22 Feb 10
Maybe they lost a billion in this case just because of the errors. Maybe the company should practice using six sigma. They should know the Zero defect so that they can control the error they made. They should analyze first the things they will do so that it lessen there costs. For me, it is better to use six sigma.
@ravenclaw_samwise (23)
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10 Apr 11
as for my opinion i think the company had lost as much as billions in this case just because of errors in their processes but regarding this matter the company is quite impressive in recalling the cars with such defects because their lost is only a monetary value that in time the company would regain it, but when peoples lives where gone that cannot be re gain anymore its their social responsibility to make their product safe as well as their consumers.
@jhoverly (21)
• Philippines
10 Apr 11
General motors would spend a lot of money for fixing the cars. The company wasted much money for it and not only money but also time. The company also lost the trust of there customers to them. Because of the problem that occurred, the name of the company also was destroyed.
@khimmy_30 (12)
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10 Apr 11
i think its millions of money where lost. imagine its a very expensive cars. this are very big company. they must have many professional workers here so why they have such errors in many of this cars? in the first place, they must have detected that error in the first car that they made. this is a very big lost for them i think.
