So what happened? Well, Ford unfortunately had a huge cruise control switch recall that accounted for its return to problem child status. The artist formerly known as DaimlerChrysler had 1.4 million recalls while Volkswagen had its worst year on record with another 1.5 million vehicles recalled.
On the mend appears to be GM with its figure being the lowest it has seen in a decade. That is amazing considering the fact that the General has a larger lineup and a lot more new platforms than it had ten years ago. Newly designed models and platforms are more prone to recalls than ones that have been on sale for a number of years.
Another surprise was the fact that Toyota actually managed to have fewer recalls this year, in spite of having some high profile problems with its new for 2007 Toyota Tundra. Most embarrassing was a driveshaft recall that called into question the new truck’s “tough guy” status.
On average, about 18 million vehicles a year with the figure closer to 14.5 million in 2007. Unfortunately, that is a sharp uptick from the gains made in 2006 that saw the number drop to 11 million.
So where have we seen the gains come from? Simply put, it is doubtful any newly lax quality standards would come to light in these year to year numbers. The only thing consumers can take from this is a caution as to which manufacturers are really serious about long term quality and who aren’t.