My favorite line of that article: "...Bollore was removed because of his inability to handle the semiconductor crisis."

Let me get this straight. The Defenders are having trouble being shipped with eye glass holders, chargers, yada yada yada and the CEO was let go because he couldn't handle supply chain problems? Didn't see that coming /s.

 

Personally, I mostly agree with you both about CR.

The problem though is that perception becomes reality. Brand identity is a tricky thing. People do read it or see the headlines to their (GM's) detriment.

This is not dissimilar to what JLR struggles with. Thierry directly said that JLR could sell 100k more units if the masses didn't think they are so unreliable. IMO, part of the problem is not actual issues but the way they approach customer service when something does go wrong. Great businesses use problems to build loyalty. LR kinda doesn't.

Does GM? Idk, I would personally never buy a GM vehicle so I don't pay attention to that. My inclination is that most people don't think, "super reliable great customer service", when they see a Chevy Malibu or a GMC Jimmy driving down the street.

JLR would greatly benefit from a synergy that enhances their quality reputation and I'm just not so sure that "GM is here for the rescue" inspires that confidence.

 

He was a wet napkin. Nearly everything he said and promised was lip service. The guy just didn't have a clear vision.

He knew there was a customer perception problem and a quality problem and, to fix it, he created a new position and put this guy in it:
​​​​

 

Perception is definitely an issue for JLR and I just do not believe that LR vehicles are less reliable than other brands. I have had multiple LR vehicles with no issues at all and some that were nightmares. My 2007 Range Rover had 190000 trouble free miles when I sold it to a friend who is still driving it. My nightmare Range Rover was a 2006 and my dealer took it back and gave me a 2007 Range Rover with no money out of pocket. The 2006 has less than 1500 miles on it at the time. And I do agree with you, LR can approach customer service in a different manner especially when you target upscale customers.

 

...said no Lexus owner, ever.

Your anecdotal evidence illustrates perfectly the opposite of your statement that LR isn't any less reliable than other brands. Most people say, "I've had 7 of Brand X and they've all been perfect, therefore I don't believe all the stories about Brand X being a steaming pile of crap," but you say, "I don't believe LR trucks are bad," and to prove it offer that at least one of your "multiples" was a steaming pile of poo that the dealer took off your hands out of compassion. If you've had 10 LRs that's a 10% Steaming Pile of Poo rate; if you've had 6 that's a 17% rate, and if you've had 4 that's a 25% rate. All of those numbers exceed the rates of total failure for "statistically reliable" brands such as Lexus by an order of magnitude or more.

Note 1: I'm not saying LR actually has a 10-25% buyback rate of lemons, only that your proof from personal ownership would indicate it does
Note 2: I've never owned a Lexus or Infinity and the only Japanese near-luxury car I've had was a 1988 Acura Legend. Which was pretty reliable for its day, much more than the GMs I'd driven for the previous 8 years of my driving career. But my point is, I'm not an owner/fanboi of Toyota, only someone who's willing to admit they do Quality a lot better than LR.

 

Every manufacturer has lemons including Lexus and Toyota. As I said, it is all perception, and for some reason, folks perceive LR vehicles as less reliable. You can interpret what I said whichever way you want, but your logic and stats make zero sense with the subject being discussed. I have owned Toyota vehicles, including a 2000 Land Cruiser and a two 2011 Toyota Prius as company cars. Both the Prius and Land Cruiser had issues when new. It's funny how people do not go around bashing Toyotas but they do Land Rover. Go figure...

 

Yeah, it can’t be that land rover earned that reputation. It must be the common bias all Americans have against the English and for the Japanese. Yeah, that’s it! We have allowed our national affinity for Asia and hatred of England to cloud our perceptions.

 

I think we can all agree the truth is somewhere in the middle; no every Toyota won’t last 500,000 miles even with perfect maintenance, and not every Land Rover falls apart driving off the lot. Land Rovers are more reliable than people think and Toyotas are probably a little less reliable than people think but are definitely as boring as people think haha (nothing wrong with boring imo).

 

You got 295k outa your '15i? With that transmission and chassis vibration??? I had a '15i..Cadillac bought it back at 15k (transmission) and replaced it with a '16...Bought that one back @ 3k miles (cash that time) because of the chassis vibration issue....
Really wanted to buy a full size RR in '15 instead of the Escalade, wife reminded me of all the issues I had with my previous RR...Guess I didn't play that one right..?!?!

 

I had 4 wranglers and not 1 was without issues. The most recent needed a new rear axle, 2 batteries and the visor just decided to fall off. However, people still buy them. Lots of them.

I read an article a while back that the more premium the vehicle, the more they have a repair bias. Example- you buy a new $30k Toyota, you mentally believe it isn’t a more expensive vehicle, so you accept issues. However, if you spend $85k- even a small noise will be noted as a needed repair, as “I paid a premium price, I deserve a premium result”. You may have the same problem on each vehicle, but only the premium brand ends up being brought to the dealership for repair.

I don’t know, I think the above is coupled with the fact that you pay premium because you get premium features. More stuff = more that go wrong. Other models are built in bulk and features are cut to keep the price down.

From there, some brands just have a better R&D budget, some are garage babies. It all adds up and LR just pings some of the higher risk areas.