GM wants service menu pricing, hires OEC to develop system
General Motors wants its dealers worldwide to price service and repairs using a standardized menu that includes required parts and supporting labor time for specific jobs. GM plans to launch its global service menu pricing in the third quarter, rolling out initially in North America.
The automaker has hired OEConnection to develop the pricing system. OEC, of Richfield, Ohio, says more than 5,000 dealerships globally use one of its menu pricing products.
James Farthing, OEC's director of service, says the standard approach will enable GM dealerships' service departments "to deliver an accurate and consistent full price quote in under 30 seconds."
Buick, Infiniti at top of J.D. Power service rankings
Infiniti unseated Lexus as the top luxury brand and Buick repeated as the top mass-market make in J.D. Power's annual scorecard of satisfaction with dealership service departments. Overall, the industry posted its biggest one-year gain in the study since 2012.
Infiniti raised its score 15 points to 876 out of a possible 1,000 in Power's 2018 U.S. Customer Service Index Study. Porsche came in second among luxury brands, while Audi, Cadillac and Lexus tied for third. Land Rover finished last, just behind Jaguar, which was above average the past two years and No. 1 in 2015.
Buick's score fell to 850 from 860 a year ago, but it remained No. 1 in the mass-market category, helping General Motors take three of the top four spots. Chevrolet and Mini tied for second, trailing Buick by one point, while GMC finished fourth.
Fiat scored lowest among mass-market brands for the second year in a row, as all five Fiat Chrysler brands ranked in the bottom six, along with Mazda.
The industry's overall average rose 12 points, marking the third straight gain and the eighth in nine years.
U.S. vehicle recalls fall to lowest level since 2013
U.S. light-vehicle recalls fell to 30.7 million in 2017, the lowest level since 2013, NHTSA reported. A record 53 million cars and trucks were recalled in 2016 when a callback linked to deadly airbags was expanded.
U.S. regulators say that recalls to replace Takata Corp. airbag inflators will eventually affect at least 65 million inflators in 42 million U.S. vehicles built by 19 automakers. That will be the largest U.S. auto safety campaign ever.
NHTSA has pressured automakers to recall more vehicles since 2014, after an ignition switch defect in General Motors cars was linked to 124 deaths.
From 2014 through 2016, U.S. auto safety recalls set records of almost 50 million or more each year. In the previous 20 years, annual U.S. auto recalls ranged from 10.2 million to 30.8 million.