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Porsche is top brand in new car quality survey
The race to fill vehicles with the latest technology is hurting quality.
Non-Japanese cars make Consumer Reports’ top 10 reliability list
DETROIT — Japan’s lock on Consumer Reports’ vehicle reliability rankings is starting to ease. Three Japanese brands — Lexus, Toyota and Acura — took the top spots in this year’s survey, and seven of the top 10 brands are Japanese. But three non-Japanese brands — Audi, Volvo and GMC — cracked the top 10. And […]
Quality helps Americans keep old cars longer
TRAVERSE CITY, Mich. — Americans are keeping their cars and trucks longer than ever, and even with new car sales increasing, the average age will continue to rise, an industry research firm says. The average age of the 247 million cars and trucks on U.S. roads hit a record of 11.4 years in January, the […]
Audit questions reliability of Md. agricultural data
ANNAPOLIS — Maryland auditors say a database of state land acquisitions to preserve agriculture has not been tested for reliability. The audit, made public on Thursday, says the state’s database of easement acquisitions recorded a cumulative cost of acquisitions to be $588 million, as of June 30, 2011. That exceeded the corresponding total in the […]
Global competition forced automakers to improve quality
DETROIT — Car shoppers today are less likely to end up with a lemon. In the past five years, global competition has forced automakers to improve the quality and reliability of their vehicles — everything from inexpensive mini-cars to decked-out luxury SUVs. The newfound emphasis on quality means fewer problems for owners. It also means […]
When TMI on social media spells trouble
Why some people take pride in the fact their Facebook profile emulates an episode of Tosh.0 is beyond me. (I am not saying that I don’t watch the show and laugh hysterically. But, simultaneously, I do wonder why people put some of this stuff up on the Internet for the entire world to see.) While […]
PSC begins hearing on Pepco’s reliability record
Already hammered by lawmakers and customers over the last year for how it handled power outages during a string of storms last year, Pepco is now the focus of a four-day hearing before the Maryland Public Service Commission. The commission opened the evidentiary hearing Thursday to look at Pepco’s reliability following an outpouring of criticism […]
Technological heebie-jeebies
Lawyers attempting to get social networking into evidence must contend with a group of judges who probably have never used a social networking site among the seven of them. (I’d love to be proven wrong. To be fair, a quick check of Facebook shows that Judge Bell has a page with 30 friends, including public […]
Stronger penalties added for unreliable utilities
ANNAPOLIS — The Maryland Senate has added stronger penalties in a bill to increase the reliability of Maryland utilities. Senators approved an amendment on Wednesday that would enable utilities that are not meeting reliability standards to be penalized in 2012, instead of 2014. Senators also passed a provision that increases a potential fine from $10,000 […]
Utility reliability bill to be introduced in Md.
After severe weather knocked power out to customers across the state, especially in Pepco’s service area, state legislators are upping the ante to improve reliability. Gov. Martin O’Malley said Wednesday that legislation would be introduced to institute reliability standards for Maryland utilities such as Pepco and Baltimore Gas & Electric that deliver power to residences […]
Pepco execs take responsibility for outages
WASHINGTON — Pepco executives are taking responsibility for poor service after recent power failures and repeating a plan to improve reliability. Officials acknowledged at a news conference Monday that the company has fallen short in its service. The conference came a day after The Washington Post reported that the company’s day-to-day reliability is near the […]
Toyota, Honda lead quality rankings but GM gains
DETROIT — The most problem-free cars and trucks are made by Honda and Toyota, but Ford is closing in fast and General Motors is making big quality improvements, according to Consumer Reports magazine’s 2010 reliability rankings. Ford and GM continue to narrow the large quality gap that once separated Toyota and other Asian automakers from […]
