The Chrysler LLC Group and Ford Motor Co. have announced two separate (and not related) recalls on some of their vehicles.
Starting with Ford, the Detroit automaker is recalling a total of 33,728 of its 2010MY Transit Connect vans manufactured from December 5, 2008 through May 31, 2010 over a potential safety issue concerning the retention pushpin located on the headliner above the B-pillar trim on both sides of the vehicles.
Chrysler�s Ram brand has notified the National Highway Traffic Safety Association that it is recalling 242,780 pickup trucks over a steering failure that could lead to �a loss of directional stability�. The safety agency reported that the left tie rod ball may fracture during low speed parking maneuvers when the driver is making a sudden turn. This could lead to the loss of directional stability in the left front wheel.
Mercedes-Benz dealers were number one for customer treatment in the US according to an independent study by survey company Pied Piper. The California-based company hired 3,524 �secret shoppers� and sent them to US dealerships in order to determine how their salesmen were performing in anything from explaining a car�s features to closing a deal. This is the third year in a row that Mercedes-Benz, which looks set to top the sales charts this year in the luxury segment, has topped Pied Piper�s study.
It seems like US carmakers are beginning to worry about the rising inventory of their big pickup trucks. For example, General Motors has an inventory of 122 days (or 4 months) of its Chevy Silverado and GMC Sierra according to a report from Reuters, or 50% higher than the typical industry inventory of 80 days. But GM isn�t the only automaker in distress. Chrysler, Toyota and Ford also are behind their projected sales, with 93 days inventory for the first two makers and 79 days for the third respectively.
