RE: This is interesting....
Japanese design practices get credit for its reliable cars
By Charles Murray
EE Times
CHICAGO — Japanese design philosophies are responsible for the superior electrical and electronic reliability of Asian-made automobiles, automotive experts said after the Consumers Union released its latest vehicle-reliability survey earlier this month.
The results of the owners' survey, published in the April issue of Consumer Reports magazine, suggest that Asian-made autos exceed North American models and are far superior to European luxury cars in system reliability. Three Japanese nameplates — Acura, Infiniti and Lexus — made the list of vehicles with the most reliable electrical and electronic systems. Three German nameplates-Audi, BMW and Mercedes-Benz-ranked among the least reliable.
The philosophical difference that leads to such disparities is that "the heart and soul of the Japanese philosophy is the system, rather than the individual component. That's the opposite of the philosophy of American and German automakers," said David Cole, chairman of the Center of Automotive Research (Ann Arbor, Mich.), which did not take part in the study. "European and American manufacturers have a history of believing that perfect parts make perfect systems."
Even so, the problem may be less the parts themselves than the design and assembly processes that knit them together — a factor that would appear to favor a holistic design approach. When electronic systems fail, it's often not the fault of the microcontrollers, memories or other ICs, the Consumers Union and others said. Indeed, microprocessors have become exceptionally robust in recent years, according to the Consumers Union (Yonkers, N.Y.).
Rather, the source of problems is often traced back to the use of connectors in assembly. "We find a very high correlation between reliability and the number of connections made at the assembly plant," Cole said.
Some dashboard assemblies, he noted, have as many as 45 connections that need to be made in the factory; others have as few as three or four. It's no leap to conclude that the ones with more connections are more likely to be incorrectly assembled, and in fact that's the case, Cole said.
Japanese manufacturers have dominated the Consumer Reports system-reliability surveys because "they make an effort to develop a foolproof system, making sure the wires don't rub against sharp pieces of metal and connections go together with an audible snap, so that the line worker knows the connection has been made," said David Champion, director of testing at Consumers Union's automotive test facility (East Haddam, Conn.).
Cole of the Center of Automotive Research added that Japanese manufacturers have benefited from a slightly slower adoption rate for cutting-edge electronics, whereas competitors in the United States and particularly in Germany have been more aggressive in their adoption of high-tech features. "Through the school of hard knocks, the Japanese manufacturers have learned that sometimes it's better to be a little slower," he said.
Experts noted that the reliability struggles of European manufacturers are not new. For the past two decades, they said, reliability has been on the decline among European carmakers, while reliability has risen slightly in North America and dramatically in Japan.
Much as their American counterparts did in the 1970s, however, European automakers have proved slow to institute the changes needed to improve reliability.
"The European carmakers for some time have made the assumption that they own the quality game, always have and always will," Cole said. "But the data has shown repeatedly that's not true anymore."
Consumers Union engineers said that the Japanese Lexus and German BMW were found to be at opposite ends of the reliability spectrum not only in electronics but across the board-engines, transmissions, suspensions, exhaust, brakes and other areas. Based on surveys from approximately 675,000 respondents, they found that eight-year-old Lexus LS400s had fewer problems per hundred vehicles (41 per 100) than six-month-old BMW 7 Series vehicles (42 per 100).
According to Consumer Reports, the Lexus LS430 is currently priced at approximately $55,000, while the BMW 7 Series sells for $69,000 to $117,000.
Vehicles cited in the study for poor electrical and electronic reliability include the Audi A6, BMW 7 Series, Chevrolet Blazer, Ford Windstar, Mercedes-Benz E-Class, Volvo 850 and Volkswagen Golf, among others. Consistently offering the best electrical and electronic reliability were the Acura Integra, Honda CR-V, Infiniti QX4 and Lexus LS400.
Consumers Union engineers said their experience in tearing down vehicles tells them that the causes of electrical and electronic malfunctions run the gamut from improperly installed wiring to bad connectors to faulty relays. Such problems can manifest themselves in the breakdown of all manner of automotive components, including window motors, starters, alternators, batteries, gauges, wipers, lights, air bags, fuel pumps and water pumps.
But Champion rejected the idea that more electronics results in more electronic problems, arguing that sufficient statistics exist to refute that claim. "Lexus, Acura and Infiniti have produced vehicles with more features and greater complexity, yet they seem to get it right."
Consumers Union engineers did acknowledge, however, that electrical and electronics still tend to be larger problem areas than more established technologies, such as body integrity or body hardware.
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