The German Automobile Paradox

Authors

  • James Henley University of Tennessee at Chattanooga
  • Michael Cotter Grand Valley State University

Keywords:

Quality, Reliability, Automobile industry,

Abstract

This study compares the performance and reliability of German vehicles sold in the US to those from the rest of the world. The examination uses Consumer Reports’ vehicle road-test performance and predicted reliability from 1994 through 2012. Statistical analysis reveals a contradiction in the two automobile dimensions. The German automobiles had better road-test performance than automobiles from the rest of the world, but the German vehicles’ predicted reliability was much worse.

Author Biographies

James Henley, University of Tennessee at Chattanooga

James Henley is the Henry Hart professor of marketing at University of Tennessee at Chattanooga. He received his D.B.A. in marketing from Mississippi State University. His current research interests include country-of-origin effects, product quality, and negotiation. He has published in the Journal of Business to Business Marketing, Journal of Marketing Theory and Practice, and Marketing Management Journal.

Michael Cotter, Grand Valley State University

Michael Cotter is an associate professor of marketing at Grand Valley State University. He received his D.B.A. in marketing from Mississippi State University. His current research interests include automobile industry advertising changes, country-of-origin effects, product quality, and negotiation. He has published in the Journal of Business to Business Marketing, Journal of Marketing Theory and Practice, and Marketing Management Journal.

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Published

2012-12-05

Issue

Vol. 3 No. 1 (2012)

Section

ABR Journal Articles

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