"J.D. Power and Associates Customer Service Roundtable has recognized Cadillac as one of the fifty 2012 Customer Service Champions. J.D. Power surveyed around 800 companies who were initially selected because of their excellence in their own industries as perceived by customers. To be included, a company must excel within its own industry and it has to stick out among leading brands in 20 major industries evaluated by J.D. Power. The 2012 Champions were determined based on customer feedback, opinions, and perceptions as obtained by J.D. Power’s syndicated research in 2011.

The 2012 Champions represent the highest-performing U.S. companies that do not just offer but also deliver excellent service both within its own industry and across all industries surveyed. “We’re in the midst of a mission to enhance every interaction a consumer has with Cadillac,” said Kurt McNeil, vice president of Cadillac Sales and Service. McNeil said the company is strongly committed to customer satisfaction and it appreciates the recognition given by J.D. Power.

Cadillac’s obsession to prove the best customer services has allowed it to institute wide-ranging changes that could improve luxury customer experience. To an extent, the company conducts all-embracing customer experience training for dealership personnel and is developing a collection of owner benefits called Cadillac Shield. The company’s Escalade model received highest honors in the Large Premium Crossover/SUV category of the J.D. Power Initial Quality StudySM (IQS) in 2011. The IQS measures the number of problems consumers experience during the first 90 days of ownership."


Two aspects: a "Corvette Shield" and the "lowest number of problems experienced during 90 days of ownership." The above announcement shows GM can do it if GM choses to do it!

A good mission statement copied from Cadillac; “to enhance every interaction a consumer has with Corvette.”

 

I agree. GM should place such an emphasis on Corvette customer relations. Frankly, given the competitive market, all customer relations.

And the C7 would benefit greatly from:

1. A bullet-proof drivetrain (no weak clutches, no weak rear diffs, no broken half-shafts, etc., an engineered deployed capacity well lower than maximum capacity on torque/hp loads). In other words, vette would be served well by having an earned rep for tough drivelines (one of many reasons the FGT is sought after).

2. Have tactile feel of materials inside and panel fits that are top of class.


If GM did those things - i.e. the customer service you pointed out, and the vette had a rep for having a very robust driveline, and the panel fits and cockpit tactile feel/look was better, they would be a lot more competitive.

 

The thread title says "must have c7 features" but the article quoted is about build quality and dealership experience.

I think a lot of Corvette owners would be much happier if they could buy and service their Corvette at a Cadillac dealership. Of course we know that ain't gonna happen, and we have to make do with Chevy dealers who are not necessarily incentivized by GM or focused on treating Corvette customers with a luxury experience. Personally, I'm satisfied with a dealership that gets me in and out efficiently with no bullshift, and there are still enough Chevy dealers that if one gives me guff I have alternatives.

The only thing I miss that my luxury-car buddies have is the no-fuss loaner. Does Cadillac do that yet? If not, they need to get with the program.

As for features, I agree that interior materials and assembly are a shortcoming, but I have little doubt that C7 will be a significant improvement. (Will it be enough?) Drivetrain robustness? That seems like a fringe concern to me. I know better than to drop an LS7 into my '05, but on the whole C6 is hardly fragile.

.Jinx

 

Fringe concerns? I agree not hugely widespread, but come on.

Blown diffs and half shafts on 05 vettes.

Blown half shafts on 06 Zs, until they went thru 3 different axle changes at the factory to find a sufficiently robust version.

Bad rockers on 07 Zs

Excessive valve guide wear causing dropped valves and blown engines on 06-09 Zs.

Weak slave cylinders in all M6 cars.

Inadequate clutch hydraulics on M6 cars.


All those items manifest themselves on bone stock cars, let alone modded cars. And too many of them. At least too many for the C6 to have earned a rep in the performance community for having a bullet-proof driveline like several cars have done.

And don't get me wrong, I do think the C6 platform has proven itself fairly well. It's just a shame that with just a little incremental engineering cushion on these items, its durability rep would be much stronger.

 

I would rather have my car serviced at the closest Chevy dealer to me. The local Cadillac dealer's Customer Service isn't as good and by the way they are also a Chevy dealer. It doesn't depend on the brand or manufacturer, it depends on the quality of service the dealer provides and that depends on the people who own that company. Doesn't matter whether the brand is Lexus, Infiniti, Cadillac, Chevrolet, BMW, Mercedes, Toyota, VW, Nissan or Chrysler. You can run across one dealer company that owns all of those brands or even more and the service you get depends on that dealer company. If they insist on providing excellent service then you will get it at all of the shops. If they don't insist on it then you won't get it at any of the shops.

Bill

 

Were we talking about "Must have c7 features"?

World-class handling, acceleration, and top speed is a given. (Get that out of the way.) Must look fantastic and be distinctive.

On to those features I have in other cars and I really like;
Much bigger display screen
Backup camera with steering indicator lines
iPhone & App integration (phone control, Address Book, Pandora, etc. Corvette Apps? Hmmmm, could be interesting.)
iPhone/iPod controlled from dash/steering wheel buttons, album art displayed
Subwoofer
Feature rich GPS with simple GUI, iPhone Address Book selection
Solid feeling ***** & buttons
More/bigger storage compartments
More interior lighting

Things I've seen and like;
BMW's top view camera (very cool)
Cadillac's customizable dashboard themes (CUE)

Offer a stripped down, track ready version for those who only want to race their Corvette. RECARO (or equal) seat option.

Things I don't need anymore;
Voice control (Give it up, none have ever worked well enough to use regularly.)
CD player
Ash tray

Things to keep;
Room for golf clubs and/or weekend bags for two.

Cheers,
JB

 

Gather lots of owners on an online forum -- and CorvetteForum is a huge community -- and every problem will percolate to the surface.

Not hugely widespread? Or not even widespread? What percentage of the cars produced has suffered any of these issues? That remain stock? Enough that they make a list of items to check for when buying a used Vette, sure; enough that it's a serious concern in the showroom, I bet very rarely. Sure, they could do better; they could always do better. But it's something that GM could merely maintain the status quo and have a great reputation and a desirable car that sells well. So it could benefit from improvement, but greatly? I think in light of other areas of opportunity you overstate this one.

Now, if they slip, that could have a huge negative impact...

And of course if my car blows up tomorrow, I'm changing my tune.

.Jinx

 

Jinx,

You may be right. And I may be in the minority in the marketplace with those areas of desired improvement.

Lots of folks have barked about the interior of the C6. I'm actually one of those who is fine with the interior. I prefer a basic, simple interior in my sports cars. I'm pretty certain I'm in the minority of the market on that one.

I may be in the minority of the market on the driveline items. That said, GM could improve the interior of the car, and not drive me away as a customer. I suspect they could increase the robustness of the driveline and not drive you or others away as well. And the increased cred in the performance, tracking and modding communities enjoyed by machines such as the FGT, the old Supra and certain year Vipers from having overbuilt drivelines, would inure to the benefit of the vette.

And I doubt yours will grenade tomorrow. At least I hope it doesn't. Hopefully you're enjoying some nice California weather in it.

 

I did note your other point in your first post was about interior material feel and panel fit; it's a very good point. A basic, simple interior need not feel or look cheap, but when compared to other sports cars, sometimes C6 seems that way -- moreso in 2012 than in 2004, of course. I think some of the problem is that GM has a certain way of doing things, and some "extreme" standards that emphasize capability in fringe (there's that word again) circumstances at the expense of common everyday ones. If Bob Lutz' book and the Cadillac ATS press points are to be believed, that old thinking has been challenged lately, and I think it means C7 could have much more basic goodness inside -- and maybe better tire-to-fender gaps too. There will be some geegawkery inside, but they'll make the best/worst of that a pricey option

As for robustness, let's hope Corvette engineers predicted continued escalation of sports car performance and padded the margin. C6 added 240hp to the pot, and barring an autopocalypse C7 will have to add quite a bit in its time.

.Jinx

 

I agree.

I'm actually optimistic about C7. Won't be long and we'll all get to see what she's all about.

It's amazing we're only a few short weeks away from the formal intro of the Viper, and it seems very little has leaked out about that car. For being so close to its debut, that is remarkable.

Hopefully we'll get more glimpses of the C7 b/n now and January.

 

The Corvette is a sports car.

If you like those features, stay with the MB, BMW, Cadillac and similar sport sedans or touring cars.

 

1) As many have said, quality materials in the interior. It doesn't need to be extravagant, just enough to where you actually feel like you're sitting in a $50k+ car.
2) Standard manual gearbox with adequate hardware (strong enough clutch and slave cylinder, etc.).
3) MRS standard on all models.
4) Seats that will hold me in place when I pull 1+g in a corner.

 

Or like Porsches? Or like sports cars that cost less than Corvette?

BTW, Corvette is also a GT. All that gadgetry doesn't have to be standard, but it needs to be available. Not everyone restricts their Corvette to the track. And those gadgets can help you make time for those backroad drives, not to mention help you find those backroads in the first place...

If you don't like those features, stay with your old Corvette

.Jinx

 

Jinx, no fight here, but a backup camera? A subwoofer? An address book? Stupid album art? A top view camera? Are you kidding me?

And what cars priced less than the Corvette that will run with my "old" Corvette offers those items? None!

My $100 Garmin Nuvi helps me find those places also.

If you and others want that crap, go pay half again to three times as much and drive the Porsches, Benz', BMWs, Astons, Jags, etc. Nice cars; I like them a lot. I'll settle for my Corvette.

Oh, it IS a sports car. That's why it is how it is. The coupe is, I suppose, a Grand Touring car. It's all a play on words.

 

To be fair, backup cameras might be mandatory by the time the C7 releases.

 

Man I hope not.

 

What other cars cost as much as Corvette and don't have any of those things?

Numbers alone aren't compelling for enough buyers to matter. But don't take my word for it; take a trip back through the posts in this forum. (Well, the ones that aren't about styling. You might have to go back four months, but there were a lot of them.)

.Jinx

 

You actually need a BMW....no, you deserve one. You miss the point of a performance car totally.

 

And also offer the overall performance capabilities of a base Corvette?

None.

 

Thank you for quoting the first paragraph of my post, but I think you missed the second paragraph, so here it is again:

Numbers alone aren't compelling for enough buyers to matter. But don't take my word for it; take a trip back through the posts in this forum. (Well, the ones that aren't about styling. You might have to go back four months, but there were a lot of them.)

.Jinx