{"id":25362,"date":"2020-05-14T14:53:46","date_gmt":"2020-05-14T18:53:46","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/henrypayne.com\/?p=25362"},"modified":"2020-05-14T14:53:46","modified_gmt":"2020-05-14T18:53:46","slug":"payne-experts-say-tesla-has-turned-the-corner-on-quality","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/henrypayne.com\/index.php\/2020\/05\/payne-experts-say-tesla-has-turned-the-corner-on-quality","title":{"rendered":"Payne: Experts say Tesla has turned the corner on quality"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><div align=\"left\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.gannett-cdn.com\/presto\/2020\/05\/12\/PDTN\/8db79b2f-74fd-43ba-a0a1-0b58e6998c4a-tesla_modelY.JPEG?width=520&amp;height=390&amp;fit=bounds&amp;auto=webp\" alt=\"Auburn Hills-based Munro &amp;amp; Associates took a 2020 Tesla Model Y into their shop and disassembled it piece by piece in order to assess technology and quality.\" \/><\/p>\n<\/div><p><span class=\"js-caption\">Auburn Hills-based Munro &amp; Associates took a 2020 Tesla Model Y into their shop and disassembled it piece by piece in order to assess technology and quality.<\/span><span class=\"credit gallery-viewport-credit\">\u00a0Munro &amp; Associates<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"speakable-p-1 p-text\">It seems that Tesla Inc. quality is catching up to its technology.<\/p>\n<p class=\"speakable-p-2 p-text\">Quality issues have dogged the Silicon Valley automaker even as it has become one of the most coveted brands in the luxury market. Under the microscope as the new kid on the block, its fit and finish issues have lagged its foreign and domestic\u00a0peers.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p-text\">But as its all-new, $50,000, 2020 Model Y compact crossover comes to market, the electric automaker is not only getting familiar praise for its performance \u2014\u00a0it\u2019s getting strange new respect from some of its loudest quality control critics.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p-text\"><span class=\"exclude-from-newsgate\"><strong>More:\u00a0<\/strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.detroitnews.com\/story\/opinion\/columnists\/henry-payne\/2020\/05\/07\/review-2020-tesla-model-y-performance-road-test\/3083294001\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" data-track-label=\"inline|intext|n\/a\">Payne: Tesla Model Y charges luxury SUV market with roomy SUV version of its Model 3<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p-text\">Credit a culture of innovation and a deep bench of some of America\u2019s best engineers, said\u00a0Sandy Munro, CEO of Auburn Hills-based Munro &amp; Associates, who has watched Tesla grow with a critical eye. He said\u00a0the automaker&#8217;s investment in top talent cast off by Detroit and NASA during the Great Recession of\u00a02008-2009 has paid dividends.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p-text\">They have had good people for a long time,\u201d said Munro, who runs one of the world\u2019s premier industrial benchmarking companies. Tesla CEO Elon Musk &#8220;hired the cream of the crop and brought them back (to California) and listened to what they had to say. Under the skin was done really well &#8230;\u00a0by these geniuses they picked up from NASA and the Detroit area. They don\u2019t just have Silicon Valley guys \u2014\u00a0they cherry-picked the world.\u201d<\/p>\n<div id=\"module-position-Ss_uWVIWLms\" class=\"story-asset image-asset\">\n<aside class=\"wide single-photo\"><div align=\"left\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.gannett-cdn.com\/presto\/2020\/05\/12\/PDTN\/538d79bd-c8b1-4a8d-abb4-4f5a65fa3d06-tesla_munro-sandy.JPG?width=540&amp;height=&amp;fit=bounds&amp;auto=webp\" alt=\"Sandy Munro, CEO of Munro &amp; Associates manufacturing consultants, says the 2020 Tesla Model Y SUV has made great strides in build quality over the Model 3 sedan.\" width=\"540\" data-mycapture-src=\"https:\/\/www.gannett-cdn.com\/presto\/2020\/05\/12\/PDTN\/538d79bd-c8b1-4a8d-abb4-4f5a65fa3d06-tesla_munro-sandy.JPG\" data-mycapture-sm-src=\"https:\/\/www.gannett-cdn.com\/presto\/2020\/05\/12\/PDTN\/538d79bd-c8b1-4a8d-abb4-4f5a65fa3d06-tesla_munro-sandy.JPG\" \/>Sandy Munro, CEO of Munro &amp; Associates manufacturing consultants, says the 2020 Tesla Model Y SUV has made great strides in build quality over the Model 3 sedan.\u00a0<span class=\"credit\">(Photo: Munro &amp; Associates)<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div><\/aside>\n<div class=\"clearfix\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p class=\"p-text\">And now the skin is getting attention, too.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p-text\">After dis-assembling a Model 3 in 2018,\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/cleantechnica.com\/2018\/02\/03\/munro-compares-tesla-model-3-build-quality-kia-90s\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" data-track-label=\"inline|intext|n\/a\">Munro declared<\/a>\u00a0that the electric sedan had \u201cflaws we would see on a Kia in the \u201990s\u201d \u2014 a pointed reference to the cheap quality of early Korean entries in the U.S. market.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p-text\">After taking apart a Model Y this spring, Munro has changed his tune. \u201cIt\u2019s a well-designed car,\u201d he said in an interview. \u201cIt\u2019s so much better than the Model 3 \u2014\u00a0no comparison in fit and finish. They are miles apart.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"p-text\">An auto manufacturing veteran and leading expert in integrated product development, Munro says Tesla still lags in some areas. But it has made a quantum leap from Kia \u201890s standard to the 21st century.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p-text\">\u201cFit and finish right now is not the best \u2014\u00a0but is not the worst either,\u201d he said. His engineering team will ultimately give the car a full grading. \u201cMy guess is it\u2019ll will come out a 7-7 \u00bd, something like that. Whereas a Bentley would be classified as a 9-9 1\/2. So, you\u2019re looking at something that\u2019s now right in the middle.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"p-text\">Quality issues have plagued Tesla over the last decade as\u00a0its Fremont, California, plant sought to be innovative at the same time it\u00a0rushed to bring cars to market to meet overwhelming demand. Tales of yawning panel gaps, blank screens\u00a0and failed doors dogged its Model S, X, and 3 creations.<\/p>\n<div id=\"module-position-Ss_uWVJSQOM\" class=\"story-asset image-asset\">\n<aside class=\"wide single-photo\"><div align=\"left\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.gannett-cdn.com\/presto\/2020\/05\/12\/PDTN\/b2163f38-1629-4046-be9d-94d71631c347-tesla_model3-Y.JPG?width=540&amp;height=&amp;fit=bounds&amp;auto=webp\" alt=\"The 2020 Tesla Model Y (right) is similar to the brand's Model 3 sedan (left), but has made some significant quality improvements, say experts.\" width=\"540\" data-mycapture-src=\"https:\/\/www.gannett-cdn.com\/presto\/2020\/05\/12\/PDTN\/b2163f38-1629-4046-be9d-94d71631c347-tesla_model3-Y.JPG\" data-mycapture-sm-src=\"https:\/\/www.gannett-cdn.com\/presto\/2020\/05\/12\/PDTN\/b2163f38-1629-4046-be9d-94d71631c347-tesla_model3-Y.JPG\" \/>The 2020 Tesla Model Y (right) is similar to the brand&#8217;s Model 3 sedan (left), but has made some significant quality improvements, say experts.\u00a0<span class=\"credit\">(Photo: Henry Payne, The Detroit News)<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div><\/aside>\n<div class=\"clearfix\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p class=\"p-text\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.consumerreports.org\/car-reliability-owner-satisfaction\/tesla-model-3-model-s-regain-consumer-reports-recommendation\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" data-track-label=\"inline|intext|n\/a\">Consumer Reports<\/a>\u00a0\u2014\u00a0widely referenced for its reliability ratings \u2014\u00a0has given Tesla mixed reviews over the years. The Model 3, for example, has been on and off its recommended reliability list. For 2020, the customer guide rates the model 4th best in class out of 11 cars with only Lexus, Genesis and Audi superior. The Lexus IS topped the list at 84% reliability rating, Tesla came in at 59% while the BMW 3-Series\u00a0and Alfa Romeo Giulia lagged last at 20% and 13% respectively.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p-text\">Its critics have been fierce \u2014\u00a0and high profile.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p-text\">The sentiment began to change last summer when ex-General Motors product guru Bob Lutz, a frequent critic of Tesla who has declared the company \u201cdoomed,\u201d spied a Model 3 in an Ann Arbor parking lot.<\/p>\n<div id=\"ad-position-78\" class=\"partner-placement partner-spike ad-gray-border ad-notice ad-paramount-inline partner-placement-visible\" data-ad-placement=\"native-article_link\" data-ad-sizes=\"[&quot;fluid&quot;,[3,3], [2,6]]\" data-monetization-id=\"native-article_link\" data-monetization-sizes=\"fluid,3,3,2,6\">\n<p class=\"p-text\">\u201cI was eager to see the oft-reported sloppy assembly work, the poor-fitting doors, blotchy paint, and other manifestations of &#8230;\u00a0Musk&#8217;s \u2018production hell,\u2019\u201d\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.roadandtrack.com\/new-cars\/a28008116\/tesla-model-3-build-quality-bob-lutz\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" data-track-label=\"inline|intext|n\/a\">he wrote in Road and Track magazine.<\/a>\u00a0Lutz was pleasantly surprised at the 2019 model.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p-text\">\u201cNot only was the paint without any discernible flaw, but the various panels formed a body of precision that was beyond reproach. Gaps from hood to fenders, doors to frame, and all the others appeared to be perfectly even. This Model 3 measured up.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"p-text\">The improvements in the Model 3 seemed a bridge to the Model Y, which \u2014 though containing the same fundamental chassis, battery and electronics as the tech-savvy Model 3 \u2014\u00a0has made significant changes to its architecture.<\/p>\n<div id=\"module-position-Ss_uWVJoTng\" class=\"story-asset image-asset\">\n<aside class=\"wide single-photo\"><div align=\"left\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.gannett-cdn.com\/presto\/2020\/05\/12\/PDTN\/deb163b1-8ee1-4b50-97da-183dc0e49514-tesla_motor.JPG?width=540&amp;height=&amp;fit=bounds&amp;auto=webp\" alt=\"Munro &amp; Assiciates rates the electric motors in the 2020 Tesla Model Y among the industry's most advanced.\" width=\"540\" data-mycapture-src=\"https:\/\/www.gannett-cdn.com\/presto\/2020\/05\/12\/PDTN\/deb163b1-8ee1-4b50-97da-183dc0e49514-tesla_motor.JPG\" data-mycapture-sm-src=\"https:\/\/www.gannett-cdn.com\/presto\/2020\/05\/12\/PDTN\/deb163b1-8ee1-4b50-97da-183dc0e49514-tesla_motor.JPG\" \/>Munro &amp; Assiciates rates the electric motors in the 2020 Tesla Model Y among the industry&#8217;s most advanced.\u00a0<span class=\"credit\">(Photo: Munro &amp; Associates)<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div><\/aside>\n<div class=\"clearfix\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p class=\"p-text\">In an exhaustive,\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/channel\/UCj--iMtToRO_cGG_fpmP5XQ\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" data-track-label=\"inline|intext|n\/a\">37-part series of videos<\/a>\u00a0on the \u201cMunro Live\u201d YouTube channel, Munro and his engineering team tore down the Model Y module-by-panel. While Munro marvels at the state-of-the-art electronics and electric motor (largely unchanged from the Model 3)\u00a0that he says are generations ahead of the industry, he meticulously cataloged\u00a0Tesla\u2019s quality upgrades.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p-text\">Among the advances was consistent riveting, modular door construction, and trunk aluminum casting \u2014\u00a0efficient manufacturing processes Munro recommends.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p-text\">\u201cWhen I saw the Tesla 3 I was really, really unhappy with the way they did the back end,\u201d said Munro on YouTube. \u201cI saw hundreds of parts that shouldn\u2019t have been there.&#8221;<\/p>\n<div id=\"module-position-Ss_uWVI3LOk\" class=\"story-asset image-asset\">\n<aside class=\"wide single-photo\"><div align=\"left\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.gannett-cdn.com\/presto\/2020\/05\/12\/PDTN\/626f6833-6ecd-4151-927a-f4964e3e905b-tesla_octovalve.JPG?width=540&amp;height=&amp;fit=bounds&amp;auto=webp\" alt=\"The 2020 Tesla Model Y sports innovations like the &quot;Octovalve&quot; to control cooling in the SUV.\" width=\"540\" data-mycapture-src=\"https:\/\/www.gannett-cdn.com\/presto\/2020\/05\/12\/PDTN\/626f6833-6ecd-4151-927a-f4964e3e905b-tesla_octovalve.JPG\" data-mycapture-sm-src=\"https:\/\/www.gannett-cdn.com\/presto\/2020\/05\/12\/PDTN\/626f6833-6ecd-4151-927a-f4964e3e905b-tesla_octovalve.JPG\" \/>The 2020 Tesla Model Y sports innovations like the &#8220;Octovalve&#8221; to control cooling in the SUV.\u00a0<span class=\"credit\">(Photo: Munro &amp; Associates)<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div><\/aside>\n<div class=\"clearfix\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p class=\"p-text\">The Model Y has reduced that construction monstrosity \u2014\u00a0Munro estimates it required 100 parts -\u2014 to two essential aluminum castings totaling about 30 parts when assembled:\u00a0\u201cThey have done a phenomenal job,&#8221; he said, &#8220;and I love it.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"p-text\">Tesla hasn\u2019t solved all its issues. In late 2018, as Tesla tried to fill hundreds of thousands of orders for its popular, $40,000 Model 3,\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.detroitnews.com\/story\/opinion\/columnists\/henry-payne\/2019\/02\/04\/tesla-duality-vexes-hot-selling-brand\/2730714002\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" data-track-label=\"inline|intext|n\/a\">The Detroit News learned<\/a>\u00a0that about 20,000 models with a variety of paint blemishes piled up outside its Fremont factory. So flawed was the paint process that an outside company was brought in to buff sand the clear-coat while Tesla fixed its plant.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p-text\">The plant has been reconditioned, but Munro says the paint finish still needs work. \u201cPaint is still crap. I really don\u2019t like it,\u201d he said. \u201cThey really need to do something about that.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"p-text\">Tesla declined to comment. Still, such details haven\u2019t deterred consumers who have made Tesla the fourth best-selling luxury maker in the U.S. with 9.8% market share despite only offering three models. Its fourth, the Model Y, is expected to be its top seller. By comparison, BMW tops the market with 14.3% share selling 16 models.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p-text\">Dick Amacher is a former GM engineer who worked in the late 1990s on then-General Motors Corp.&#8217;s first, 1990s\u00a0electric car, the EV1 \u2014\u00a0a precursor to today&#8217;s Chevy Bolt EV. But when it came to buying his first electric car, he chose a Model 3. Impressed, he has also purchased a Model Y SUV.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p-text\">\u201cI had absolutely no problems with Model 3,\u201d he said in an interview, but had a coolant leak in his Model Y from a new heat pump not used in the sedan. \u201cIt\u2019s a new design and has certain amount of innovation in it.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Auburn Hills-based Munro &amp; Associates took a 2020 Tesla Model Y into their shop and disassembled it piece by piece in order to assess technology and quality.\u00a0Munro &amp; Associates It seems that Tesla Inc. quality is catching up to its technology. Quality issues have dogged the Silicon Valley automaker even as it has become one [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/henrypayne.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/25362"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/henrypayne.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/henrypayne.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/henrypayne.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/henrypayne.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=25362"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/henrypayne.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/25362\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":25363,"href":"https:\/\/henrypayne.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/25362\/revisions\/25363"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/henrypayne.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=25362"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/henrypayne.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=25362"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/henrypayne.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=25362"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}