And there they do find, continue to find significant gaps between American and Japanese cars particularly on the small cars, the Japanese cars are really much more reliable. Samantha Baker is the sales manager at a local Audi dealership. She says the downturn in American auto sales doesn't mean a thing at her car lot. She says her customers are different from American car buyers, they have more money. Baker also feels quality is a big reason customers are drawn to European and Japanese cars.
Some people strongly disagree quality is the problem.
Pat Lally is the co-owner of a cleveland Chevrolet dealership. I believe our quality is right on line or right on par. And our safety standards we have in our cars are right where they need to be. Lally feels at least part of the slump can be traced to the graying of the American car showroom. 50's and 60's and don't want to spend money on improvements for their buildings or service departments.