From Detroit Free Press
WESTLAKE VILLAGE, CA — Under pressure from automakers, the affiliate of J. D. Power and Associates that regularly provides pricing, demographic and other key automotive data to the media no longer will do so.
Power Information Network, or PIN, which handles about 60 requests a month from television, radio and newspapers, such as the Detroit Free Press, will stop in a move the company labeled a “business decision.” The company has been notifying journalists of the change, effective Sept. 1, for the last week.
PIN, which collects data on the sale of used and new vehicles from 6,200 franchises nationally, sells the information to manufacturers, insurers and other companies.
To educate consumers and investors, media often turned to PIN for information on, say, the average age of an Oldsmobile customer, the number of days it takes to sell a Chrysler Pacifica, how Hummer buyers finance their purchase or the average cash-back rebate on a General Motors Corp. vehicle. Few other organizations can provide the breadth of PIN’s information. But sometimes the information revealed problems with how automakers performed or met their goals.
After hearing grumbling from customers upset about how media used the information, CEO Tim Longnecker and other PIN executives decided to change its policies “to protect and enhance our relationships with our clients,” said Tom Libby, director of industry analysis at PIN.
From now on, the privately held company will provide only general information on segments of the automobile market and industry averages.
Libby said no particular automaker or news report contributed to the change, and he emphasized that J. D. Power will continue to release its detailed consumer surveys on initial quality and vehicle dependability.
“J. D. Power is not affected at all,” said John Tews, who handles media requests for J. D. Power and PIN.
PIN was spun off from a department of J. D. Power in January 2003, but the two privately held companies remain entwined. PIN refers to itself as an affiliate of J. D. Power, the companies are based in Westlake Village, Calif., and share office space and several departments, including accounting and communications. While PIN has its own CEO, PIN’s board of managers includes three of J. D. Power’s top executives.
The decision by PIN reveals how companies that collect and distribute information on the industry sometimes can come under pressure from sources that don’t want objective information about their performance released.
The move comes after the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, under pressure from automakers, banned release of car and truck warranty claims, customer complaints and warnings about defects.
The pressure facing companies that collect and distribute data on the industry can be especially intense if they depend on advertising or the sale of the data for revenue, sometimes putting their independence into question.
That is why some organizations, such as Consumer Reports publisher Consumers Union, do not accept advertising dollars and rely on subscriptions instead.
Another popular source of auto-related information, the Web site Edmunds.com, relies on advertising from automakers and other companies but said it will never let that interfere with its providing objective information. “We’ve always prided ourselves on being very unbiased,” said Bob Kurilko, vice president of marketing and industry communications, for Edmunds.com.
On Aug. 12, PIN released data showing that demand was weakening for sport-utility vehicles, which are among the most profitable models for automakers. The report was highly controversial, but Libby said PIN will continue to release such objective information on broad market trends. “We don’t want to just stop giving out data, but we do want to stop giving out data at the brand, model and manufacturer level.”
Copyright 2004 Detroit Free Press. All Rights Reserved.
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