What went wrong? A fault, a failure, and a debate: Even the best manufacturers may find problems in unexpected places

The three examples described here indicate the variety of difficulties faced by automakers in an increasingly demanding consumer climate. They range from the alleged sudden, or unintended, acceleration problems of the Audi 5000S and other vehicles — a fault with no single generally accepted cause — to a better defined problem: the Cadillac V8–6–4 engine, a technologically sophisticated motor plagued by performance problems from the start. Finally, the perplexing Buick Riviera touchscreen controller lies somewhere in between: two years after its introduction it may be too early to call it a failure, but sluggish sales and the second thoughts of some General Motors executives indicate that the time may not yet be right for cathode-ray tubes on the dashboard.