However, the Accenture research also revealed a significant opportunity for the industry to cut costs and reduce the level of product returns, given that only 5 percent of returns are related to actual product defects.

FORBES: Solving The Product Return Problem In Consumer Gizmos

Ford's other main rival, DaimlerChrysler, may be taking a risk buying 34% of Mitsubishi Motors, just as the Japanese firm has revealed that it has covered up product defects for 20 years, but at least it has used Mitsubishi's problems to force down the asking price and to install its own man as chief operating officer.

ECONOMIST: Making cars in Asia: Ford misses out again | The

Imagine how powerful it would be to combine what your customers are saying about a new product release on Twitter, with the support cases being logged on that product and any defects logged in an engineering database, and then feed that information back into engineering, marketing and sales.

FORBES: Corporate America's Deficit Problem: Lack Of Insight

Mitsubishi Motors has been hit hard by revelations that the group and its truck division Mitsubishi Fuso had been hiding defects to prevent product recalls.

BBC: Mitsubishi Fuso truck

Nevertheless, the combination of reports of increased pressure and coercion of workers in connection to this product and some reports of screen issues and defects in the shipped products last week, are not good signs for Apple.

FORBES: Did Production Pressures Cause Riot At Foxconn Factory?

Also, there are many auto product recalls that do not involve life-threatening defects.

FORBES: Spotlight on Outsourcing: Boeing Scrambles as Toyota Triumphs

Defects can be fixed using another Centennial product, Centennial 2000 Pro Enterprise edition.

CNN: 'Scanner' eyes Y2K problems in e-mail attachments

He emphasized first-time quality because, he says, correcting defects makes up 10% to 15% of product cost.

FORBES: How an outsider's vision saved Kodak