Former Consumer Reports Tester to Advise Nissan on Quality

Nissan Motor Co. is hiring David Champion, former head of vehicle testing at Consumer Reports, to advise the company on product quality issues.

Champion, 57, will be executive adviser for competitive assessment and quality, a new position. He begins the job on Sept. 10 and will be based at Nissan's testing center in Arizona. Champion will report to Steve Monk, the company's North American director of vehicle evaluation and testing.

Nissan says it expects Champion, who ran CR's auto test facility since 1997, to help the company develop better testing methods and improve its customer satisfaction ratings.

Nissan improved dramatically in the influential J.D. Power and Associates' Initial Quality Study this year, jumping to 13th place from 24th in 2011. The brand's average reported problems per 100 vehicles dropped to 99 from 117 last year. Top-rated Lexus has averaged 73 problems for two consecutive years.

Champion was a quality assurance engineer for Nissan between 1994 and 1997 before moving to CR. He has dual bachelor's degrees from the University of Aston in Birmingham, England, in mechanical engineering and metal and material science.