So after posting the information in a previous entry about Bully Dog releasing an update to its Power Pup flash reprogrammer that covers Altimas, Frontiers, Xterras and a host of other current Nissan vehicles there was quite a response. Particularly on Club Frontier there was a heated discussion regarding initial results of the Power Pup on the Titan platform and how the Power Pup compares to other flash programmers (Superchips, etc.). Well, best to go right to the source in most of these cases and Mike DeFord (better known as ApexKiller to most), Bully Dog's marketing director has always been one of the most vocal and visible members of the aftermarket community. His response to my inquiry for more information was near immediate and quite friendly, despite occasions in the past where he and I have (as he says) "butted heads".
I simply told him that my posting of the Bully Dog Power Pup press release had generated a number of posts regarding the "lock up" of a number of Titans, that claims were being made that the Superchips product was the superior one and that I wanted to offer him a forum in which to respond.
Here is his response (edited for spelling but that is all):
The Nissan community is very vocal and share their experiences and this is good. But in this case a lot of the early problems we had with the Titan were on Beta Test customer, who serve as product testers for our product before it is officially released to the public. Some of those guys shared their experiences which is OK but what a lot of people then do not see is that each of those guys were rolling usually within 24 hours of the problem.
That is the first part of the answer, the second part is a little more complicated. Our company is always developing new software updates, these are to enhance the product further or to work better with new OE Manufacturer codes. Every time you take your truck to the dealer they plug it into their computer and will update your ECU. As soon as there is an update from the manufacturer we go to work on it and if needed we release an update.
All of our downloaders tell you to update the product on our site for free before you install it. This is to ensure that you have the newest and best software. All of this is FREE of charge and only takes a few minutes. The product comes with instructions and a USB cable to do the update, it is very easy. All of the problems where the downloader will lock up is because the software version on the downloader does not work with what is on the vehicles ECU--basically people [try] to do the install without updating the product. All of this updating is so that the customer has the BEST possible tunes on their truck and we are the only company that goes to these lengths.
The fact is that through our warehouse channels we know that our return rate is lower than our competitors. We have a full tech. department staffed with guys that go through extensive training to ensure that customers are taken care of. This staff is also specialized--We have guys that are Nissan [specific] experts, this is also the case in our engineering department.
And last but not least we are the only company with this type of product that is sold through the Nissan dealerships. People will say that this was a business move that we paid to make it happen, but the fact is that Nissan approached us, they tested the product for a few months and we have not paid them anything. They believe and stand behind the product. If you go buy a new Nissan today they can install it for you and warranty it!
Mike DeFord
Marketing Director
So there you go...Don't say I never did anything for you...I hope his response cleared up some matters out there...I just wanted to make sure that Bully Dog's side was heard loud and clear. Thanks for your time.
