The Basics
Hyundai joins Toyota, Honda as quality benchmark

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The longtime butt of cheap-car jokes leads the charge as Korean manufacturers overtake European and American in a widely watched survey. Quality overall is improving markedly, J.D. Power finds.

By MSN Money staff

Korean automaker Hyundai capped a hard-won rehabilitation of its reputation Wednesday by passing longtime benchmark Toyota in the widely watched J.D. Power & Associates initial quality survey.

The Power survey asks 51,000 new-car buyers about problems experienced in the first 90 days of ownership and is considered a fair predictor of long-term reliability. Top complaints in its Initial Quality Survey are wind noise, chipped paint and loud brakes. Failed expectations hurt, too. GM's Hummer brand ranked last in 2003 largely because its dismal fuel economy disappointed so many buyers.

Korean brands overall ranked ahead of European and American and just behind the Japanese, Power reported.

"A decade ago, as Korean manufacturers struggled with a universally poor reputation for vehicle quality, no one would have predicted they could not only keep pace, but actually pass domestics and other imports in terms of initial quality," said Joe Ivers, partner and executive director of quality/customer satisfaction at J.D. Power and Associates. "This demonstrates how vastly more competitive the market has become -- which is good news for consumers, who will ultimately benefit." Point. Click. Pay.
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Measured quality for the industry as a whole continues to improve dramatically, the survey found, with reported problems down 11% from 2003.

How the survey works
The Power survey ranks initial quality on three levels: corporate -- meaning Toyota's Lexus, Toyota and Scion brands lumped together, for example; individual nameplates; then individual models.

On the corporate level, Hyundai tied Honda for second place behind Toyota. Owners of Toyota-made cars (including Lexus) reported an average of 101 problems per 100 vehicles; owners of Hondas and Hyundais reported 102. The industry average is 119.