2004 J.D. POWER QUALITY STUDY: For Hyundai, time to crow

LOS ANGELES -- After its dramatic surge in the J.D. Power and Associates 2004 Initial Quality Study, Hyundai Motor America is scrambling to create a newspaper, magazine and brochure advertising campaign to herald the results.

Ad agency Richards Group of Dallas is working to create advertisements on short notice, said Bob Cosmai, CEO of Hyundai Motor America. Longer-term plans might include TV advertising, but that has not been decided, Cosmai added.

The segment-quality winning Sonata sedan probably will get a new series of ads - a bonus since the vehicle is in its final year before a redesign. And the company may publicize its new J.D. Power rankings in conjunction with its 100,000-mile warranty.

But for the most part Hyundai will stick with its marketing themes. Even though Hyundai outscored Toyota Division, the message will not invoke comparisons Japan's quality trendsetter, Cosmai said.

"We won't say that we beat Toyota," he said. "We've done our benchmarking to Toyota and Honda, and this is new territory for us. We just want to tell people that the company has turned it around. … We won't be talking about who we passed, but how far we've come."

But in South Korea, Hyundai Motor Corp. won't be so bashful. Starting today, May 3, South Korean newspapers will publish ads that compare Hyundai to Toyota and other prestigious marques. It borrows passages from U.S. publications, including Automotive News, to proclaim the feat.

One ad slogan reads: "Toyota, BMW, Mercedes. The quality of Hyundai is upon them."

Test of time

According to the Power study, Hyundai owners reported 102 defects per 100 vehicles, while Toyota-badged vehicles had 104 defects.

That's a 29 percent improvement for Hyundai, which had 143 defects per 100 vehicles in last year's survey. The industry average last year was 133.

This year's survey polled 51,000 car owners about any problems encountered in the first 90 days of ownership.

The survey's rankings do not differentiate between a major gaffe, such as a transmission failure, and something relatively minor, such as wind noise or a glove box squeak.

While applauding Hyundai's efforts, Toyota officials cautioned that the first 90 days of ownership are only a partial measure of a vehicle's quality.

"What happens in the first 90 days of ownership can be telling, but the undisputed indicator of quality is time," said Toyota spokesman Xavier Dominicis. "Toyota vehicles stand the test of time."

Shoppers also should consider a vehicle's long-term durability, fuel efficiency, environmental record, safety and resale value, Dominicis said.

Toyota Division's quality results do not include Lexus, which again won the title for best-quality vehicles. But the results also did not include those of its Scion youth division, which finished a staggering fourth-worst.

Scion was hurt by complaints about the xA's stiff ride and the xB's air conditioning, which didn't cool the car quickly enough. Strictly speaking, those complaints are about vehicle performance rather than quality, Dominicis said.

Tough competition

Hyundai's improvement underscores the shrinking quality gap between the industry's leaders and also-rans.

Although Japanese-badged vehicles as a group still lead the J.D. Power survey, everybody else is catching up. Korean-badged vehicles passed both European and U.S.-branded vehicles this year, even though Hyundai sibling Kia continues to struggle.

On the domestic front, Cadillac, Buick, Mercury and Oldsmobile were the only American-branded vehicles to finish with above-average quality scores. Chevrolet had a defect rate at the industry average of 119 defects per 100 vehicles.

None of the Chrysler group's brands was better than average, but the company noted that it has improved quality for 14 straight years. Meanwhile, Ford Division's quality scores were among the worst of any mass-market domestic brand. Only Jeep and Saturn fared worse.

And Hummer lumbered to the very bottom of the survey, with 173 quality problems per 100 vehicles.