Welcome! Please take a few seconds to create your free account to post threads, make some friends, remove a few ads while surfing and much more. ClutchFans has been bringing fans together to talk Houston Sports since 1996. Join us!
ROCKETS GAMEDAY
The Rockets hope to rebound (no pun intended) after that brutal loss to Charlotte when they take on Ja Morant and the Grizzlies tonight. Come join us live at 7:00pm CT!

LIVE! Rockets vs. Grizzlies

Welcome ClutchFans Live

Hyundai? [J.D. POWER SURVEY]: Hyundai leapfrogs Toyota in quality

Discussion in 'BBS Hangout' started by UTweezer, Jun 8, 2006.

Tags:

Page 1 of 5

UTweezer Member

Joined:

Feb 26, 2002

Messages:

3,888

Likes Received:

41

wow have times changed....remember those excel hatchbacks in the '80's?

http://www.freep.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=2006606080400

Maybe Hyundai Motor Co. drivers don't need that 10-year, 100,000-mile warranty after all.

The South Korean automaker known for its value pricing -- all its vehicles sell for less than $29,000 -- delivered a jaw-dropping performance in J.D. Power and Associates' annual survey on new-vehicle quality, which was released Wednesday.

Hyundai was the No. 1 non-premium brand in the United States, edging past Toyota, the Japanese brand whose rock-solid quality reputation has been shaking Detroit's dominance in the nation's auto market for years.

Overall, Hyundai was No. 3 in this year's report, behind No. 1 Porsche and No. 2 Lexus, Toyota's luxury brand, and right ahead of Toyota. Last year, Hyundai was No. 11, so the leap made Hyundai the third-most improved nameplate this year.

"We're very proud and very excited," said Don Dees, vice president of service for Hyundai Motor America, the subsidiary of Hyundai that sells and distributes new cars and trucks in the United States. "Our objective is to move up and become No. 1 in everything we do."

Even Toyota Motor Corp., whose products topped 11 of the 19 categories, acknowledged the growing pressure from Hyundai. New Hyundai drivers reported 102 problems per 100 vehicles, compared with the 106 problems reported by new Toyota brand owners.

"There's no question that Hyundai is coming on strong and doing a tremendous job," Jim Lentz, Toyota group vice president and general manager, said in a conference call with journalists. "They are going to become a bigger and bigger player in the marketplace."

Quality is always a top concern for new car and truck buyers. So the top-notch quality performance likely will give a boost to Hyundai sales, which are already up 4.5% this year, and help the automaker achieve its growth targets.

Hyundai -- which has a North American headquarters in Fountain Valley, Calif., a new $1.1-billion plant in Alabama and an engineering and technology center in Superior Township -- is aiming for 500,000 U.S. sales this year and 1 million annual sales by 2010.

The company will certainly have a lot of selling points from this year's J.D. Power report:

# Five of the seven 2006 models that Hyundai sold ranked in the top three for their category.

The Hyundai Tucson was the No. 1 compact multi-activity vehicle. Three Hyundai cars took second-place spots: the Elantra compact car, the Tiburon sporty car and the Azera large car.

Hyundai's most popular vehicle, the Sonata, ranked third in the highly competitive midsize car segment.

Only the company's Santa Fe SUV, which is being redesigned for the 2007 model year, and the Accent subcompact car did not make the top three slots in their respective categories.

What's more, two of the top-performing vehicles, the Sonata and Azera, were brand new in 2006, making the performance more spectacular. Automakers usually take a quality hit the year they launch a product because it usually takes time to work out all the new-vehicle glitches.

"That is probably the thing I'm most proud of, because that bucks the normal industry trend," said Dees, whose career has included stints with Toyota and Chrysler. "We're launching great, great products."

# Hyundai's assembly plant in Alabama, which builds the Sonata and Santa Fe, finished 10th in plant quality out of 73 plants in North and South America. That made the plant among the best plant introductions in the last decade. The facility has capacity to build 300,000 vehicles a year.

Dees said there's no secret to Hyundai's performance.

"The success of that is planning, preparation and great training," he said. "You had a brand new plant, a brand new product ... a brand new workforce, and to come out of the gates ranked 10th out of 73 plants is outstanding."

#1 UTweezer, Jun 8, 2006

Mr. Brightside Member

Joined:

Mar 27, 2005

Messages:

18,963

Likes Received:

2,147

Yea, I heard this on CNBC yesterday and was shocked. I thought they had typed something wrong on the screen.

But I do recall that the Tiburon was being designed by Porsche designers starting a few years ago.

#2 Mr. Brightside, Jun 8, 2006
Roxfan73 Rookie

Joined:

Jun 4, 2002

Messages:

2,049

Likes Received:

16

I wouldn't read too much into this. J.D. Power is pretty much a joke as far as quality surveys go. Companies like KB Homes win all kinds of J.D. Power quality surveys, and they are one of the top complaint magnets of all home builders.

At a couple of companies I have worked, I have heard executives essentially say "let's just get a J.D. Power survey to pad our reputation". I almost think JDP gets paid off to skew the survey results.

#3 Roxfan73, Jun 8, 2006
UTweezer Member

Joined:

Feb 26, 2002

Messages:

3,888

Likes Received:

41

Roxfan73 said:

I wouldn't read too much into this. J.D. Power is pretty much a joke as far as quality surveys go. Companies like KB Homes win all kinds of J.D. Power quality surveys, and they are one of the top complaint magnets of all home builders.

At a couple of companies I have worked, I have heard executives essentially say "let's just get a J.D. Power survey to pad our reputation". I almost think JDP gets paid off to skew the survey results.
Click to expand...

hmm yea so I guess these things about lexus, toyota, ect are just wild and baseless "rumors" floating around...

#4 UTweezer, Jun 8, 2006
Surfguy Member

Joined:

Sep 23, 1999

Messages:

23,999

Likes Received:

12,229

Good for them. Whether it's enough to lure away masses of Toyota customers, who knows? Granted, their cars cost less than Toyota equivalents. But, to a customer, a decrease in price between competing cars on the market can lead to the perception of a decrease in quality...regardless of any study. This may help the brighter, cost-concerned consumers make up their mind but will do nothing for the average Joes(or most of the population). Lexus and Porsche are obviously in a higher echelon. I don't think too many people are going "should I get the Lexus or the Toyota?". Chances are extremely high that if your thinking of getting a Porsche or Lexus, then your mind is made up that you're not getting a Toyota or Hyundai.

#5 Surfguy, Jun 8, 2006
Last edited: Jun 8, 2006
Faos Member

Joined:

May 31, 2003

Messages:

15,370

Likes Received:

53

Isn't the Camry still kicking ass though?

#6 Faos, Jun 8, 2006
Roxfan73 Rookie

Joined:

Jun 4, 2002

Messages:

2,049

Likes Received:

16

UTweezer said:

hmm yea so I guess these things about lexus, toyota, ect are just wild and baseless "rumors" floating around...
Click to expand...

Well yeah, Toyota and Lexus have been universally praised for their legendary reliability. My thing is that every year JDP releases their survey, there always seems to be an eyebrow raiser. Last year it was Kia.

#7 Roxfan73, Jun 8, 2006

UTweezer Member

Joined:

Feb 26, 2002

Messages:

3,888

Likes Received:

41

Roxfan73 said:

Well yeah, Toyota and Lexus have been universally praised for their legendary reliability. My thing is that every year JDP releases their survey, there always seems to be an eyebrow raiser. Last year it was Kia.
Click to expand...

hmmm just maybe they might be good cars?! just like VW's are at the bottom for a reason?

#8 UTweezer, Jun 8, 2006
RocketMan Tex Member

Joined:

Feb 15, 1999

Messages:

18,452

Likes Received:

117

UTweezer said:

hmmm just maybe they might be good cars?! just like VW's are at the bottom for a reason?
Click to expand...

I've owned three cars in my life....

First two were Toyotas
Third one was a Lexus, and I still drive it

Nuff said.

#9 RocketMan Tex, Jun 8, 2006
SirCharlesFan Member

Joined:

Apr 8, 1999

Messages:

6,028

Likes Received:

143

My mom has driven some cheap Hyundai car for a few years now and I've been really impressed. She has a Sonata (I think), that she bought new and it still runs very well. It's not anyone's dream car, but it certainly has been reliable.

#10 SirCharlesFan, Jun 8, 2006
underoverup Member

Joined:

Mar 1, 2003

Messages:

3,208

Likes Received:

75

i read a funny article and thread on fark the other day about some crazy guy breaking a speeding ticket record in a rented hyundai sonato going like 150 mph in a 55 zone!

#11 underoverup, Jun 8, 2006
Lil Pun Member

Joined:

Oct 6, 1999

Messages:

34,134

Likes Received:

1,026

I have had four cars in my lifetime.

An 86 Oldsmobile Cutlass

A 96 Buick Regal

A 96 Mazda Protege

A 05 Toyota Corolla

The only one that wasn't new or near new when I got it was the Oldsmobile.

Comparing the other three, the Corolla wins hands down although I have my eye on a real sleek 04 Cadillac CTS.

#12 Lil Pun, Jun 8, 2006
JunkyardDwg Member

Joined:

Oct 29, 2000

Messages:

8,702

Likes Received:

839

I wouldn't doubt that Hyundai has raised its quality levels, they have really started listening to their customers and changed the company's image in recent years. But to make that big of a leap does seem questionable. In any case, if I were Toyota I wouldn't worry too much, cause an annual survey doesn't tell you one important thing, and that's reliability.

#13 JunkyardDwg, Jun 8, 2006

Gutter Snipe Member

Joined:

Jul 30, 2001

Messages:

2,987

Likes Received:

65

I bought a new Hyundai Elantra in 98 - it's been good even with the trauma of having some lady run into my passenger's side front quarter at 30 mph or so.

The only issues I've had have been standard maintenance things - replacing spark plugs, CV joints, etc.

#14 Gutter Snipe, Jun 8, 2006
dsnow23 Member

Joined:

Jun 30, 2002

Messages:

1,458

Likes Received:

68

I'll start considering hyundai when I start seeing a bunch of used hyundais for sale that have 200,000 miles on them and say excellent condition. For now, I'll stick with Toyota.

#15 dsnow23, Jun 8, 2006
mleahy999 Member

Joined:

Jun 14, 2002

Messages:

1,952

Likes Received:

30

It's still a Hyundai. Their cars look cheap and the stigma of a Hyundai still stinks.

#16 mleahy999, Jun 8, 2006
bobrek Politics belong in the D & D

Joined:

Sep 16, 1999

Messages:

36,288

Likes Received:

26,643

I just got back from the dealership with a new Hyundai Tucson Limited. It is essentially loaded and price wise was much better than the Toyota Rav4, Saturn VUE, Mercury Mariner, Subaru Forester, Ford Escape and Jeep Liberty.

#17 bobrek, Jun 8, 2006
MR. MEOWGI Contributing Member

Joined:

Jul 2, 2002

Messages:

14,382

Likes Received:

11

Me and the wife will buy nothing but Toyotas for the res of our lives. I have had my 98 Tacoma for 6 years and I haven't had a single problem. (expcept for my ding ding, but I did that)

#18 MR. MEOWGI, Jun 8, 2006

The Real Shady Member

Joined:

Jun 8, 2000

Messages:

17,170

Likes Received:

3,967

bobrek said:

I just got back from the dealership with a new Hyundai Tucson Limited. It is essentially loaded and price wise was much better than the Toyota Rav4, Saturn VUE, Mercury Mariner, Subaru Forester, Ford Escape and Jeep Liberty.
Click to expand...

If you are married go for the Hyundai or whichever the better value is. If you are single don't get the Hyundai because you will never get laid.

#19 The Real Shady, Jun 8, 2006
UTweezer Member

Joined:

Feb 26, 2002

Messages:

3,888

Likes Received:

41

mleahy999 said:

It's still a Hyundai. Their cars look cheap and the stigma of a Hyundai still stinks.
Click to expand...

thats what people were saying that about japanese cars in the eighties...now look

although I won't be in the market for a hyundai..probably ever.

i think it's very admirable to see a company turn things around like this

#20 UTweezer, Jun 8, 2006

(You must log in or sign up to post here.)

Page 1 of 5

Share This Page