• by Karl Greenberg , June 5, 2007

Strategic Vision, a San Diego-based auto consultancy, has big news for Hyundai and Nissan. According to the firm's latest Total Quality Index, both have taken top honors in three of 19 vehicle segments.

Hyundai Motors had a total of five leaders (if one includes sibling Kia, which earned two), Ford Motor and BMW Group each earned three (one for BMW, two for Mini); and GM, Honda, and Mercedes each earned two, with Dodge, Lexus and Volkswagen each earning one. BMW repeated as the top-scoring brand, the eighth time in nine years, and Volkswagen of America kept its claim as the best full-line corporation.

The 12-year old annual Index is based on surveys taken from 27,000 people who bought 2007-model vehicles last fall; it ranks brands based on surveyed consumers' experience in buying, owning and driving their new cars and trucks. Alexander Edwards, Strategic Vision's president says that while the index takes technical or mechanical problems into account, the company uses qualitative questions on design, style, fit and finish to generate its index.

"It's about 'what does the vehicle make me feel? Can I trust it?' " says Edwards. "The feel of seat material, level of illumination in gauges, right type of interior trim can translate--in consumers' minds--to how well [an automaker] has designed the engine; it means 'they have taken time on things I can't see.' That is an emotional level of quality, and it is very important," he says.

The index reported that, although Toyota improved overall and was among the best brands in terms of problems per vehicle, the brand had no leaders in any of the segments.

In terms of problems-per-vehicle, Toyota is on par with Honda, Hyundai, Infiniti and domestic brands such as Ford. Strategic Vision says Ford Expedition EL has a large lead and the fewest problems in its segment.

Hyundai's minivan, Entourage, Kia's Sedona and Nissan's Quest minivans have all replaced five-time leader Honda Odyssey. In addition to leading with their minivans, Hyundai and Nissan lead with the Azera and Maxima, respectively. Azera was the top large car, and Maxima tied with Saturn's Aura in the medium-car category.

"Over the past five years, Hyundai has had a vehicle leading its segment now and then, but never before have they taken three--five if you include Kia--especially in a market where the competition is so fierce," says Edwards. "It shows they have the product question solved." The company recently signed a new ad agency: Omnicom's Goodby, Silverstein & Partners.

Edwards says the surveys showed Nissan has corrected a disparity in its vehicles between great exteriors and less-great interiors. "They are benefiting from improvements they've made on interior design, fit and finish. Nissan got that right this year."

In compact SUVs, Hyundai's Santa Fe was the leader, while Nissan's Titan and Ford's F-150 topped full-sized pickup contenders.

Honda's Civic ranked highest among small cars in the index. Edwards says that Civic's continued strength is remarkable, given much more intense competition in the small-car segment with Hyundai's Accent, Toyota's Yaris, and Nissan's Versa as well as Honda's own Fit. "Hyundai still struggles with Accent; the car was redesigned recently, and yet it was at the bottom of the total quality list."

Mercedes S-Class was the top luxury car in the survey, with BMW 3-Series top near lux car. Mini Cooper was the top small specialty car for under $25,000.

Edwards says he was surprised that Toyota came so close in such varied categories but didn't take a leadership position. That may change with Toyota's new Tundra, which wasn't included in the survey versus other full-sized pickup trucks. Those numbers will come out later this year.

"I think they have a chance to be a leader there. Still, Toyota not leading in any category reflects something we saw with the domestics 10 or 12 years ago. If Toyota misses the relevance of this, they may find themselves starting to dip."