Like Nissan, American Suzuki found itself moving backwards on the IQS chart for 2004, but while new products figured into its woes it seems to be the influx of re-badged Daewoos now being sold as GM and Suzuki models (Daewoo, as a nameplate, is no longer available in North America). Whatever the actual reason behind its increased problems per 100 vehicles, Suzuki slid from 11th place to 12th, and with that 144 to 149 PP100.
 |
| Nissan's slide down the charts should be temporary seeing that almost their entire current lineup are new vehicles. (Photo: Shawn Pisio, Canadian Auto Press) |
Kia continues to lag behind in 13th out of 14 automakers, but thanks to Porsche is no longer in last place - who would have thought. Still, the Korean brand showed strong initial quality improvement in 2004, besting its 2003 PP100 by 15 points, for 153 PP100 compared to last year's 168. What's more, the automaker is now wholly owned by Hyundai, tied for second with Honda, and in many of its 2004 and 2005 models shares components and architectures with the highly rated brand. This should bode well for a major climb up the initial quality ladder, most likely placing Kia within close proximity of Hyundai in the years to come.
 |
| Korean brands have cut initial quality problems by 57 percent in the past six years. Kia, currently near the bottom of the 2004 IQS, will no doubt rise to the top as it shares more and more with 2nd place parent company Hyundai. (Photo: Trevor Hofmann, Canadian Auto Press) |
Hyundai led the upsurge of Korean-branded vehicles, that also includes Hyundai's wholly owned Kia division (Daewoo is no longer available in North America, with the cars now being sold as re-badged GM and Suzuki models), bypassing both European- and domestic-branded vehicles in initial quality. To put things into perspective, Korean brands have cut initial quality problems by 57 percent in the past six years, improving from 272 problems per 100 vehicles (PP100) in 1998 to just 117 PP100 in 2004.
Come back tomorrow to read what individual models led the Korean upswing, as well as what additional cars, trucks, vans and SUVs made it into the top three spots per vehicle category.