Hyundai grabs lead in 2007 auto quality study

Hyundai Motor Co. leads in five categories in the annual vehicle quality study released Monday by Strategic Vision Inc., a San Diego-based market research company and consultant to automakers.

Hyundai's rise in the rankings is only the latest sign of the improved overall quality and declining number of defects in today's cars and trucks, said David Cole, chairman of the Center for Automotive Research in Ann Arbor, Mich.

``They're coming together to a point where the differences are almost meaningless,'' Cole said.

He said that means buyers will pay increasing attention to dealer service, new technology, fashion features, price and fuel economy.

Once known best as the maker of cheap, entry-level cars with nagging manufacturing flaws, the South Korean automaker outperformed its Japanese, European and U.S. rivals in this year's survey, based on interviews with 27,780 people who bought 2007 models in September-November 2006.

Last year, Hyundai had no winners. And highly regarded Toyota Motor Corp., despite improving its overall quality, went from four leaders last year to one in 2007