Hyundai Passes Toyota, Honda In Brand Loyalty

2011 Hyundai Sonata attracts strong interest

Hyundai has certainly come a long way since introducing its subcompact Excel to the US market in 1986. At that time Hyundai was a one horse player and not a car line known for building quality vehicles. Gradually, the Korean automaker expanded its product line and began a relentless pursuit to win customer loyalty.

Part of its customer loyalty initiative was to roll out a then unheard of 100,000 mile vehicle warranty plan. That plan was hatched in a bid to instill confidence in its customers that Hyundai would stand behind every vehicle built for years to come.

Hyundai Warranty

Subsequently, the company rolled out its “Hyundai Assurance” program, an arrangement allowing customers to return their cars without penalty should thy lose their jobs. That plan was launched in early 2009 during the worst of the recession and is one of the reasons why Hyundai sold more cars in 2009 than they did in 2008, one of only three manufacturers to buck the industry trend.

The good news continues to flow forth for Hyundai as Kelley Blue Book (KBB), the consumer car information company, says that brand loyalty for Hyundai has surpassed industry leaders Honda and Toyota. Moreover, Hyundai car values have been outperforming the industry average while its all new midsize Hyundai Sonata sedan is one of the most researched vehicles on the KBB website.

“Hyundai is clearly benefiting from ‘a perfect storm’ – a result of introducing passionate new products like the 2011 Sonata and 2010 Tucson, while Honda’s mainstream vehicles like the CR-V and Accord are a bit stale in the marketplace and Toyota is experiencing a huge consumer perception crisis,” said James Bell, executive market analyst for Kelley Blue Book’s kbb.com. “To sustain this momentum, Hyundai should continue to promote its attractive new-vehicle lineup, solid warranty offer and strong price-points to new-car shoppers. Hyundai’s main challenge in the near future will likely come from domestic automakers like Ford and GM as they gear up for battle over buyers starting to look for a change from ‘Camry-land.’”

Midsize Market

Indeed, the midsize sedan category has been owned by the Camry-Accord juggernaut since the early 1990s. Up until that time the Ford Taurus was the industry leader but it quickly grew outdated and was surpassed by more modern and better quality Japanese vehicles. Just as the Camry and Accord overtook the Taurus, the Hyundai Sonata should make inroads on these models going forward.

Source: KBB.com

Toyota Black Boxes May Hold Accident Clues

As much as the Toyota Motor Corporation desires to move beyond its recall issues, the Japanese automaker finds that there are enough hurdles in front of it to slow down its efforts.

Sales are down, customers are worried, and a recording device found in most Toyota, Lexus, and Scion models may hold important clues as to how these accidents happened. Unfortunately, Toyota has not been willing to share data found in these so-called “black boxes” mini and simpler versions of technology found in today’s jet airliners.

Black Boxes

Black box data is important because it often sheds light on what happened just before a car got into an accident. In this case, all of the runaway Toyota problems can be examined closer if Toyota would make its data available to federal regulators or law enforcement personnel.

General Motors, Ford, and Chrysler have black boxes too, but their data can be read by third party sources including via a tool developed by the Robert Bosch Corporation.

Those tools are used by the police, accident attorneys, and investigators to help determine why a car crashed. Ford, GM, and Chrysler provide licensing to third parties such as Bosch which increases transparency. Toyota, however, uses a proprietary system which means that their data can only be shared and analyzed with their permission or by court mandate.

Event Data Recorders

In the Aug. 23, 2006 issue of “CNN Money,” Peter Valdes-Dapena explained that black boxes, which are also called event data recorders (EDR), can be found in most new cars. In fact, the NHTSA requires that car manufacturers tell owners in their manuals if an EDR is present.

Unlike an airliner black box an EDR does not record voices, but it does record what was going on with a car the few seconds before and after an accident. That information may be just enough to help investigators determine exactly what caused an accident.

New York Accident

In the Jan. 27, 2010 issue of the Syracuse “Post-Standard,” accident investigators were eager to get at one particular black box as a result of a fatal November 2009 accident in Auburn, N.Y. That car, a 2010 Toyota Camry, raced out of control injuring the Toyota’s driver, while killing a driver who was hit by the runaway Toyota.

That investigation has been delayed because NHTSA intervention is necessary to get Toyota to release its black box data.

Resources

The Wall Street Journal: Toyota Woes Put Focus on Black Box

Ford Fusion Cracks Top Ten List

Modern convenience and safety features are among the amenities attracting shoppers to the all new Ford Fusion.

Quick, what is the best selling car in the America?

Well, that answer needs to be qualified by how you define car. If you mean sedan, coupe and crossover type vehicles, then the Toyota Camry followed by the Honda Accord are 1-2, but if you include all passenger vehicles then that answer is the Ford F-150 pickup truck.

Toyota Camry

It has been years since the Ford Taurus ceded its number one position to the Toyota Camry, the former now a full-sized but lower production model which will probably never sell more than 100,000 units a year. That pales in comparison to various times during the 1980s and 1990s when more than 400,000 Taurus models were sold.

The Ford Fusion has since replaced the Taurus as the Blue Oval’s midsize sedan, a car available with I4 or V6 engines, front or all wheel drive, as well as a hybrid offering. Sales for the Fusion have been good, but until recently, the model hasn’t been a Top Ten seller. Well, that’s all changed because through the first ten months of the year, the Fusion is on a roll, having already surpassed 150,000 units, besting its previous top year which was 2007 and with two months still to go.

Tough Economy

This news comes as the auto industry continues to feel the effects of a stiff economic downturn, extended by even higher unemployment, a depressed housing market, and with consumers who are awfully picky about their purchases.

Since the end of “cash for clunkers” this summer, Ford has been one of the industry’s bright spots, seeing its sales rise without having to resort to profit-killing deep discounts. Leading the way in sales is the F-150, but the Fusion is now making its own mark on the new car landscape. Indeed, the Fusion is now the top selling domestic car, though Toyota might argue that its Camry sedan is made here and sells twice as many copies as the Fusion.

Sales Surge

No matter, the news about the Fusion is certainly good and comes as sales of the 2010 model, on sale since last Spring, are booming. Moreover, most shoppers are choosing higher end models including the Hybrid, Sport and SEL.

Overall car sales remain down, having fallen about 26% over last year, which makes the Fusion’s rise all the more interesting. It appears that new car buyers are out there, but they’re carefully weighing what is being offered and choosing the technological amenities they want which they are finding available in the all-new Fusion.

Source: Ford Motor Company