Carmaker quality boost means fewer lemons

DETROIT -- Car shoppers today are less likely to end up with a lemon, experts say.

In the past five years, global competition has forced automakers to improve the quality and reliability of their vehicles -- everything from inexpensive minicars to decked-out luxury SUVs.

The newfound emphasis on quality means fewer problems for owners, whether they buy an American car or one from Korea or Japan.

With few exceptions, cars are so close on reliability that it's getting harder for companies to charge a premium. So automakers are adding sleek, cutting-edge exteriors and more features such as luxurious interiors, multiple air bags, dashboard computers and touch-screen controls.

"It's a great time to be a consumer," said Jesse Toprak, vice president of industry trends for the TrueCar.com auto-pricing website. Cars from Detroit generally weren't as trouble-free in the 1980s and '90s as their Japanese counterparts. Hyundai concedes that the quality of their Korean brand used to be poor.

However, around 2006, as General Motors, Ford Motor Co. and Chrysler Group Llc were heading into financial trouble, they realized that people were shifting from trucks and sport utility vehicles to smaller cars and car-based crossover SUVs.

Detroit shifted research dollars from trucks to cars. U.S. automakers also tried to boost reliability to compete. Korean automakers redesigned their fleets.

The newfound emphasis on quality has closed the gap between best and worst in the industry, according to J.D. Power and Associates.

"We don't have total clunkers like we used to," says Dave Sargent, automotive vice president with J.D. Power. -- AP