Hummer is bummer on new-car quality list

Dismal gas mileage should be no surprise to owners of a massive vehicle that weighs 6,400 pounds.

Still, 22 percent of Hummer H2 owners marked the militarylike sport-utility vehicle down for "excessive fuel consumption" in a survey by J.D. Power and Associates.

Hummer earned the lowest score among vehicle brands in Power's annual initial-quality study of new vehicles and dragged General Motors' score below average.

"We are absolutely not happy with those results, and there certainly was some impact from higher fuel prices," said Kevin Williams, GM's vice president for quality.

Hummer spokesman Pete Ternes said the H2 averages "about 11 miles per gallon" in GM's tests. GM does not post mileage estimates on the vehicle's price sticker because its weight of more than 6,000 pounds makes it exempt from federal fuel-economy standards.

The Hummer's poor performance led to a fifth-place finish for GM in the annual survey, which measures complaints in the first 90 days of ownership for all new models. Toyota, once again, scored the highest in quality.

Brian Walters, Power's director of product research and one of the study authors, said as the overall quality of the auto industry improves, consumers complain more about how vehicles perform and less about parts failing or falling off.

"In the past, it was often catastrophic engine or transmission failure. Consumers are now focused on other issues that tend to be more design issues and whether the vehicle meets their expectations," Walters said.

Wind noise is now the top complaint in the survey.

Power said 52,000 owners of 2003 models responded to the survey out of a random sampling of 205,000.

This is the first time the H2 has been included. It went on sale last year and starts at nearly $50,000.

Other frequent complaints from H2 owners were improperly aimed headlights (19 percent) and excessive wind noise (12 percent).

Gary Cowger, president of GM North America, said the study doesn't indicate the H2 has major quality problems.

"You're not looking at serious mechanical issues here," Cowger said. "They're still important enough that the consumer commented on them, so we have to address them."

H2 owners reported 225 problems per 100 vehicles, indicating consumers encountered quality issues beyond fuel economy and wind noise, Walters said.

GM's Saturn and Saab brands also scored poorly. Saturn had 158 problems per 100 vehicles and Saab 160. The industry average was 133, unchanged from last year.

Lexus, Toyota's luxury division, had 76 problems per 100 vehicles, 12 fewer than last year and the fewest among brands for the third straight year. GM's Cadillac division was second with 103, its best showing ever. Toyota and Lexus models ranked best in six of 16 vehicle segments. Ford. was best in five segments and GM in three.

The Lexus LS430 had the fewest problems for the seventh straight year.

Among manufacturers, Toyota had the fewest problems for the fourth straight year, 115 per 100 vehicles. Honda slipped from second to fourth, and Porsche and BMW moved into second and third, respectively.

GM was fifth, the highest among U.S. manufacturers for the second straight year. GM had 134 problems per 100 vehicles, four more than last year. Ford and DaimlerChrysler improved over 2002, but Nissan jumped over both into sixth place.

The biggest improvements among manufacturers came from Suzuki, with 31 percent fewer problems, and Kia, with 21 percent.

Korean-based Kia remains last among manufacturers with 168 problems per 100 vehicles, but Walters said the difference between best and worst has narrowed considerably in the last five years.

"The gap between the best and the Koreans was 120 (problems per vehicle) in 1998. Now it is 53," he said. "The Koreans are playing with the big boys now."

Car sweeteners soar in April as automakers push sales

DETROIT — Financing deals and cash rebates on new cars and trucks rose to record levels last month, and Ford became the latest automaker to sweeten its offers yesterday.

Like its rival General Motors did last week, Ford has extended its offer of interest-free loans for up to five years on a variety of vehicles, including the Taurus, Explorer and some F-150 pickups.

Despite heavy incentives in April, Ford, GM and DaimlerChrysler's Chrysler Group all saw their sales decline compared with a robust month a year ago.

At the same time, Toyota followed up its best-ever first quarter with its seventh consecutive record-setting April. Honda, Hyundai and Porsche also posted record sales.

Nearly every automaker had some kind of incentive last month, contributing to a rise in the average industry outlay per vehicle to $2,508 from $2,207 in March, according to a research report yesterday from analyst Wendy Beale Needham of Credit Suisse First Boston (CSFB).

"Incentives could go even higher in May, with automakers extending the generous April deals," the CSFB report said. "May is generally one of the highest (and often the highest) volume months of the year, so it will be a bare-knuckle fight for every last sale."

— The Associated Press