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The rapid rise of Hyundai and Kia into respectable brands has been remarkable. For this poll my vote goes to Kia since they were even more bargain-basement than Hyundai before Hyundai scooped 'em up and took them along for the climb up the respectability ladder.
Hmmm... 2002 to 2012... keeping with the spirit of the original thread, now nearly two years old.
I will be using "improvement points", which is MY PERSONAL OPINION of the rating of the company on a 0-100 scale in 2002 and 2012. 0 is Yugo, 25 is junk, 50 is mediocre, 75 is good, 100 is perfect. This takes into account quality, style, sales and more.
Audi - A lot of improvement, from a fairly second tier luxury competitor to a first tier. 2002: 67, 2012: 86.
19 points of improvement. Not bad.
Buick - wow. From prototypical GM mediocrity to a world class competitor. At least they were fairly reliable and comfortable, helping their 2002 score. The turnaround was partial with the circa 2005 introductions of the LaCrosse and Lucerne, and really came full circle with the 2010 LaCrosse, 2011 Regal, Enclave, etc. Still, they'd only been making anything world class for a couple years by January 2012. 2002: 55, 2012: 79.
24 points of improvement. Pretty impressive.
BMW: Started the ten years at the very end of their first golden age. Took a minor slump from about 2004-2009, but recovered. 2002: 87, 2012: 87.
No improvement. Sitting pretty.
Cadillac: In the 1980s, some Cadillacs were junk. A great quality improvement came in the early to mid 1990s, and further improvements in style, quality, and success came in the "Art and Science era" that started in the mid 2000s. 2002: 70, 2012: 84.
14 points of improvement.
Chrysler: Some improvement, but fairly low quality. Still, significant strides have been made on some vehicles. 2002: 40, 2012: 50.
10 points of improvement.
Chevrolet: Lots of mediocrity and a mixed bag in 2002. Their entire lineup has shown major improvements. 2002: 46, 2012: 77.
31 points of improvement!
Dodge: Modest improvements. See Chrysler. 2002: 40, 2012: 47.
7 points of improvement.
Ford: From fairly good to really good. A force to be reckoned with. 2002: 65, 2012: 85.
20 points of improvement.
Hyundai: They were in a state of rapid improvement in 2002, and were already fairly good vehicles for the most part, having made a massive improvement over the then-past decade. Today, they are great. The 1992 score is to put things into perspective. 1992: 21, 2002: 59, 2012: 83.
24 points of improvement. Still huge gains.
Kia: Kia's massive improvement started around 2003, and was incredible in its speed. A true 180 in the space of a decade. 2002: 28, 2012: 84. 56 points of improvement.
Mercedes Benz: Reliability improvements and improved styling made Mercedes a comeback. 2002: 61, 2012: 90!
29 points of improvement!
Although there were many impressive gains made, the far and away winner is Kia.
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