NATION
NATION
Hyundai rises to secondin vehicle-quality survey
DETROIT -- Korean automaker Hyundai Motor America has leapfrogged Detroit's automakers and is ranked just below perennial leader Toyota in a closely watched survey of new-vehicle quality.
Hyundai tied Honda Motor Co. for second place in the J.D. Power and Associates Initial Quality Survey, released Wednesday.
Detroit's automakers, though improved from last year, all ranked below the industry average. General Motors Corp., the highest-ranked domestic automaker, improved its quality score by 10 percent to 120 complaints per 100 vehicles. But it still came in just behind the industry average of 119 problems.
Toyota had 101 reported problems, compared with 115 in 2003.
Economic growth report
WASHINGTON -- The economy grew at an annual rate of 4.2 percent in the opening quarter of 2004, a solid showing and fresh evidence that the business recovery is solidly on track. But the performance wasn't the blowout some analysts wanted.
The reading on gross domestic product for the January-to-March quarter, reported by the Commerce Department today, marks a slight pickup from the 4.1 percent rate registered in the final quarter of 2003. Although the first-quarter figure suggests the recovery is in good shape, it fell short of the strong 5 percent pace economists were forecasting.
Associated Press