Detroit's shrunken three looking better, but...

One of the most crucial ranking in the auto industry has been released. The bottom of the bottom line: Chrysler, Ford and GM are making better cars now, but still not the best. Most improved brand: Suzuki. That's the heartless conclusion from J.D. Power and Associates. The five best cars, based on owners' experience: Lexus, Porsche, Cadillac, Hyundai, Honda. Toyota won top place in ten auto categories in the Power survey of car owners. One way or another GM is shedding four brands: Hummer, Pontiac, Saab and Saturn--GM's four worst rated. Power's survey measures auto problems 90 days after the owners got them. This is measure of new car problems. Power says "Several all-new models in 2009, including the Hyundai Genesis, Kia Borrego, Toyota Venza and Volkswagen CC, perform considerably better than their respective segment averages. Many redesigned models in 2009 also show notable improvement from the previous generation—particularly the Acura TL, Ford F-150, Honda Pilot and Nissan Z." Here you can view the Power survey results by brand name. They have no category for hybrid or plugpin cars. They are so 1995. When will Power catch up with the current auto reality? Toyota's Prius was deemed the #2 best comopact car while the Yaris was #1 among sub-compacts. GM'S COMEBACK PLANS GM will come out with subcompact Chevrolet Cruze next year, supposedly getting about 40 miles per gallon. The Chevrolet Spark minicar is expected in the U.S. in 2011. Chevy's plug-in hyrbid VOLT is due in about fifteen months. But analysts say it won't be any financial help to GM although it's expected to sell at $40,000 apiece. The Volt is just to get the new, green image of GM more currency. Talk about expensive marketing!