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Weekly Recap: Kia leads Korea's quality surge

The rapid rise of Korea's auto brands in the US market has been apparent on the sales charts for several years, and now it's showing up in an area that's just as crucial: quality. Kia and Hyundai earned the highest rankings among mainstream brands in the J. D. Power Initial Quality Study released on Wednesday. The study tracks problems owners report during the first 90 days they own their car. Kia reported 86 problems per 100 vehicles, or fewer than one problem per car sold, to take second in the rankings behind luxury sportscar-maker Porsche (80). Kia's score improved by nearly 20 percent compared with the 2014 study. "The big industry story is Kia," Renee Stephens, vice president of U.S. automotive quality at J.D. Power, said in a video statement, noting Kia's infotainment systems were the key reason for its improved performance. Hyundai was fourth for the second straight year, though its score actually worsened by one, to 95. Even with Hyundai's slight dip, Korean quality increased 11 percent, according to the study, which far outpaced American and European companies' three-percent increases. Japanese brands improved one percent. Hyundai Motor Co. (parent company of the Hyundai and Kia brands) captured four individual vehicle awards, which tied for the most with General Motors, Nissan, and Volkswagen. "The Korean brands have really taken off," Stephens said. "There's movement in the industry, and the patterns are shifting." Another luxury brand, Jaguar (93 problems), slotted in between Hyundai and Kia in third place. Infiniti was fifth, followed by BMW. Chevrolet was the highest domestic brand, taking seventh place, followed by Lincoln, Lexus, and Toyota, which were all well above the industry average of 112 problems per 100 vehicles. OTHER NEWS & NOTES Kirk Kerkorian dead at 98 Kirk Kerkorian, a billionaire activist investor who wielded enormous influence on the Detroit Three car companies in the 1990s and 2000s, died Monday. He was 98 years old. Kerkorian made headlines in 1995 for trying to take over Chrysler – with the help of former chairman Lee Iacocca – before being fended off by Chrysler management. His takeover attempt ultimately pushed Chrysler to be sold to German giant Daimler. He tried to buy Chrysler again in 2007 when Daimler put Chrysler on the market, but Kerkorian fell short and the automaker was sold to private equity firm Cerberus.

McLaren and Honda rekindle a winning combination

With the 2014 Formula One World Championship now drawn to a close, all eyes are fixed on next season. And for both McLaren and Honda, that means the dawn of a new era – or hopefully, the return to one bygone. After twenty years running Mercedes engines, McLaren is switching back to Honda next season, rekindling the most successful partnership the once-dominant team has ever had. Immediately after swapping to Honda power in 1988 – and with Ayrton Senna and Alain Prost behind the wheel – McLaren entered its winningest era, racking up four consecutive world championships. In the two decades it's spent under Mercedes power since, it won three drivers' titles and one constructors', leaving the relatively brief Honda era as its most successful. It was also the most successful for Honda, which had enjoyed success with Williams and some with Lotus, but far more with McLaren – the likes of which it was never able to recreate. The Japanese automaker that was the first to break into the Euro-centric series left grand prix racing when it left McLaren, and despite returning to fund its own team for the better part of a decade, claimed but one checkered flag before calling it quits again. Whether the new collaboration will return both outfits to the winner's circle remains to be seen, but we're looking forward to finding out. In the meantime, after releasing a couple of images from the video shoot last week, McLaren has put out this minute-and-a-half video clip showing the MP4-29H running a few laps around Silverstone, marking the official start of what could be the second reign of the McLaren-Honda dynasty. News Source: McLaren Motorsports Honda McLaren Racing Vehicles Videos F1 mclaren-honda

Acura ILX Type S could get 300-hp turbo four

There's good news and bad news when it comes to the new Honda Civic Type R. The good news is that after more than a year of prototypes and concepts, the Japanese automaker's new hot hatch is about to make its production debut next month. The bad news is that it's not coming here, but there is a silver lining in even that dark rain cloud – namely, that Honda plans on slotting its 2.0-liter VTEC turbo four into something that it will actually offer Stateside. Earlier rumors suggested the US donor vehicle would also be a Civic, but the latest intel indicates it could be something different, albeit related. According to Car and Driver, which spoke recently with Acura product planning manager Gary Robinson, Honda's luxury division could be gearing up to shoehorn the engine into the recently updated ILX – which itself is based on the Civic. "Acura is always going to get the best engines Honda makes," said Robinson. "Obviously a 2.0-liter turbo is more of a must-have in the luxury world than it is in the mainstream" market, suggesting that an ILX Type S could be in the works with upwards of 300 horsepower. Getting it to fit, though, could prove a rather large challenge – and could mean the engine swap would have to wait until the next-generation model comes around. Considering that the ILX was just updated for 2016, C/D doesn't expect the full redesign to come until 2018 at the earliest. Here's hoping that if it takes that long, Honda will slot the engine into something else for US showrooms in the meantime. The revival of the Type S badge in and of itself, however, makes for an enticing prospect. The last time we saw it used was on the larger TL sedan, which upgraded the 3.2-liter V6 from the 225 horsepower to 260. Before that, the RSX jumped from 160 horsepower in the base model to 200 in the first Type S, 210 in the second and 217 in the ultimate Type R. As it stands, the new ILX (after dropping the hybrid and base 2.0 models, is powered exclusively by a 2.4-liter inline four with 201 hp on tap.