For the first time in nearly 30 years, a non-luxury brand has topped the J.D. Powers Initial Quality Study. Kia, the South Korean automaker, ranked best in the study, which is based on new car buyers’ complaints during the first three months of ownership. High marks also were earned by Porsche, Hyundai, Toyota and BMW. American manufacturers ranked lower than all of those brands, but all improved their ratings by about 10 percent over the year.
