[citation needed] Initially well received, the Excel's faults soon became apparent; cost-cutting measures caused reliability to suffer.

With an increasingly poor reputation for quality, Hyundai sales plummeted, and many dealerships either earned their profits on repairs or abandoned the product.

[1] In response, Hyundai began investing heavily in the quality, design, manufacturing, and long-term research of its vehicles.

It also added a 10-year or 100,000-mile (160,000 km) powertrain warranty (known as the Hyundai Advantage) to its vehicles sold in the United States.

[2] Hyundai is ranked number 4 in World's Most Admired Companies under the motor vehicles section of CNN, after BMW (Bayerische Motoren Werke), Volkswagen and Daimler in 2011.

[citation needed] Hyundai continues to invest heavily in its American operations as its cars grow in popularity.

Hyundai America Technical Center moved to its new 200,000-square-foot (19,000 m2), $117 million headquarters in Superior Township, Michigan (near Ann Arbor) in 2005.

[5] In 2003, Consumer Reports, based on complaints about 2002 model new cars that in general are less than one year usage, ranked Hyundai's reliability tied with Honda's; however, J.D.

Power and Associates put Hyundai's 2002 vehicles below the industry average according to its annual Initial Quality Survey, which looks at problems in the first 90 days of ownership.

three models with the top Total Quality Index (TQI) score in their segments, including the Hyundai Azera, Entourage, Santa Fe.

The magazine's annual ratings, based on road tests and predicted safety and reliability are considered highly influential among consumers.

[22] In 2009, according to a preliminary report from the Environmental Protection Agency published in November 2009, which is based on 2009 pre-model year production projections provided by automakers,[23] Hyundai, at an average of 23.4 mpg‑US (10.1 L/100 km; 28.1 mpg‑imp), is the second most fuel-efficient automaker in America, after Honda's combined U.S. fleet of Honda and Acura models at an average of 23.6 mpg‑US (10.0 L/100 km; 28.3 mpg‑imp).

In a move consistent with its plans to create a performance pedigree, the upwardly mobile Hyundai announced in August 2015 that it would launch a new high-performance brand called "N."[26] The N brand is so named because Hyundai's research and development center is based in Namyang, South Korea.

Though the company celebrated N's launch at the 2015 Frankfurt auto show, it did not disclose details at that time about any future performance vehicles that would wear an N badge.

The promotion is said to be credited to Munoz's resilience and strategies in pushing for record sales in the North America region.