How long does it take to rebuild a reputation? In the case of Hyundai, about 23 years. To me, the arrival of the 2009 Hyundai Genesis signifies the complete rehabilitation of the Korean automaker from the ashes of its arrival in the United States in 1986. Not just an excellent car in its own right, the Genesis provides an exceptional value that allows Hyundai to stack up against any manufacturer in the world.

Those with long memories may recall the arrival of Hyundai in the United States with a car called the Excel. Several hundred thousand were sold at bargain-basement prices the first year the company did business here, and many wound up sidelined, either for repairs or for repossession from less than credit-worthy customers.

That first-year debacle haunted Hyundai for years, even after it expanded its product line, sharply improved its quality, and rebuilt its sales. This year Hyundai is the seventh most popular brand in the United States, outselling Chrysler, Jeep, Subaru and VW. On the JD Power Initial Quality list, Hyundai ranks 13th, ahead of such worthies as Acura, Volvo (F), and BMW.

How good is Hyundai? For my money, the Genesis is the finest car that you can buy for $42,000. That included a rear backup camera, front and rear parking assist, and a navigation system. In size and execution, you can argue that it challenges the Lexus LS 460 — and with a base sticker price that’s nearly $30,000 less. The Genesis is bit taller, three inches shorter, and weighs 700 pounds less than the Lexus. The lighter weight contributes to its excellent fuel economy (17 mpg city/25 mpg highway) vs. 16/23 for the Lexus. During several hundred miles of mostly highway driving, I averaged 23.8 mpg.

In shape, and character, the Genesis is also Lexus-like. This is a formal four-door sedan, with an emphasis on refinement over pizzazz, and comfort over performance. Those looking for driver feedback from the steering wheel or sporting composure through the twisties won’t find it here. Like the Lexus, the Genesis is powered by a 4.6 liter V-8 that is quiet, smooth, and powerful, and, in a pinch, it can get the Genesis to 60 miles per hour in under six seconds.

Where the Genesis cannot compete with the Lexus, of course, is on brand reputation.  That may take another 23 years. But the Hyundai circle H logo, which appears on the trunk lid, looks better on the Genesis than on any other Hyundai I’ve seen. And since it doesn’t carry the kind of price premium that Lexus and other luxury makes do, it should be especially appealing in these coming months of diminished economic expectations.

Ford likes to brag about the segment-leading status of the F-series pickup trucks, but being Number One isn’t what it used to be.  In 2004, F-series trucks set a record by selling 939,511 units. No danger of breaking that this year.  Through October, only 436,022 F-trucks were sold.  In fact, sales are so slow that Ford had to resort to the unprecedented – and expensive – move of delaying the launch of the 2009 models so that it could clear out more of the 2008s.

The 2009 Ford truck is a revamped version of the all-new vehicle that was introduced in 2003. The chassis has been updated with lighter-weight, higher-strength steel for better fuel economy and safety, and improved payload and towing capacity. Esthetic changes include a larger and more flexible interior, and additional choices of cab styles and trim levels.  F-150s now come in eight flavors, ranging from the bare-bones XL to the high-luxe King Ranch and Platinum versions. But no matter what level you order, you can’t get a gearshift  and clutch.  Beginning this years, manual transmissions are no longer available on the F-150.  Ford says customers stopped wanting them.

Ford believes that selling trucks is all about capabilities and it has crammed a laundry list of them into the new models. My pre-production Lariat was packed with a tailgate step, trailer brake controller, and various gizmos that make it easier to haul partial loads in the pickup bed. That came on top of the standard 5.4 liter V-8 engine with six-speed transmission.  All in all, my test truck was a sensible package wrapped in an attractive body painted an unfortunate color.  Ford calls it “amber gold clearcoat.”  I call it “butterscotch.”  Base sticker price was $34,854.  The options I mentioned are extra.

Over the road, the Lariat performed with aplomb. The steering was sharp, though one driver complained about lack of road feel. The accelerator tip-in was a bit aggressive, as several attendants at Ford’s midtown Manhattan garage will testify. The level of refinement, starting from the powertrain and extending up to the controls and interior trim was impressive. No longer do you have to suffer lack of comfort or sensory deprivation when you climb into a truck.

So what did I like best, the F-150 or the Dodge Ram? The contest is a bit unfair because the Ram was loaded with stuff the Lariat wasn’t: four-wheel drive, two rear doors and a fullsize rear seat, a sunroof, and a $9,000 richer base sticker price. But it seemed to have more character: a higher public profile, better sounding exhaust, crisper interior.  If price were no object, the Ram would be my  choice.  If I were a capability guy operating on a tight budget, the F-150 could get the call.

What do you do with a pickup truck in Manhattan? Get out of town in a hurry.  The city is distinctly unfriendly to large mechanical objects like fullsize pickups  Parking  garages wave them away because they take up too much space, and passers-by sometimes use the open beds as handy waste disposals.

With that in mind, I pulled the console shifter into drive on my Ram 1500 Zaramie Crew 4X4 and headed up the Henry Hudson Parkway.  It wasn’t long before I noticed:  This is a pickup truck that feels like a luxury car. The controls and the fittings in the passenger cabin are all top drawer and the new rear suspension with coil springs provides an appropriately comfy ride. Then, for the as-tested price of $47,565, it probably SHOULD feel like a luxury car.

The Ram’s refinement extends to the powertrain. As you would expect, the massive 5.7 liter Hemi V-8  provided smooth, effortless power (while sucking up a gallon of gas every 17 miles traveled in city and on highway). The Ram is a trucker’s truck, with its massive forward leaning grill, power-bulge hood, meaty front bumpers, and prominent wheel arches.

But you don’t buy a fullsize pickup for highway cruising – at least not in this neck of the woods. The Ram performed just as smoothly on the dirt roads of northwest Connecticut and proved handy  at hauling.  The pickup bed is unusually flexible, with a movable partition that sections it off,  as well as lockable storage compartments in both side walls. Oddly, both storage wells have latches that allow the lids to be opened from the inside.  Somebody at Dodge or at a  federal safety agency must worry that they will be used to stow some very small passengers.

As gasoline prices continue to trend downward, the environment for big pickups is improving. That’s good news for Detroit, which counts on them for outsize profits. The downturn in the housing industry has dissuaded a lot of carpenters and handymen from buying new trucks. And higher gas prices have turned away the drivers who want trucks for personal use or just image.

Traditionally, Ford and Chevy lead the pickup market, with a big gap separating them from Dodge. The new Ram isn’t likely to upset that traditional ranking. But the folks at Chrysler are hoping that its look-at-my styling combined with Hemi power will steer some more buyers its way.

Next: Round Two – the 2009 Ford F-150

Consumer Reports magazine is out with its latest survey of new car reliability, and the inflated reputations of a couple of manufacturers get badly punctured.

Mercedes-Benz, which has made a poor showing lately, gets a mixed report card.  The reliability of six models, including the redesigned C-class, have moved up in the standings but only as far as average. And none of its models made it into the “most-reliable” category, while several land in the least-reliable group, including the trouble-prone M-class SUV ( with a V-8), the V-8 powered GL-class, and the R-class.  You can’t blame their deficiencies entirely on fussy German engineering; all three happen to be built in Mercedes’ Alabama plant.

But nobody gets smacked around quite like General Motors. GM’ers love to brag about the quality of the vehicles they have launched in the last several years.  But only one GM model ranks among the 47 rated as the most reliable, and that one, the Pontiac Vibe, is built in cooperation with Toyota, the quality champ.

By contrast, 13 GM models populate the least-reliable list , including such highly touted models as the Saturn Outlook and GMC Acadia, Saturn Sky and Pontiac Solstice, and Cadillac Escalade. In fact, nearly one-third of the least-reliable models identified by CR are made by GM.

GM does manage to edge out poor Chrysler, almost two-thirds of whose vehicles rate below average, including its redesigned minivans. The Chrysler Sebring Convertible, a nice-driving car that sells at a reasonable price for a drop-top, recorded the worst score among all the new cars in the survey.

But to demonstrate that it harbors no anti-American bias, CR gives a shout out to Ford, declaring that its brands “continue to pull away from the rest of the Detroit automakers.”  Excluding some older truck-based vehicles like the Explorer, the magazine writes,  “Ford’s reliability is now on par with good Japanese automakers.”

But not the best.  Toyota and Honda continue to dominate the list. Almost all Honda and Acuras got above average ratings, while each of the 42 Toyota, Lexus and Scion models in the survey scored average or better.  At the top of the heap: the Scion xD, an odd-looking sedan aimed at younger buyers:  According to CR, its owners reported 80% few problems than the average new car in the survey.