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"NHTSA Investigates Steering Problem on GM Models   The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration is investigating a possible steering defect that could affect 714,000 General Motors vehicles, The Associated Press reported.   The vehicles involved were built between Jan. 1, 1996, and Oct. 31, 1997, NHTSA said. They are: the 1996-98 Buick Regal; the 1997-98 Buick Century; the 1996-98 Chevrolet Lumina and Monte Carlo; the 1996-97 Oldsmobile Cutlass Supreme; and the 1998 Oldsmobile Intrigue.   NHTSA said it has received 357 complaints that the steering in the vehicles locked up or lost power. In some cases, the vehicles became difficult to steer while making left turns.   A GM spokesman said the company is cooperating with the investigation. NHTSA&amp;#039;s vehicle investigations can lead to a recall, the story said.   Toyota and Honda Top Value Study   Japanese manufacturers, led by and , were at the top of 11 vehicle segments (one a tie) in Strategic Vision&amp;#039;s 2003 Total Value Index (TVI), a survey of more than 63,000 owners who rated their vehicles on their perceived value.   According to a statement by Strategic Vision, an industry research firm, its index measures &amp;quot;whether or not buyers believe they got their money&amp;#039;s worth, by correlating all economic issues against the quality of the ownership experience.&amp;quot;   European brands, led by , were at the top of 5 categories (one a tie). Domestic brands captured three first place spots and Hyundai won two.   Two European products, the Audi TT Roadster (817) and Mini Cooper (814), were the highest scoring vehicles. The rest of the top 10 came from European and Japanese manufacturers.   The following vehicles were rated as the best values in their segments:   Category - Vehicle - Score  Small Car - Hyundai Elantra - 763 Compact Car - Hyundai Sonata(a) - 790 Mid-Size Car - Honda Accord - 803 Larger Car - Mercury Marauder - 752 Near-Luxury Car - Audi A4 - 800 / Lexus ES 300 - 798 (tie) Luxury Car - Lexus GS 300/430 - 812 Small Specialty (Less than $25,000) - Mini Cooper(a) - 814 Small Specialty - (Greater than $25,000) - Audi TT Coupe - 805 Mid-Specialty Car - Honda Accord Coupe(a) - 788 Convertible - (Less than $30,000) - Toyota Solara - 735 Convertible (Greater than $30,000) - Audi TT Roadster(a) - 817 Minivan - Honda Odyssey - 719 Small SUV - Honda Element - 783 Medium SUV - Nissan Murano - 758 Large SUV - Toyota Sequoia(a) - 730 Near Luxury SUV - Lexus RX 300(a) - 781 Luxury SUV - BMW X5 - 763 Compact Pickup - Subaru Baja - 757 Full-Size Pickup - Chevrolet Avalanche 1500 - 709 Heavy Duty Pickup - Dodge Ram 2500/3500 - 737   The score is based on price/deal offered, warranty and standard equipment level, expected economics (durability, future trade-in, mileage), economical to own and reliability.   &amp;quot;Consumers don&amp;#039;t measure value just in dollars and cents,&amp;quot; says Dr. Darrel Edwards, Strategic Vision president. &amp;quot;It&amp;#039;s what you get for your money. Thus you can&amp;#039;t calculate value without the quality, including the emotional response, buyers perceive in the complete ownership experience.&amp;quot;   Lexus (784) remained the top-scoring brand, and Suzuki was the most improved brand. Nissan showed the most improvement of the full-line corporations, moving it ahead of Toyota in Total Value.   Buyers participating in the study purchased their new vehicles between October 2002 and March 2003. They had at least 90 days of ownership experience before they were queried. All Total Value Award winners had to be 2003 models.   The top ten scoring vehicles are:   Model - TVI - Median Price - % Incentives Audi TT Roadster - 817 - $38,500(b) - 42%(b) Mini Cooper - 814 - $23,000 - 2% Lexus GS 300/430 - 812 - $41,600 - 27% Acura RSX - 811 - $23,000 - 19% Audi TT Coupe(b) - 805 - $38,500(b) - 42%(b) Honda Accord - 803 - $23,000 - 19% Audi A4 - 800 - $32,000 - 34% Lexus ES 300 - 798 - $34,900 - 23% BMW Z4 - 797 - $43,000 - 16% Infiniti G35 - 793 - $35,000 - 15% Mercedes Benz SL - 793 - $100,000 - 5% (b) Weighted average for TT Coupe and Roadster   Additionally, the study found that vehicles that scored the highest on the value index had an incidence of incentives well below the industry average. "^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
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