Last year we saw significant improvements in vehicle quality and safety, the slow demise of big SUVs and the growing popularity of the hybrid. The big business news was the scary financial condition of GM and Ford.

In 2006 expect the nasty lessons taught by the recent increase in gasoline costs to continue to boos the popularity of hybrids and smaller cars. We probably will see the introduction of micro 50 mpg cars, such as the Toyota Yaris, Mercedes “Smart” car, BMW 1, Honda Fit and the Nissan Cube. These cars are well known in Europe and elsewhere.

More hybrids based on traditional models will be available this year, including the Hyundai Accent, Kia Rio, Lexus LS450h and LS600h, Toyota Camry and Dodge Durango SUV hybrids.

Toyota Camry

Strange as it may seem, even as GM and Ford struggle with their shrinking market share, reduced revenue and continuous losses, the J.D. Powers rating agency shows them producing many vehicles with higher initial quality than the Europeans, even approaching hallowed Japanese territory. Powers three-year dependability study now rates Lincoln as third best and Cadillac as fourth best, better than Toyota, Honda and Infiniti.

Expect these improvements to continue as Ford and GM buff their tarnished quality reputation with ever improving products. Let’s hope they survive long enough.

More cars will include as standard equipment safety devices such as side, curtain and rear airbags, stability and anti-rollover systems. The safest affordable cars available as we move into 2006 are the Ford 500, Mercury Montego, Toyota Camry, Subaru Forester, Chevrolet Malibu, Honda Civic and the Pontiac Torrent.

A whole raft of new car-based SUV crossover vehicles will see the light of day this year. Choices will be aplenty. The Ford Edge, a new Toyota RAV 4, Chevy HHR, Dodge Nitro, Acura RDX, Mazda CX-7, Nissan Versa, and VW Marrakesh will debut in 2006 and target the crossover market. Sales of large SUVs likely will continue to decline as the more fuel-efficient crossovers take their place.

Other new cars hitting the market in 2006 include a new VW Jetta wagon, Lexus LS 460, IS 250 and IS350, the Hyundai Entourage minivan, and luxury cars Hyundai Azera and Hyundai Equus.

In 2006, look for these to enter the market: The Saturn Aura midsize sedan, Audi Q7 off-road SUV, Audi Aurora Quattro, Jeep Compass small SUV, Audi R8 super sports car, Audi Q5 SUV, Dodge Neon replacement the Dodge Caliber sedan, Chrysler Aspen SUV, Mazda CX-9 SUV, another monster SUV from Ford, the Everest, luxury convertibles Cadillac XLR-V and Bentley Continental. We must not forget the VW-owned Bugatti Veyron super sports car with a top speed of 253 mph and a 0-to-60 time of 2.5 seconds!

This mind-blowing proliferation of new models will make it even more complicated for consumers to make a buying decision.

Expect more improvements in vehicle initial quality and dependability from all manufacturers. The industry average for initial quality defects in the first year of ownership improved from 133 defects per 100 cars in 2003 to 118 in 2005. The average for three-year dependability improved from 273 defects per 100 cars in 2003 to 237 in 2005. The leaders in 2005 are the Lexus LS430 for both categories and, believe it or not Jaguar is second in the initial quality rankings with Porsche second in the dependability rankings.

The J.D. Powers ratings bring up some interesting facts. First of all, Lexus sits on top of all quality and dependability charts — and has for the last three years. Hyundai jumped dramatically from 23rd in the 2003 initial quality ratings for the first year of ownership to 11th in 2005.

If a manufacturer does not improve its products every year, the products will slide down the charts as everyone else improves. Chevrolet was rated 13th in the 2003 initial quality study. A small reduction in defects did not prevent it from going to 20th in 2005. Chevrolet and Pontiac are the only GM products that failed to improve their initial quality from 2003 to 2005. Hummer had the most significant improvement and actually went from last in the 2003 study to 10th in the 2005 study.

One of the sad quality stories involves Mercedes Benz and its dependability record. In 2005 it was rated by J.D. Powers 27th in its three-year dependability study. This puts it way below its partner Chrysler at 14th in the same survey. Volkswagen is another sad German story at 34th in the dependability category and 33rd in the initial quality study – just above Land Rover, Kia and the Mini. Mercedes Benz has replaced its top management and both companies have vowed to improve this record in 2006.

The entire automotive industry is going through a major realignment with the Japanese and Korean manufacturers gaining market share (35.8 percent in November 2004 to 39 percent in November 2005) at the expense of the Big Three American car builders whose market share went from 56.6 percent in November 2004 to 53.2 percent in November 2005.

With the current publicized reductions in GM and Ford plants and employees, we can expect more of the same in 2006.

Motoring since 1952, Austin Lynas has owned 55 cars and at one time raced mini-sedans in England. An aerospace engineer, he was instrumental in developing the anti-skid systems used in British military aircraft that preceded today’s ABS systems. Lynas can be reached by e-mail at austin@sandiegometro.com.