AUTOS

Less Difference Between Asian, U.S. Autos Seen: Consumers see less of a difference between the performance of domestic and Asian autos after about five years of ownership, according to a study. J. D. Power & Associates, a marketing and consumer research group, said its findings show that domestic auto makers have been able to decrease the number of problems owners encounter as cars age. Owners of 1987 domestically made cars reported 7% more problems than owners of Asian cars in Power’s 1992 survey of more than 20,000 original car owners. When the models were new, a 1987 J. D. Power quality study showed domestic cars had 22% more problems than the Asian autos.