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Buick, Lexus tie in dependability study

Christine Tierney / The Detroit News

General Motors Corp.'s Buick nameplate tied Toyota Motor Corp.'s luxury brand Lexus for first place in a widely watched survey of vehicle reliability released Thursday.

Buick's remarkable showing marks the first time in 12 years that Lexus has shared the top honors in J.D. Power and Associates' Vehicle Dependability Study, J.D. Power said.

Owners of 3-year-old Buick and Lexus customers reported 145 problems per 100 vehicles, on average, compared with an industry average of 216.

Rounding out the top five for reliability are Cadillac, Ford Motor Co.'s Mercury brand, and Honda.

"With three non-premium nameplates -- Buick, Honda and Mercury -- ranking within the top five, consumers seeking a vehicle with strong dependability have good choices at various price levels," said Neal Oddes, director of product research and analysis at J.D. Power. "Consumers don't necessarily need to pay premium prices to obtain high quality and dependability."

The study's findings underscore a steady improvement in the quality and reliability of cars built by domestic manufacturers.

Many independent surveys show them narrowing, and in some instances, closing the gap with the leading Japanese carmakers.

"Quality is a key hallmark of the Buick brand," Buick general manager Jim Bunnell said in a statement. "Our owners can feel confident that they have a high-quality, quiet vehicle that is now a recognized leader in dependability."

The Buick Century and Regal sedans led their segments.

But Toyota captured the most segment awards. Its Lexus brand won five, the most of any marque in 2007, for the GS300/430, LS430 and SC430 cars and for the GX470 and LX470 sport utility vehicles.

Toyota's Scion xA was rated the most dependable subcompact, while the Toyota-brand RAV4, Sequoia, Tacoma and Tundra trucks were leaders in their segments.

"Internal studies show that dependability is consistently the top purchase reason for Toyota, Lexus and Scion buyers, and we will continue to prioritize quality as our product offerings and sales volume increase," Jim Lentz, executive vice president of Toyota Motor Sales USA, said in a statement.

Honda's Civic was rated the top compact car for the second consecutive year. The Mazda Miata won the highest marks in the compact sporty car category, and the Ford Crown Victoria led in the large car segment.

GM's Hummer brand showed the biggest improvement of any nameplate, although it still ranks below the industry average. Consumers reported less wind noise and closer-fitting door seals.

Other nameplates showing gains in this year's study include Mercedes-Benz, Subaru, Jeep and Land Rover -- although Land Rover remains dead last.

"We see Mercedes-Benz making a dramatic improvement," Oddes said in a teleconference. Every vehicle in the German luxury automaker's lineup showing improvement, except for the M-Class SUV.

J.D. Power polled more than 53,000 original owners of 2004 model-year vehicles between January and April for the survey.