Industry Report Part 3: Toyota and Lexus Take 7 First Place Finishes in J.D. Power VDS

GM, Ford, Chrysler, Honda and Toyota Take Top Spots in Vehicle Dependability Study

In this final installment of a three part J.D. Power and Associates 2004 Vehicle Dependability Study overview, we'll take a look at which individual cars are responsible for

If you're looking for reliable transportation, J.D. Power and Associates 2004 Vehicle Dependability Study is a good place to start. (Photo: J.D. Power and Associates)

helping each company climb up the ratings charts. This is not only interesting, but also useful if you're looking for reliable transportation.

To once again review information necessary to understand this particular study, the results were obtained by surveying more than 48,000 original owners of 2001 model year cars and light trucks.

If you've read the last few reports, no doubt you've seen a few trends. The most obvious is how strong the Japanese

While the Japanese brands still dominate the top of the list, the domestic companies are starting to catch up. (Photo: Lexus Canada)

automakers are when it comes to reliability, led primarily by Toyota and its premium Lexus division, as well as Honda and its luxury Acura subsidiary. While Nissan has slipped a little, Infiniti is near the top.

But not all the Japanese are winning at the problems per 100 vehicle (PP100) game, some having recently been upstaged by the domestics. Yes it's true, General Motors, Ford Motor Company and DaimlerChrysler are looking pretty good compared to Isuzu, Mitsubishi, Suzuki, and to some extent Mazda, Nissan and Subaru, while eclipsing the Koreans too. Some brands, such as Buick and Cadillac, are well in the top 5 of the nameplate ranking, with Mercury in the top 10.