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Ford, not Toyota, is tops in quality

Toyota, which won 11 awards last year, earns only 4 to Ford's 5 in J.D. Power survey.

DETROIT - Ford supplanted Toyota as the leader of the pack in initial quality rankings, taking the top spot in five of 19 segments in the 2007 survey by J.D. Power and Associates, released Wednesday.

Porsche again dominated the overall ranking of brands, averaging 91 problems per 100 vehicles as it had last year. That compared with a 2007 industry average of 125 problems per 100 vehicles. Last year, it was 124.

Ford Motor Co. earned segment awards for the Ford Mustang, Lincoln Mark LT, Lincoln MKZ, Mercury Milan and Mazda MX-5 Miata. Mazda is 33.4 percent owned by Ford.

Toyota Motor Corp., which grabbed the top spot in 11 segments last year, captured only four this year: the 4Runner, Sequoia, Tacoma and Lexus RX350/RX400h.

Ford's Lincoln brand took third in overall nameplate rankings, averaging 100 problems per 100 vehicles. It was behind Porsche and Toyota's Lexus luxury brand, which averaged 94 problems per vehicles.

Lincoln jumped from 12th in 2006.

"We saw dramatic improvement from Lincoln," said Neal Oddes, J.D. Power's director of product research and analysis. "It was a fantastic year for the Mercury Milan, with dramatic improvements in terms of defects."

Overall, he said, Ford's strength came from new launches such as the Edge, MKX and MKZ.

Joe Ivers, J.D. Power's executive director of quality and customer satisfaction, said there's no clear answer for Toyota's drop. But several vehicles brought its quality performance down this year, including the Corolla, Prius and Lexus models.

It is worth noting, he said, that Toyota executives have been speaking publicly about their concerns about managing to maintain its historically high quality during a time of rapid growth.

The most improved nameplates in the study are Land Rover, Saab and Mercedes-Benz.

Ivers said Mercedes-Benz's improvements have been significant and speedy across its product line. It grabbed the top spot in three segments, and notable was its S-Class going from "worst to first" - in a launch year.

"A lot of people avoid buying a vehicle in its first year of production, but Mercedes, with its S-Class, got everything right," he said.

For the study, J.D. Power of Westlake Village, Calif., collected responses from more than 97, 000 buyers and lessees of new 2007 model year vehicles after 90 days of ownership.

This year's survey included 228 questions and asked for information specifically about design and production, such as defects and malfunctions.

Quality rides
Top-ranked vehicles in J.D. Power's 2007 quality study:

Subcompact car
Winner: Kia Rio/Rio5
Runner-ups: Honda Fit, Hyundai Accent

Compact car
Winner: Honda Civic
Runner-ups: Toyota Corolla, Hyundai Elantra sedan

Compact sporty car
Winner: Mazda MX-5 Miata
Runner-ups: Scion tC, Subaru Impreza

Compact premium sporty car
Winner: Porsche Boxster
Runner-ups: Mercedes-Benz CLK-Class, Mercedes-Benz SLK-Class

Entry premium car
Winner: Lincoln MKZ
Runner-ups: Acura TSX, Cadillac CTS

Midsized premium car
Winner: Mercedes-Benz E-Class
Runner-ups: Lexus GS 350/GS 430/GS 450H, Infiniti M-Series, Volvo S80 (tie)

Large premium car
Winners: Audi A8, Mercedes-Benz S-Class (tie)
Runner-ups: Lexus LS 460

Premium sporty car
Winner: Mercedes-Benz SL-Class
Runner-ups: Porsche 911, Lexus SC 430

Midsized sporty car
Winner: Ford Mustang
Runner-ups: Toyota Solara, Chevrolet Monte Carlo

Midsized car
Winner: Mercury Milan
Runner-ups: Honda Accord; Ford Fusion, Mitsubishi Galant (tie)

Large car
Winner: Pontiac Grand Prix
Runner-ups: Toyota Avalon, Ford Five Hundred, Mercury Montego (tie)

Compact multiactivity vehicle (MAV)
Winner: Honda CR-V
Runner-ups: Nissan Xterra, Hyundai Tucson

Midsized MAV (Multi-activity vehicle)
Winner: Toyota 4Runner
Runner-ups: Toyota Highlander, Mercury Mountaineer

Large MAV
Winner: Toyota Sequoia
Runner-ups: Chevrolet Suburban, GMC Yukon

Midsized premium MAV
Winner: Lexus RX 350/RX 400h
Runner-ups: Lincoln MKX, Lexus GX 470

Large premium MAV
Winner: Lincoln Mark LT
Runner-ups: Lincoln Navigator, Hummer H2

Large pickup
Winner: Chevrolet Silverado Classic HD
Runner-ups: Ford F-150 LD, GMC Sierra LD

Midsized pickup
Winner: Toyota Tacoma
Runner-ups: Honda Ridgeline, Dodge Dakota

Van
Winner: Chevrolet Express
Runner-ups: Kia Sedona, Ford E-Series

Source: J.D. Power and Associates

[Last modified June 6, 2007, 23:13:02]