According to the J.D. Power and Associates 2009 Vehicle Dependability Study released on Thursday, Buick and Jaguar each rank highest in vehicle dependability in a tie. Buick improved from a sixth-place ranking in 2008, while Jaguar moved up from tenth place, followed by Lexus, Toyota and Mercury.

Toyota received five awards – more than any other car in 2009 – for the Toyota Highlander, Prius, Sequoia, Solara and Tundra. Lexus follows with four awards for the ES 330 (in a tie with the Acura RL), GX 470, LS 430 and SC 430. Lincoln received two awards for the Mark LT and Zephyr. Models by Acura, Buick, Dodge, Ford, Honda, Mazda, Mercury, Nissan and Scion each received one award.

The study, which measures problems experienced by original owners of three-year-old vehicles, includes 202 different problem symptoms across all areas of the vehicle. Overall dependability is determined by the level of problems experienced per 100 vehicles, with a lower score reflecting higher quality. The study is used extensively by vehicle manufacturers worldwide to help design and build better vehicles – which typically retain higher resale values – and by consumers to help them make more-informed choices for both new and used vehicles.

The study found that owners who drive Buick, Lincoln, Mercury and Jaguar vehicles are less likely to replace components than owners of other vehicle. 

The 2009 Vehicle Dependability Study is based on responses from more than 46,000 original owners of 2006 model-year vehicles. A few results:

Sub-Compact Car
1. Highest Ranked: Scion xA
2. Suzuki Aerio
3. Chevrolet Aveo

Compact Car
1. Highest Ranked: Toyota Prius
2. Toyota Matrix
3. Pontiac Vibe

Compact Sporty Car
1. Highest Ranked: Mazda MX-5 Miata
2. Subaru Impreza
3. Pontiac Solstice Convertible

Midsize Sporty Car
1. Highest Ranked: Toyota Solara
2. Chevrolet Monte Carlo
3. Ford Mustang

Compact Premium Sporty Car
1. Highest Ranked: Nissan 350Z
2. Mercedes-Benz SLK-Class
3. Acura RSX

Midsize Car
1. Highest Ranked: Buick LaCrosse
2. Toyota Camry
3. Mercury Milan

Large Car
1. Highest Ranked: Mercury Grand Marquis
2. Buick Lucerne
3. Mercury Montego

Large Pickup
1. Highest Ranked: Toyota Tundra
2. Ford F-150 LD
3. GMC Sierra LD

Van
1. Highest Ranked: Dodge Caravan
2. Ford Freestar
3. Toyota Sienna

You can learn more details on these and many more vehicles which made the lists by visiting JDPower.com.

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