WESTLAKE VILLAGE, Calif. -

J.D. Power and Associates unveiled its 2011 U.S. Vehicle Dependability Study on Thursday with one brand, in particular, celebrating its first-ever top ranking. Earning the top spot in this year’s rankings was Lincoln, which has never claimed the No. 1 perch in the more than two-decade history of the VDS.

J.D. Power determines a brand’s dependability by calculating the number of problems experienced per 100 vehicles. This is gauged by surveying original owners of three-year-old vehicles about problems they’ve experienced in their rides over the last three months. There are 202 different problem symptoms spread throughout the vehicle that are included in this process.

Lincoln had the lowest problems experienced per 100 vehicles (101), thus it won.

"This is another great testament to Lincoln," shared Scott Tobin, director of Lincoln product development.

“Long-term durability is the perfect foundation upon which to build the resurgence of the Lincoln brand,” Tobin added. “We have the dependability that’s important to consumers, and now we have great new products like the innovative new Lincoln MKX and the fuel-efficient MKZ Hybrid.”

Coming in at No. 2 was Lexus (109 problems per 100 vehicles), followed by Jaguar (112) and Porsche (114).

Toyota (122) — the highest-ranked non-luxury brand — finished fifth.

The Japanese automaker may have come under fire recently for its recall-related issues, but it took home the most segment awards (Lexus and Toyota combined won seven categories) and both of its divisions ranked in the top five.

“Vehicle owners have spoken in the J.D. Power Vehicle Dependability Study and once again Toyota is the full-line manufacturer with the most awards,” shared Jim Lentz, president of Toyota Motor Sales USA.

“TMS continues to be a mark of consistency in this all-important study as Lexus has now scored among the top three nameplates in every year of eligibility and Toyota has been in the top five among non-luxury manufacturers since 1990,” he continued.

Lentz added: “Of the numerous independent studies conducted each year, the J.D. Power VDS is one Toyota feels is among the most important as it reflects real-world, long-term vehicle quality and dependability. More than ever, consumers are considering durability as a key component in their vehicle purchase decision and these awards are one more key indicator that Toyota continues to take the lead.”

Next to Toyota, the OEM with the most segment awards was Ford, as its Ford and Lincoln brands combined to win four categories.

"This study from J.D. Power is more good news for our customers. It affirms our quality operating system is one of the best in the world," stated Bennie Fowler, Ford’s group vice president of global quality and new model launches.

“Our Lincoln products and our Ford products aren’t just the best at low time in service as we’ve seen year over year, but at higher times in service as well,” he added.

General Motors and Honda were each represented in three categories.

Industry Nets Best-Ever Average

Moving along to look at the overall industry’s performance in more detail, J.D. Power indicated that the industry averaged a score of 151 problems per 100 vehicles. This compares to a score of 170 two years ago.

The firm also explained that the industry’s average annual improvement between 2009 and 2011 was 6 percent.

That rate of improvement is modestly down from what is typical, according to J.D. Power. The last decade has seen an average annual improvement rate of 8 percent, officials noted.

As to why improvement isn’t as steep as it has been in the past, J.D. Power cited the main culprit as being some of the added issues brought on by the advent of some of the technological features — audio, entertainment and navigation systems, for instance — and safety functions that are available in today’s rides.

In other words, new technologies have brought about additional opportunities for problems to sprout.

“Automakers, as a whole, have made significant improvements in reducing traditional problems, particularly with vehicle interiors, engines and transmissions, and steering and braking during the past several years,” explained David Sargent, J.D. Power’s vice president of global vehicle research at J.D. Power.

“However, as manufacturers add new features and technologies to satisfy customer demand and new legislation, they face the potential for introducing new problems,” he continued.

Sargent stressed that with the emerging presence of these new technologies, automakers can set themselves apart from their peers by making these features more dependable.

To better illustrate the findings of the VDS, J.D. Power offered the following lists of rankings.

2011 Nameplate Ranking (with each brand’s respective dependability score)

Lincoln 101
Lexus 109
Jaguar 112
Porsche 114
Toyota 122
Acura 123
Buick 125
Mercedes-Benz 128
Cadillac 130
Hyundai 132
Honda 139
Ford 140
Saab 146
Infiniti 151
Industry Average 151
Smart 152
Chevrolet 156
Volvo 156
Subaru 157
Kia 160
Audi 161
BMW 164
Scion 166
Ram 173
Mazda 181
Nissan 183
GMC 184
Mitsubishi 186
Suzuki 190
Volkswagen 191
Chrysler 202
Dodge 206
Land Rover 212
Jeep 214
Mini 221

Segment Rankings (with top three rankings of each listed)

Car Segments

Sub-Compact Car
Highest Ranked: Honda Fit
Toyota Yaris
Hyundai Accent

Compact Car
Highest Ranked: Toyota Prius
Hyundai Elantra Sedan
Toyota Matrix

Compact Sporty Car*
Highest Ranked: Mazda MX-5 Miata
Scion tC

Midsize Sporty Car*
Highest Ranked: Ford Mustang

Midsize Car
Highest Ranked: Ford Fusion
Buick LaCrosse
Mitsubishi Galant

Large Car
Highest Ranked: Buick Lucerne
Ford Taurus
Chevrolet Impala

Compact Premium Sporty Car*
Highest Ranked:
Mercedes-Benz CLK-Class

Entry Premium Car
Highest Ranked: Lincoln MKZ
Lexus ES 350
Acura TL (tie)
Acura TSX (tie)

Midsize Premium Car
Highest Ranked: Acura RL
Mercedes-Benz E-Class
Lexus GS

Large Premium Car*
Highest Ranked: Cadillac DTS
Mercedes-Benz S-Class

Truck/Multi-Purpose Vehicle/Crossover/SUV Segments

Compact Multi-Purpose Vehicle*
Highest Ranked: Scion xB
Chrysler PT Cruiser

Compact Crossover/SUV
Highest Ranked: Honda CR-V
Subaru Forester
Toyota RAV4

Entry Premium Crossover/SUV*
Highest Ranked: BMW X3

Midsize Crossover/SUV
Highest Ranked: Toyota 4Runner
Hyundai Santa Fe
Ford Edge

Large Crossover/SUV
Highest Ranked: Chevrolet Tahoe
GMC Yukon
Toyota Sequoia

Large Pickup
Highest Ranked: Toyota Tundra
Ford F-150 LD
Ram 1500 LD

Midsize Pickup*
Highest Ranked: Toyota Tacoma
Honda Ridgeline

Minivan
Highest Ranked: Toyota Sienna
Honda Odyssey
Chevrolet Uplander

Midsize Premium Crossover/SUV
Highest Ranked: Lexus RX
Lexus GX 470
Volvo XC70

Large Premium Crossover/SUV*
Highest Ranked: Lincoln Navigator
Mercedes-Benz GL-Class

*Note from J.D. Power: No other model in this segment performs above the segment average.

The firm also noted: "For a segment award to be issued, there must be at least three models with sufficient sample that comprise 80 percent of market sales within an award segment. There are only two large van models with sufficient sample size, thus no large van awards have been presented … There are only two premium sports models with sufficient sample size, thus no premium sporty awards have been presented."