In the latest reliability ratings issued by J.D. Power and Associates, Ford, Toyota, and Honda claimed the highest reliability rankings, with all three of Ford's domestic brands placing in the top eight.

Toyota-Lexus and Honda-Acura claimed top ten honors in the annual Vehicle Dependability Study, which measures problems experienced by original owners in three-year old vehicles (2007 models).

The overall score for dependability is based on the level of problems reported per 100 vehicles, wit the lowest score indicating the greatest reliability.

The top spot went to Porsche with 110 points. The luxury brand sells fewer cars in a year than major automakers move in one week, putting their vehicles in the minds of most drivers in a completely different category.

The next nine spots, in order, went to Lincoln (114), Buick (115), Lexus (115), Mercury (121), Toyota (128), Honda (132), Ford (141), Mercedes-Benz (142), and Acura (143). Hyundai missed the top ten by just five points, accruing 148 points.

David Sargent, vice president of global research for J.D. Power and the study's chief author said, "The entire industry has gotten very competititve. No one brand stands out like it used to."

Models coming in at the lower levels of the study included all the Chrysler brands, with Dodge and Jeep sinking to the bottom third of the results. Nissan was ranked 25th, while its luxury Infiniti brand lost six spots to place 12th.

"It takes considerable time to positively change consumer perceptions of quality and dependability -- sometimes a decade or more," Sargent said. "So it is vital for manufacturers to continually improve quality and also to convince consumers of these gains."