Who makes the highest-quality cars?

By MSN Money staff with wire reports

Honda and Porsche lead the pack in J.D. Power and Associates' annual ranking of initial vehicle quality.

Porsche is the top brand, with the fewest reported problems per vehicle. Honda has winners in three segments, more than any other automaker. Its Honda Civic, Fit and CR-V all got awards. Ford continued its quality gains, with its Mercury and Ford brands cracking the top 10. And Nissan's Infiniti division pushed Lexus out of the way to grab the No. 2 position, vaulting from ninth.

The study, released Wednesday, measures problems in the first 90 days of ownership. It questioned 81,500 people who bought or leased vehicles from the 2008 model year. A separate survey, due later this summer, measures the reliability of 3-year-old models.

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J.D. Power says overall quality of brand-new vehicles improved to an average of 118 problems per 100 vehicles from 125 problems last year, a change of 6%. In 1998, the rate of problems was 176 per 100 vehicles.

Owners are asked 228 questions on issues as varied as braking and handling to seat comfort and gas mileage. They reported improving quality in all areas except audio, entertainment and navigation systems.

Is 0.2 problems significant?

"This gain is driven not only by strong advances from many of the high-volume brands such as Chevrolet, Ford and Toyota, but also by very significant improvements by many other automakers," said David Sargent, vice president of automotive research at J.D. Power and Associates. "This industrywide improvement is a testament to the effort that automakers are putting into listening to the voice of the customer."

For 2008, Jeep was the worst performer, with 167 problems per 100 vehicles. Sargent said the most improved vehicle was the Volkswagen Passat and singled out the Chevrolet Malibu and Infiniti EX as particularly problem-free for new or redesigned models.

Rankings by brand and winners in individual segments follow:

J.D. Power Initial Quality Survey

Nameplate	Problems	2008 rank	2007 rank	Nameplate	Problems	2008 rank	2007 rank
Porsche	87	1	1	Nissan	124	19	19
Infiniti	98	2	9	Volvo	124	19	15
Lexus	99	3	2	BMW	126	21	21
Mercedes-Benz	104	4	5	GMC	127	22	18
Toyota	104	4	6	Mazda	127	22	34
Mercury	109	6	8	Volkswagen	128	24	31
Honda	110	7	4	Hummer	132	25	33
Ford	112	8	10	Subaru	133	26	21
Jaguar	112	8	6	Scion	138	27	11
Audi	113	10	26	Dodge	141	28	30
Cadillac	113	10	25	Chrysler	142	29	27
Chevrolet	113	10	15	Mitsubishi	149	30	29
Hyundai	114	13	12	Saab	149	30	21
Pontiac	114	13	21	Suzuki	152	32	28
Lincoln	115	15	3	Saturn	157	33	19
Buick	118	16	14	Land Rover	161	34	35
Acura	119	17	17	Mini	163	35	NA
Kia	119	17	12	Jeep	167	36	32
Industry Average	118

The rankings are closely watched by automakers and are frequently used in advertising despite persistent questions about whether they show any real difference between makes. A Ford that scores 112 encounters 1.12 problems per vehicle; a Toyota that scored 104 would encounter 1.04.

Winner and runners-up in sales segments:

Subcompact car:

Winner: Honda Fit

Runners-up: Kia Rio, Hyundai Accent

Compact car:

Winner: Honda Civic

Runners-up: Toyota Prius, Hyundai Elantra

Compact sporty car:

Winner: Mazda MX-5 Miata

Runners-up: Subaru Impreza, Pontiac Solstice

Compact premium sporty car:

Winner: Mercedes Benz CLK-Class

Runners-up: Porsche Cayman, Volvo C70

Entry premium car:

Winner: Infiniti EX-Series

Runners-up: Infiniti G-Series, Acura TSX, Volvo S40

Midsize car:

Winner: Chevrolet Malibu

Runners-up: Mitsubishi Galant, Ford Fusion

Midsize premium car:

Winners: Mercedes-Benz E-Class, Infiniti M-Series (tie)

Runners-up: Lexus ES 350, Audi A6

Large car:

Winner: Pontiac Grand Prix

Runners-up: Mercury Sable, Mercury Grand Marquis

Large premium car:

Winner: Lexus LS

Runners-up: Mercedes Benz S-Class, Cadillac DTS

Compact activity vehicle:

Winner: Honda CR-V

Runners-up: Chrysler PT Cruiser, Ford Escape

Midsize activity vehicle:

Winner: Dodge Durango

Runners-up: Hyundai Santa Fe, Toyota Highlander

Midsize premium activity vehicle:

Winner: Lexus RX

Runners-up: Porsche Cayenne, Lexus GX 470

Large activity vehicle:

Winner: Toyota Sequoia

Runners-up: Chevrolet Tahoe, GMC Yukon

Large premium activity vehicle:

Winner: Lincoln Navigator

Runners-up: Infiniti QX56, Cadillac Escalade

Midsize pickup:

Winner: Dodge Dakota

Runners-up: Ford Ranger, Toyota Tacoma

Large pickup:

Winner: Chevrolet Silverado LD

Runners-up: Toyota Tundra, Chevrolet Avalanche

Van:

Winner: Ford E-Series

Runners-up: Nissan Quest, Chevrolet Express