The latest J.D. Power Initial Quality Survey -- which rates new vehicles according to the number of problems reported during the first three months of ownership -- puts Toyota's Lexus luxury division at the top of the heap, with the lowest number of problems with its vehicles of any major automaker. Owners of the Lexus SC430 retractable hardtop sport coupe reported just 54 problems per 100 vehicles sold -- as compared to an industry average of 118 problems per 100 cars.
 

Overall, Lexus vehicles averaged 81 problems per 100 vehicles sold -- an impressive score and substantially better than General Motors' Cadillac luxury division (104 problems per 100 vehicles), Ford Motor Company's Lincoln luxury division (113 problems per 100 vehicles) and Mercedes-Benz (104 problems per 100 vehicles).

Jaguar and BMW also earned top marks for quality, according to the J.D. Power IQS report -- with 88 and 95 reported problems per 100 vehicles reported (respectively).

Surprisingly, Honda and its luxury line, Acura, didn't do so well -- with 112 and 116 problems per 100 vehicles reported. In other words, new owners of Honda and Acura vehicles reported more problems with their cars than new owners of Cadillac (104 problems) and Buick (100 problems) vehicles.

This is the first time in recent memory that GM vehicles have outscored Honda/Acura on build quality -- as measured by the number of problems reported by consumers.
 

And the makes/models with the worst record?

Suzuki washed out with a bottom rung score of 151 problems per 100 vehicles reported -- nearly three times as high as the industry leader, Lexus (54 problems per 100 vehicles), or roughly 35 percent worse than the industry average of 118 problems per 100 vehicles sold.

Mazda (149), Land Rover (149), Volkswagen (147) and Porsche (147) were not far behind, however -- proof that "import" is not necessarily synonymous with "well-built."

Of the domestic brands, DaimlerChrysler's Dodge division did least well -- with a worse-than-average score of 130 problems reported. Chrysler-badged vehicles did better with 121 problems per 100 vehicles reported -- just slightly worse than the industry average 118.

Ford occupied the middle ground between Dodge and Chrysler -- with a so-so score of 127.

Overall, the industry average number of reported problems per 100 vehicles sold has dropped slightly, from 119 in 2004 to 118. While not a massive uptick, the overall IQS numbers from year to year do reflect a general industry-wide continuing improvement in quality -- with today's cars and trucks noticeably (and quantifiably) better-built and more durable than the cars of the past.

This is reflected in the ever-increasing service life of the average new car -- which has gone from being beer can fodder after as little as 5-8 years and 100,000 miles to still going strong at roughly twice that (assuming proper car and regular maintenance). It's now not at all uncommon for a car to still be running reliably even well beyond 10 years and 150,000 miles -- and the average age of cars in service continues to increase along with ever-improving reliability.

For consumers, this means it's realistic to expect to get several years of largely trouble-free service out of their purchase after it's paid off -- instead of having to beging thinking about a new one almost as soon as you've sent in the final payment on the old one.