(MCT): Buick and Jaguar tied as the most dependable makes in an influential study released recently, suggesting that quality is no longer the province of a few Japanese and German automakers.

The two brands were followed by Lexus, Toyota and Mercury in the annual J.D. Power and Associates Vehicle Dependability Study released recently. Suzuki was the lowest-ranked make in the survey of 46,000 owners nationwide.

"It is evidence that while the Japanese continue to produce very good cars, the differentiation between them and everyone else is beginning to crumble," said David Sargent, vice-president of automotive research at J.D. Power.

potential problem areas

Owners were asked about 202 potential problem areas in cars and trucks that they bought in 2006. Besides ranking makes of vehicles, the survey named the best vehicles for dependability in 19 categories, such as compact car, mid-size car, full-size pick-up and sport utility vehicle.

Toyota had top vehicles in five of the segments - more than any other manufacturer - and Lexus had four. Both have consistently finished high in the dependability study. Details of the complete survey are available at www.jdpower.com.

But the upper rankings by make included a diverse array of automakers. Mercury, Lincoln and Cadillac, for example, were rated higher than Honda, and Chrysler edged past BMW. Buick and Jaguar have been steadily climbing the list for several years, Sargent said.

"High quality is becoming a standard throughout the industry," he said.

The study has particular importance in this economy because people are keeping their vehicles longer - generally about six years, Sargent said.

"The average age of a vehicle at trade-in increased to 73 months this year from 65 months in 2006," he said. "This makes vehicle dependability even more critical."

increased long-term dependability

Automakers have increased long-term dependability by an average of 10 per cent a year since the study began 19 years ago, Sargent said.

Seventeen makes scored above the survey average of 170 problems per 100 vehicles - or 1.7 flaws per car - while 20 scored below. Those falling below included Mercedes-Benz, Volvo, Nissan, Mini, Saturn, Scion, Mazda, Volkswagen and Land Rover.

Despite the industry's enormous problems and widespread cost-cutting as sales continue to drop, J.D. Power does not expect quality to suffer much, Sargent said.

"When we talk to manufacturers - which we frequently do - they are not seeing declines in quality in their internal measures," he said.

"You could look at it another way: When a manufacturer is not building as many cars, they are not under as much stress and can take more time to build a vehicle."