Asian brands dominate magazine quality rankings

DETROIT, Oct 23 - Asian auto brands dominated Consumer Reports' influential study of the most reliable new vehicles with Ford Motor Co's <F.N> Lincoln and Mercury being the only two domestic nameplates in the top 15.

Toyota Motor Corp's <7203.T> Scion was the top ranked brand followed by Honda Motor Co's <7267.T> Acura and Honda nameplates. Toyota's flagship brand was placed fourth followed by Lexus in fifth place.

The annual study, besides its influence with car shoppers, is used by major automakers as a proxy for their performance in improving and maintaining vehicle quality.

Japanese cars were the most reliable overall, leading 15 of 16 categories in its ratings, the study said.

The Scion xD has the best score of all new cars, with about 80 percent fewer problems than the average model, according to Consumer Reports.

Ford's three nameplates -- Lincoln, Mercury and Ford -- lead the domestic automakers in 11th, 15th and 17th place, respectively. General Motors Corp's <GM.N> Buick brand was 18th, its Chevrolet brand was placed 24th, while its Cadillac luxury brand came 31st.

Chrysler LLC's Jeep brand was ranked 28th, while its Dodge brand was 30th on the list.

British luxury brand Land Rover, owned by Tata Motors, was the least reliable brand, according to the survey.

Consumer Reports is published by the nonprofit Consumers Union. The magazine accepts no paid advertising.

The publication's "predicted reliability" study for new model vehicles is based on an average of consumer ratings of the same model in the recent years.

The magazine surveys readers and visitors to its website about their experience with the cars and trucks they own.