Asian cars keep lead in reliability rankings

NEW YORK - Toyota Motor Corp.'s Scion brand topped the list of most reliable cars in Consumer Reports' annual vehicle reliability study, as Asian automakers continued to crowd the top of the magazine's rankings.

Meanwhile, Chrysler LLC vehicles saw their scores fall sharply from 2007, while Ford Motor Co. gained ground over Detroit rivals.

"Scion has a portfolio of three fairly small, fairly well-equipped vehicles," said David Champion, director of Consumer Reports' auto test center. "It's a basic form of transport, but put together well."

The study compiled responses from Consumer Reports readers for more than 1.4 million vehicles during the spring of this year, using the results to predict reliability of 2009 models.

The results are closely watched by automakers because of their influence on car buyers.

In this year's study, Honda Motor Co.'s Acura and Honda lines ranked right behind Scion, followed by the Toyota nameplate and Toyota's luxury brand, Lexus.

Asian names occupied all of the magazine's top 10 slots, with a domestic automaker not appearing on the list until number 11 with Ford Motor Co.'s Lincoln brand.

A spokesman said Toyota was pleased to see Scion - which just launched two 2008 models, the xB and the xD - top the list.

Nearly all Ford products carried average or better rankings.

Consumer Reports called General Motors Corp. cars a "mixed bag."