Toyota, GM cars rated tops

DETROIT — General Motors Corp. and Toyota Motor Co., the world's two largest automakers, had the top vehicles in 15 of 18 categories in a closely watched survey of 2005 models released Wednesday by research firm J.D. Power and Associates.

Toyota's Lexus SC430 was the highest-ranking vehicle for the second year in a row. Owners of the luxury coupe reported 54 problems per 100 vehicles, less than half the industry average of 118 problems per 100 vehicles. Suzuki Motor Corp. had the highest rate of problems per vehicle at 151 per 100 vehicles.

Industrywide, automakers showed little improvement in overall quality in 2005, moving up just one notch from 119 problems per 100 vehicles in 2004.

Chance Parker, executive director of product and research analysis at J.D. Power, said automakers shouldn't get complacent because quality will keep improving. Just five years ago, the industry average was 154 problems per 100 vehicles, he said.

"Car companies that take their eye off the ball risk being left behind," Parker said.

Overall, Toyota had the top vehicles for initial quality in 10 categories, including the Toyota Prius compact car, Toyota Sienna minivan and Lexus sedans in all three luxury car categories. Toyota said that was a record number of segment awards in the study.

"As we continue to expand our manufacturing operations globally, it's gratifying to see that we continue to prioritize quality," Toyota vice president Don Esmond said in a statement.

GM had five winners, including the Buick LeSabre full-size car, Chevrolet Suburban full-size sport utility vehicle and GMC Sierra heavy-duty full-size pickup. That was a boost for the automaker, which saw its U.S. vehicle sales fall 7.7 percent in the first four months of this year.

"GM's been doing very well over the last couple of years. They've made some great improvements," said Neal Oddes, J.D. Power's director of product research.

Shares of GM climbed 76 cents, or 2.5 percent, to close at $31.61 in trading on the New York Stock Exchange. Toyota shares rose 7 cents to close at $72.53 in trading on the exchange.

Jaguar was the top-ranking European brand, with 88 problems per 100 vehicles. Ford Motor Co., which owns Jaguar, said that was a 10 percent improvement over last year. The jump in quality could help the struggling brand, whose U.S. sale were off nearly 25 percent for the first four months of 2005.