Lexus, Infiniti Top Owners’ 5-Year Auto Ratings

Five Japanese luxury cars topped J.D. Power & Associates’ quality rankings of 5-year-old cars and large American models dominated the rest of the best, the marketing firm said Tuesday.

Lexus and Infiniti, the luxury lines of Toyota Motor Corp. and Nissan Motor Co., were ranked first and second in Power’s Vehicle Dependability Study.

The study rated car brands and individual 1990 models based on questionnaires filled out by 25,728 owners who bought their cars new and had owned them five years. They were asked about problems during the previous 12 months and about their satisfaction with the car and the dealer.

The best-liked cars after five years of ownership were the Lexus LS 400, Infiniti Q45, Toyota Cressida, Infiniti M30 and Lexus ES 250, the survey found. They were followed by the Ford Crown Victoria, Cadillac Eldorado, Mercury Grand Marquis, Buick Century, Chrysler Imperial, Cadillac Seville, Mercedes-Benz S-Class and Porsche 911.

Behind Lexus and Infiniti among car brands were Cadillac, Mercedes-Benz, Buick, Oldsmobile, Audi, BMW, Honda and Toyota.

Based on the average for the 160 models in the survey, owners of 1990 cars experienced an increase of about three problems for every 40,000 miles of driving after the first 20,000 miles.