Buick, Jaguar dethrone Lexus in J.D. Power reliability study

— -- At first glance, you might think the chart has been turned upside down.

Buick and Jaguar, two brands not always top of mind in car buyers' perceptions of quality, tied for first place in the 2009 Vehicle Dependability Study by J.D. Power & Associates — knocking off Lexus, which had held or shared the top spot for 14 years.

"Buick has ranked among the top 10 nameplates each year since the study was last redesigned in 2003, while Jaguar has moved rapidly up the rankings," said David Sargent, Power's vice president of automotive research.

The study is based on a survey of 46,000 consumers who were asked to check off all the problems that they have had with their 2006 model-year vehicles. The annual survey of 3-year-olds is closely watched by automakers as a guide for course corrections in quality.

Besides the overall listing, the study had some other surprises.

Even though Jaguar is tied for first place, sister brand Land Rover was second from last.

Jag's improvement comes after a concerted campaign to improve quality, including new electrical systems and wider use of lightweight, aluminum bodies, says Jaguar spokesman Stuart Schorr.

"Historically, Jaguar didn't have a great reputation for quality," Schorr said. "But the company has realized that to be a premium luxury brand, you have to deliver both on quality and dependability and on the emotional/performance side."

The survey shows that when it comes to Land Rover, "We have a lot of work to do," but the company did reduce the number of reported average problems for the brand from last year's surveys.