Buick has equaled Lexus in J.D. Power and Associates’ latest vehicle dependability study, the first time in twelve years that another carmaker has tied with the industry leader for first place. For the 2007 vehicle dependability study, more than 53,000 owners of cars bought in 2004 were questioned on aspects of quality and reliability with the cars ranked by how many problems they had per 100 vehicles.

Buick and Lexus both scored a rating of 145 problems per 100 vehicles, a significant leap above the industry average of 216 problems. Rounding out the top five was Cadillac in third place followed by Mercury and Honda, reports the Detroit News.

Buick’s latest offerings have definitely seen a marked leap in quality in recent years, but we wonder how new models being developed in China will compare in coming years.