The results are in for this year’s J.D. Power and Associates U.S. Vehicle Dependability Study and it appears that sports car manufacturer Porsche has come out on top in the final standings. Knocking off Buick and Jaguar from the top spot, Porsche just edged out Lincoln in second and Buick in third place.

The study looks at problems experienced by original owners (a total of 52,000 were surveyed) of three-year-old (2007 model year) vehicles and includes 198 different problem symptoms across all areas of the vehicle. Overall dependability is determined by the level of problems experienced per 100 vehicles, with a lower score reflecting higher quality.

Despite its recent troubles, Toyota still performs well in long-term dependability and has managed to rack up four segment awards--more than any other nameplate in 2010--for the Highlander, Prius, Sequoia and Tundra.

In terms of the most dependable vehicle, that title goes to the Cadillac DTS, which has the fewest problems in the industry, with just 76 problems per 100 vehicles. The industry average is 155 problems per 100 vehicles.

The top five brand rankings for 2010 are as follows:
1) Porsche
2) Lincoln
3) Buick
4) Lexus
5) Mercury

[J.D. Power and Associates]