Toyota has always been widely regarded as the leader in quality, but new evidence suggest America’s Big Three are catching up and even taking the lead. In an annual study of new vehicle quality, Ford managed to walk away with top honors for 5 categories out of a list of 19. Though Porsche and Lexus were the top two ranking brands, Lincoln managed to come in third, while Mercury ranked eighth with Ford close behind on tenth. Toyota was ranked sixth.

GM and Mercedes-Benz each had three top-ranked models, while Honda earned two top positions.

The study collected the thoughts of 97,000 US car owners who had bought a 2007 model-year vehicle within the last two months. Cars were judged on the quality of their design and production.

This change in Ford’s quality could be seen across all brands under its umbrella, with four of the seven Blue Oval labels rating above average. Implementations of changes in Ford’s product development process are ongoing, but as these latest results show, Ford is finally on the right track.