General Motors' Buick brand became the first domestic brand in three years to earn a place among the top 10 in Consumer Reports’ annual Car Brand Report Cards, the consumer protection researcher announced Feb. 24.

Buick ranked seventh on the list out of 28 auto brands, and Consumer Reports recommends 83 percent of the brand's vehicles, according to a release.

The report card is a combination of road-test and reliability scores for each model that the organization has tested and also factors in its annual auto reliability survey. To receive a Brand Report Card, Consumer Reports requires each brand to put at least two of its vehicles through the tests mentioned above.

"For years domestic automakers built lower-priced and lower-quality alternatives to imports, but those days are behind us," said Jake Fisher, Consumer Reports' director of automotive testing. "Today many domestic models can go toe-to-toe with the best imports."

Lexus took top honors in with an overall score of 78. Mazda trailed behind in second place, while Toyota, Audi and Subaru were next on the list.

Other domestic brands received lower marks. FCA US brands such as Chrysler, Dodge, Jeep and Fiat scored near the bottom of the rankings. Ford showed incremental improvement and its infotainment systems have shown to have fewer reliability problems, but only 19 percent of its models are CR Recommended.

Brands offering redesigned models are less likely to score well on the reliability survey, Consumer Reports has concluded. This proved to be true for Mercedes-Benz, Acura and Infiniti.