WESTLAKE VILLAGE, CA - The quality of new cars and trucks increased six percent in the most recent J.D. Power and Associates survey. In J.D. Power’s Initial Quality Survey, new vehicles last year had an average of 118 flaws per 100 vehicles — or slightly more than one per vehicle during the first 90 days of ownership, according to www.dallasnews.com. The industry average in 2006 was 125 defects per 100 vehicles.

For the third consecutive year, Porsche topped the survey with 87 flaws per 100 vehicles, followed by Infiniti (98), Lexus (99), Mercedes-Benz (104), and Toyota (104).

Although luxury brands generally had the fewest flaws in the survey, mainstream cars and trucks from Ford and General Motors also scored well. Mercury came in sixth with 109 flaws per 100 vehicles, beating Honda. Ford, with 112 flaws per 100 vehicles, was ranked higher than Jaguar, Audi, Cadillac, Acura, and BMW.

Three-fourths of the 36 nameplates that participated in the annual survey improved in quality.

The bottom-ranked vehicles were Suzuki (152 problems per 100 vehicles), Saturn (157), Land Rover (161), Mini (163), and Jeep (167).

The survey is largely a measure of the quality of the components that go into a vehicle, as well as its assembly process. This year’s study was based on responses from 81,500 consumers.

Both Acura (119 flaws) and BMW (126 flaws) scored below average because of problems with high-tech electronic systems.