Japanese brands, led by Lexus, once again dominated

Consumer Reports’ rankings of the best light vehicles on

the market. The brands that scored best on the magazine’s

report cards for 2013 were Lexus, with a score of 79 out of

100, followed by Subaru and Mazda, which each scored

a 76. Toyota, Acura, Honda and Scion rounded out the

top seven. The top-ranking European nameplate was

Germany’s Audi, ranked eighth. Cadillac, at 14th, had the

best showing of an American brand.

Toyota Motor Corp. landed three of the seven top spots

with its Lexus, Toyota and Scion brands.

Detroit car makers did not claim the top

spot in any vehicle segment. Consumer

Reports said the six lowest-rated brands

were Buick, Chrysler, Ford, Lincoln,

Jeep and Dodge.