Buick Again Tops Domestic Brands on CR List

General Motors Co.'s Buick brand has again outscored all domestic rivals in Consumer Reports'annual Car Brand Report Cards.

Now in its third year, the report ranks vehicles according to a combination of their road tests and reliability ratings.

Lexus, with a score of 78, topped the CR list for the third time. It was followed by Mazda (75), Toyota (74), Audi (73) and Subaru (73). Buick ranked 7th this year with a score of 69. The next-best domestic brand was GMC in 14th place with a score of 61.

Anchoring the bottom of this year's list are Fiat (32), Jeep (39), Mini (46), Dodge (52) and Ford (53).

Acura sagged from 2nd to 11th this year. Infiniti dropped nine spots to 17th. Mercedes-Benz plunged from 8th to 21st. CR says all three were hurt by what the magazine described as "unimpressive" or "unreliable" new models: the Acura RLX large sedan, Infiniti Q50 compact sedan and Mercedes CLA small sport sedan.