The magazine, however, warned that most automakers' efforts to improve quality are losing steam.

"The progress that some of the manufacturers have been making seems to have stalled," said David Champion, senior director of the magazine's automotive test center in East Haddam, Conn., noting that even the Asian automakers are making less progress than in previous years.

That didn't stop Japan's Toyota Motor Corp. and Honda Motor Co. from leading the magazine's lists of predicted reliability, used car reliability and consumer satisfaction.

The annual April auto issue of Consumer Reports hits newsstands March 7. It is the magazine's most-read issue and is widely respected as one of the most influential automotive reports.

"We respect it as a voice of the customer," General Motors Corp. spokeswoman Janine Fruehan said. "We pay close attention to it."

While the latest report offered little good news for GM or other Detroit manufacturers, Ford Motor Co.'s Mercury brand did vault into the top 10 on the magazine's predicted reliability list, jumping to eighth place from 16th last year. Mazda Motor Corp., which is part of Ford's global empire, also climbed eight places to finish ninth in the ranking.

Infiniti, Nissan Motor Co. Ltd.'s luxury brand, fared the worst in this year's reliability report, plummeting 20 places from eighth to 28th because of widespread problems with its QX56 luxury SUV. The magazine ranked the troubled SUV as the least reliable new vehicle on the market today. Porsche was the worst-rated brand. Chevrolet also fell sharply in this year's quality rankings.

Asian automakers also scored high in the used-car reliability ratings, which are based on subscriber feedback on more than 1 million cars and trucks.

Of the 69 cars and trucks Consumer Reports rated "good bets" for used car buyers, 59 carried Japanese nameplates, while just 8 were from domestic brands. Noticeably absent from that list were any products from the Chrysler Group, which includes the Chrysler, Jeep and Dodge brands.

On the other end of the scale, American brands accounted for 22 of the 34 "bad bets" -- a list that included no Japanese models. Chevy had the most models on the list.

Japanese nameplates also scored highest in the magazine's annual consumer satisfaction survey, which asks subscribers if they would buy the same car or truck again, considering price, performance, comfort and reliability.

This year, 44 models earned the magazine's "most satisfying" rating, of which 31 bore Japanese marques. Of the 21 cars labeled "least satisfying," 14 had domestic nameplates.

The Toyota Prius hybrid was rated the most satisfying vehicle for the second year in a row, with the Chevrolet Corvette coming in a close second, followed by the V-8 version of the Ford Mustang in third. Other domestic models that received high marks from owners included the V-8 equipped Chrysler 300 and the Dodge Magnum. The Mini Cooper S was the highest-ranked European model.

In the competition for the magazine's "top picks" ratings, the new Honda Civic unseated the Ford Focus in the small sedan category, pushing the last American nameplate out of the winners' circle.

Anne Stevens, chief operating officer of Ford's Americas group, said she was disappointed to see the Focus eliminated from the list.

"A brand new vehicle with no track record displaced one with a solid track record," she said. "We're not satisfied with that. You're going to see some Fords in the top picks again."

U.S. automakers have never fared particularly well in Consumer Reports' rankings, prompting some critics to accuse the magazine of a bias against Detroit. "I would not say that," Stevens said. "The magazine is very reputable."

James Guest, president and CEO of Consumers Union, the nonprofit group that publishes Consumer Reports, said any suggestion the magazine's rankings are biased against U.S. automakers is baseless. "We've got only one standard and one interest: What's in the best interest of the consumer."

Champion said U.S. automakers are making progress on the quality front, but still have not caught up with the Japanese.

"Ford (is) doing better than GM or Chrysler," he said, but added that Ford is having problems with its new vehicle launches.

Stevens said improving quality is a central component of Ford's strategy for improving its North American operations.

"Launch quality is something that we have paid a lot of attention to," she said. "With every launch, we get better and better."

GM and DaimlerChrysler AG's Chrysler Group blamed past quality issues for their latest showing in the report.

"We see a significant improvement trend in our new launches," Fruehan said. "We expect better ratings from CR in the future."

Chrysler spokesman Sam Locricchio said the company's efforts to improve quality are reflected in the high marks vehicles like the Dodge Magnum and Chrysler 300 received in the magazine's consumer satisfaction survey. "The one's that are in the 'least satisfying' area are ones that are being phased-out or revamped," he said.