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1. Porsche: 87 2. Infiniti: 98 3. Lexus: 99 4. Mercedes-Benz:104 5. Toyota: 104 6. Mercury: 109 7. Honda: 110 8. Ford: 112 9. Jaguar: 112 10. Audi: 113 11. Cadillac: 113 12. Chevrolet:113 13. Hyundai: 114 14. Pontiac: 114 15. Lincoln: 115 16 Buick: 118 --Industry Average: 118 17. Acura: 119 18. Kia: 119 19. Nissan: 124 20. Volvo: 124 21. BMW: 126 22. GMC: 127 23. Mazda: 127 24. Volkswagen: 128 25. Hummer: 132 26. Subaru: 133 27. Scion: 138 28. Dodge: 141 29. Chrysler: 142 30. Mitsubishi: 149 31. Saab: 149 32. Suzuki: 152 33. Saturn: 157 34. Land Rover: 161 35. Mini: 163 36. Jeep: 167

So, Infiniti continues the sensational roll it has been on since the release of the first G35, moving up from 9th in 2007, Land Rover continues in it's traditional category: 'terrible', and VW is below average as always despite being the slowest depreciate-or of all( brand loyalty carries some HEAVY weight!).

The rate of improvement in these ratings has been steady for years, and this year it is an impressive 6 percent overall.

One immediately noticeable fact to a math gee- . . . um, fan like myself is that the bad ones are REALLY bad, with Saturn, Land Rover, Mini, and Jeep coming out with truly abominable scores.

How does a highly visible report like the annual J.D. Power initial quality scores affect important buyer considerations like value and depreciation?

It seems to vary widely. For instance, a Porsche depreciates at roughly the same rate as do other high-end, high-performance sports cars--rather quickly. VW holds it's value even though the scores are never very good, and we certainly can't blame the fall-off-the-table depreciation of Land Rover on poor J.D.Power scores . . . it is, after all, a LAND ROVER. Not the most popular style of vehicle these days.

Surprises? Well, anytime the premium nameplate of an automaker has significantly different scores than the non-premium(?) does, it is at least worthy of notice. While Toyota and Lexus seem to rank about where one would think they would, the relationship also seems reassuring. The premium name should rank just a bit higher, shouldn't it?

So...what is up with Acura? And why does Nissan rank so far behind Infiniti?

This year, Hyundai ranks higher than Volvo, Acura and BMW. I remember when these rankings showed nameplates like Hyundai and Kia so far behind the rest of the field that it was clear that the only real selling point was the '100000 mile warranty'. Well, that and the MSRP was, like, 15 bucks.

The worst are further behind the norm than the best are ahead of it, so maybe another grading system is needed. How about:

A+: Porsche

A : Infiniti, Lexus, M-Benz, Toyota

B+: Mercury(!), Honda

B : Ford, Jaguar, Audi, Cadillac, Chevrolet, Hyundai, Pontiac, Lincoln

C+: Buick, Acura, Kia

C : Nissan, Volvo, BMW, GMC, Mazda, Volkswagen

C-: Hummer, Subaru

D : Scion, Dodge, Chrysler, Mitsubishi, Saab, Suzuki

F : Saturn, Land Rover, Mini, Jeep

Not too bad! A sliding scale just like in our schools, in order to injure fewer 'feelings'.

Let's see . . . Chrysler/Dodge/Jeep: OUCH. Ford/Mercury/Lincoln: Good on ya! In fact, it is nice to see such strong performances from U.S. automakers.

Are these scores reflected in important buyer issues, like depreciation? Not so much.

Perception is all when it comes to depreciation, and the (generally inaccurate) perception that the U.S. is making substandard products will likely continue until several of these fine performances are turned in consecutively.