Of the 43 models on Consumer Reports Most Reliable list, 36 were from Japanese manufacturers, 6 from domestic automakers, and 1 from South Korea.

Twenty-one Toyota vehicles earned top ratings. Honda had 10 vehicles at the top of our Ratings. Ford and GM each had three, Subaru and Nissan each had two.

The Lincoln Zephyr, now called the MKZ, had a sterling first year in reliability. Its platform mates, the Ford Fusion and Mercury Milan, also did well. Some new or redesigned models from GM–the Buick Lucerne, Cadillac DTS, and Chevrolet Tahoe–were very reliable, as was Hyundai’s Azera. This is promising and gives the consumer more choices than ever in finding reliable new vehicles.

Keep in mind that those “best” cars listed above were rated for only their first year of use…which to me is a joke! I mean, after spending thousands on a freaking new car, the thing better not F up in the first year!

However, the cars listed below didn’t do as well, although Consumer Reports went back farther too…

More than half of the 2004 Infiniti QX56, Nissan Armada, and Nissan Titan owners reported a brake problem. And almost half of 2005 Armada and Titan owners also reported brake problems.

The 1999 BMW 5 Series V8 had the worst engine-cooling-problem rate, with 34 percent. In addition, 2000 to 2001 BMW 5 Series V8 and BMW 7 Series all had about 30 percent of their owners reporting engine-cooling woes.

About a third of 2001 Chrysler Town & Countrys and Dodge Grand Caravans had problems with power equipment such as windows and sliding doors.

Another third of the respondents with the 2001 Mercedes-Benz C-Class V6 griped about serious electrical problems, as did nearly a third of the 2004 Volkswagen Touareg owners.

Nearly a quarter of owners of the 2001 Acura CL reported a bad transmission problem, and nearly the same percentage of 1999 Volvo XC70s were reported to suffer from fuel-system problems.

The 1998 Ford Explorer/Mercury Mountaineer and the 2004 Mercedes-Benz S-Class (V8) had the most temperamental audio systems, with about 20 percent of respondents reporting trouble.