Jaguar continues to defy both critics and thirty years of poor-quality jokes. (Remember the one where the guy buys a new XJ6 and pays $20,000 for repairs? Oh wait, that actually happened.) The company ranked second out of 36 brands on JD Power's 2005 Initial Quality Study, rising from third place in 2004. The results are good news for the Ford division, which saw its US sales decline by 21.5 percent in the first three months of 2005.

Related:
Lexus SC 430 Tops JD Power Reliability Study [internal]