But, overall, Japanese brands are still the ones to beat. Of the 47 vehicles with the highest predicted reliability, 39 are Japanese. Of those, all but seven are made by Toyota or Honda.

American cars are continuing to improve in reliability, however, according to Consumer Reports' surveys.

The "predicted reliability" rankings appear in the 2007 New Car Preview issue of Consumer Reports magazine.

Six of the "Most Reliable" are from General Motors or Ford. Those are Ford's front-wheel-drive midsize sedans (Ford Fusion, Mercury Milan and Lincoln Zephyr), GM's new large non-luxury SUVs (Chevrolet Tahoe and GMC Yukon) and GM's Pontiac Vibe wagon. The Vibe is shares its basic shape and engineering with the Toyota Matrix, a nearly identical vehicle which also made the list.

No vehicles from DaimlerChrysler's Chrysler Group made the "Most Reliable" list.

Only one European car, the Mini Cooper, made the "Most Reliable" list. Of the "Least Reliable" cars, 19 of the 45 are European models.

Twenty of the "Least Reliable" vehicles are domestic models and just five, all from Nissan, are Japanese.

The difference between the "Most Reliable" and "Least Reliable" is striking, the magazine said, citing a comparison of the Toyota Highlander Hybrid and Mercedes-Benz M-class SUVs.

The owner of the M-class is likely to experience 10 times as many problems as the owner the Highlander Hybrid, the magazine said.

Hybrid vehicles have shown particularly good reliability, Consumer Reports said, although the Ford Escape dropped from "above average" to "average" predicted reliability for the 2007 model year. Other hybrid models, made by Toyota and Honda, have had excellent reliability, the magazine said.

Consumer Reports bases its reliability predictions in survey data from approximately 1.3 million vehicles owned by subscribers to its magazine and website.

Overall reliability scores for the most recent three years are averaged for each model. If the model has been redesigned or was newly introduced within that time, predictions are based on available data.

1) Most Reliable Small Car
Honda Fit
Toyota Yaris
Honda Civic Hybrid
Toyota Corolla
Least reliable
Chevrolet Cobalt
2006 Nissan Sentra
Volkswagen Jetta (5 cyl.)
Chevrolet Aveo

2) Most Reliable Family Car
Honda Accord Hybrid
Toyota Prius
Honda Accord (4-cyl.)
Ford Fusion
Mercury Milan
Least reliable
Volkswagen Passat (4 cyl.)

3) Most Reliable Upscale/Large Car
Lexus ES350 (pictured)
Lincoln Zephyr*
Hyundai Azera*
Acura TSX
Acura TL
Least reliable
Jaguar X-type
Chrysler 300 (V8)
Saab 9-3

4) Most Reliable Luxury Car
2006 Lexus LS
Infiniti M*
Least reliable
Cadillac STS (V8)
2006 Mercees-Benz S-class
Mercedes-Benz CLS*
Mercedes-Benz E-class sedan
BMW 7-series
Jaguar S-type

5) Most Reliable Sport/Sporty car

Lexus SC
Toyota Camry Solara (4-cyl.)
Subaru Impreza WRX
Honda S2000
Mitsubishi Eclipse*
2006 Mini Cooper hatchback
Least reliable
Pontiac Solstice
Mercedes-Benz SL
Mercedes-Benz CLK
Mercedes-Benz SLK (V6)
Chevrolet Corvette
Porshce 911 Carrera
Ford Mustang (V6)

6) Most Reliable Wagon/Minivan

Pontiac Vibe
Scion xB
Toyota Matrix
Toyota Sienna
Least reliable
Buick Terraza
Chevrolet Uplander
Saturn Relay
Nissan Quest

7) Most Reliable Small SUV
Toyota FJ Cruiser
Honda Element
2006 Honda CR-V
Toyota Rav4*
2006 Mitsubishi Outlander*
Subaru Forester
Least reliable
Kia Sportage

8) Most Reliable Midsized SUVs
Toyota Highlander Hybrid* (pictured)
Toyota 4Runner
Toyota Highlander
Honda Pilot
Lexus RX400h* (hybrid)
2006 Acura MDX
Least reliable
Mercedes-Benz M-class
Land Rover LR3 (V8)
Cadillac SRX (V8)
Mercedes-Benz R-class
Volkswagen Touareg
Jeep Grand Cherokee
Hummer H3
2006 BMW X5 (V8)
Volvo XC90 (I6 and V8)
Ford Explorer (V8)
Mercury Mountaineer (V8)

9) Most reliable Large SUVs
Most reliable
Toyota Land Cruiser
Lexus LX
Toyota Sequoia
Chevrolet Tahoe*
GMC Yukon*
Least reliable
Nissan Armada
Infiniti QX56
Lincoln Navigator
Hummer H2

10) Most reliable pickups
Subaru Baja
Toyota Tundra
Toyota Tacoma
Nissan Frontier (V6)
Least reliable
Nissan Titan
Ford F-250 (diesel)
Dodge Dakota (4WD)
2006 Cadillac Escalade EXT