Their description of the testing methodology:
"The Vehicle Dependability Study measures problem symptoms of three-year-old vehicles. The 2004 VDS is based on the responses received from more than 48,000 original owners of 2001 model-year cars and light trucks. The vehicles are scored based on the number of problems per 100 vehicles (PP100)."
And the winners:
Top Vehicles By Category
Compact Car
Toyota Corolla
Entry Midsize Car
Chevrolet Malibu
Premium Midsize Car
Toyota Avalon
Full-Size Car
Chrysler Concorde
Entry Luxury
Lexus ES 300
Mid Luxury Car
Lincoln Town Car
Premium Luxury Car
Lexus LS 430
Sporty Car
Toyota MR2 Spyder
Premium Sports Car
Honda S2000
Compact Pickup
Ford Ranger
Light Duty Full-Size Pickup
Ford F-150 LD
Heavy Duty Full-Size Pickup
GMC Sierra HD
Entry SUV
Honda CR-V
Midsize SUV
Toyota 4Runner
Full-Size SUV
Chevrolet Tahoe
Entry Luxury SUV
Lexus RX300