Ford jumps and Toyota plunges in key quality measure

Ford Motor Co ranked No. 1 for new car quality among mass-market brands while recall-hit Toyota Motor Corp plunged in a closely watched quality survey released on Thursday.

Toyota, grappling with a series of damaging recalls, fell below the industry average to place 21st in the influential study by J.D. Power and Associates -- its lowest ranking since the survey started 24 years ago.

Ford, the only U.S. automaker to avoid bankruptcy and a government bailout, climbed three spots to rank fifth -- the highest place Ford has achieved in the study.

Luxury brands captured the top four spots, led by Porsche and followed by Honda Motor Co's Acura, Daimler AG's Mercedes-Benz and Toyota's premium Lexus nameplate.

The results underscore the progress U.S. automakers have made on closing their long-criticized gap in quality with Asian automakers, and also the challenges facing Toyota in the wake of recent safety woes.

"Overall, we're probably disappointed, but probably not surprised. If you look at when the survey was fielded, it was right during the heart of the recall and the intense coverage around the recall," Jim Lentz, Toyota's U.S. sales president, said on a conference call.

"We are paying close attention to what the customers are telling us through J.D. Power, as we always do, and we'll make adjustments where necessary to make sure we're continuing to satisfy our customers," Lentz said.

The J.D. Power study, which records difficulties faced by new car owners in the first 90 days of ownership, was conducted between February and May this year.

Toyota has struggled to win back consumer trust after a series of recalls covering more than 9 million vehicles globally, mostly for the risk that sticky accelerators or ill-fitting floor mats could cause unintended acceleration.