16 November 2001: For the seventh year in a row, Lexus has led a study on the durability of four- and five-year old cars and trucks, and registered less than half the problems of an average vehicle.

A 1997 Lexus had 1.73 problems on average per vehicle, compared to 3.82 problems for the overall average results for vehicles of that year, according to the J.D. Power and Associates 2000 Vehicle Dependability Study.

The study involved more than 40,000 owners.

Earlier this year, Lexus also topped the 2001 J D Power study on initial quality, a survey of customer-reported problems within the first 90 days of ownership. The Lexus LS 400 led its vehicle segment in dependability, while the Lexus SC Coupe and the ES 300 sedan also placed within the top three in their segments.