Toyota's Camry and Corolla sedans, its high-priced Lexus LS430 model, and four of its SUVs also took top spots.

However, the best their Prius could muster in the compact car division was fourth. It was beat out by two Japanese cars (no surprise) - the Corolla (1st) and the Honda Civic (3rd). Surprise second-place finisher was the Hyundai Elantra. Maybe Elantra wasn't surprised, but I was.

The problem with the Prius seems to not be a functioning one but one of know-how. Its hippie owners cannot figure out how to use the audio, navigation, and climate control buttons - and then call it broken. No, the hippie is broken - has been since the '60s.

There were only three repeat winners from 2005 - all of them were Lexus models.

Toyota does know quality, doesn't it?

J.D. Power and Associates Ranked the different classes of cars by quality.

There were 19 classes of cars.

Asian car makers too 14 of the top spots in the 19 classes.

Japan was on top in 12 classes.

11 of those were taken by Toyota alone!

The last Japanese spot was taken by Mazda.

South Korean car makers Kia and Hyundai each took a top spot.

Subcompact: Kia Rio               

Compact: Toyota Corolla

Compact Sporty: Mazda MX-5 Miata

Entry Premium: Lexus IS 250/350

Mid-size Premium: Lexus ES 330

Large Premium: Lexus LS430

Premium Sporty: Lexus SC 430

Mid-size sporty: Toyota Solara

Mid-size: Toyota Camry

Large: Pontiac

TRUCKS

Compact multi-activity vehicle (MAV): Hyundai Tucson

Mid-size MAV: Toyota Highlander

Large MAV: Toyota Sequoia

Mid-size Premium MAV: Lexus GX 470

Large Preimum MAV: Lexus LX 470

Large Pickup: Chevrolet Silverado LD

Mid-size Pickup: Ford Ranger

Van: Chrysler Town & Country

What's going to happen to the list when Chinese cars start catching up in quality?

What do you think?

Editorial Commentary by Mr. Stolyarov: From all indicators, Toyota seems to be an excellent automobile company -- with quality designs and an immense degree of responsibility for its products. An example of this unusually generous degree of responsibility can be found in Dr. Belew's recent article on the Prius recall. It is interesting to note that the Asian (especially Japanese) cars have the top quality ratings for smaller vehicles -- yet all the top-quality larger vehicles (pickups and minivans) are manufactured by American firms. Perhaps this indicates that American car companies have a comparative advantage in larger vehicles -- whereas Japanese car companies have a comparative advantage in smaller vehicles.

Dr. Bill Belew is a former Intelligence Officer for a Destroyer Squadron. He lived 20 years in Japan, where he started a language school for Japanese ECS. Dr. Belew teaches classes for a vocational school and online for a national university.

See Dr. Belew's blog, PanAsianBiz, for news and discussions about business and current events in Russia and Asia. See ZhongHuaRising for Dr. Belew's reports on business in China and RisingSunofNihon on business in Japan.

Click here to return to TRA's Issue LXIII Index.

Learn about Mr. Stolyarov's novel, Eden against the Colossus, here.