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German sports-car maker Porsche claimed the No. 1 spot in the latest long-term dependability study by J.D. Power and Associates, the ratings firm announced today.

Porsche grabbed the top spot after placing ninth last year. In second place was Lincoln, while Buick and Lexus tied for third. Mercury was fourth, and Toyota took fifth place, despite its recent recall woes. Toyota, which recalled several million cars after the study took place, had been in the No. 3 spot last year.

This year’s study surveyed more than 52,000 original owners of cars 2007-model-year cars. The study itself was conducted between October and December of 2009.

In all, 25 of 36 vehicle brands improved their long-term reliability, J.D. Power said. That marks a continuing trend in quality improvement across the industry.

J.D. Power said it also recognized several brands that, even though they performed well in the study, “are avoided at relatively high rates due to consumer concerns about dependability.”

Among those brands: Cadillac, Ford, Hyundai, Lincoln and Mercury.

“Producing vehicles with world-class quality is just part of the battle for automakers; convincing consumers to believe in their quality is equally as important,” David Sargent, vice president of global vehicle research at J.D. Power, said in a news release outlining the study.

“It takes considerable time to positively change consumer perceptions of quality and dependability-sometimes a decade or more-so it is vital for manufacturers to continually improve quality and also to convince consumers of these gains.”

According the annual study, overall vehicle dependability has improved by 7 percent in 2010 to an average of 155 problems experienced per 100 vehicles, compared with 167 PP100 in 2009. J.D Power says that rate that is consistent with historical industry gains.