Oct. 23 (Bloomberg) -- Ford Motor Co.'s reliability increased this year and is now close to Toyota Motor Corp. and Honda Motor Co., according to a survey by Consumer Reports.

The Yonkers, New York-based magazine disclosed the results today at an Automotive Press Association meeting in Detroit.

``This has been a systematic, structural change within Ford,'' said David Champion, director of the magazine's auto test center. Almost all Ford vehicles have above-average reliability, he said.

The findings may help Dearborn, Michigan-based Ford win back customers after it lost U.S. market share every year since 1995. Ford has publicized the results of studies it commissioned showing the quality of its Ford, Lincoln and Mercury brands is near the same levels as Toyota and Honda.

``They are really doing what Toyota did, small, incremental changes over time, which is exactly what they should do,'' said Aaron Bragman, an analyst with Global Insight Inc. in Troy, Michigan.

Ford's overall reliability was reduced by older truck models that are soon to be replaced, Champion said. One of the models was the diesel version of the F-250 pickup truck, said Douglas Love, a spokesman for Consumer Reports.

``It's great to have third-party publication recognition of the progress we've made,'' Bennie Fowler, Ford's group vice president of global quality, said in an interview. ``The No. 1 thing we want is to get better and more consistent over time.''

Asian Brands

Ford fell 10 cents to $2 at 4:01 p.m. in New York Stock Exchange composite trading. The stock has dropped 70 percent this year.

The Consumer Reports results cover 1999 through 2008 models and are based on reader surveys done earlier this year. The magazine takes the surveys along with vehicle tests to decide which models to recommend. Consumer Reports' statisticians and engineers use the data to predict reliability of 2009 vehicles.

The magazine also uses survey results in determining which brands and models it recommends to vehicle buyers.

Toyota and Tokyo-based Honda were still at the top in projected reliability of 2009 models by Consumer Reports. Toyota's Scion brand held the top spot, the namesake Toyota brand was fourth and Lexus was fifth. Honda's Acura brand was second and its main Honda brand third.

Three Toyota models slipped to below average in last year's report. The Toyota City, Japan-based carmaker ``seems to have rectified some of the problems,'' and all 42 Toyota, Lexus and Scion models in the survey scored average or better, Consumer Reports said in a statement.

Other Asian brands rounded out the top 10 of predicted reliability. Ford's Lincoln was No. 11, Mercury was No. 15 and the main Ford brand No. 17.

To contact the reporter on this story: Bill Koenig in Southfield, Michigan, at wkoenig@bloomberg.net; Mike Ramsey in Detroit at mramsey6@bloomberg.net

Last Updated: October 23, 2008 18:01 EDT