(AP photo)

DETROIT (AP) – Japanese brands are the top performers in Consumer Reports’ annual rankings of vehicle reliability.

The magazine says Toyota Motor Co.’s Scion, Lexus and Toyota brands took the top three spots. Mazda, Subaru and Honda are close behind.

The subcompact Toyota Prius C got the best overall score.

KFWB’s Maggie McKay and Michael Shappee spoke with Jeff Gilbert, the automotive reporter at Detroit’s WWJ to learn more:

The rankings predict the reliability of 2013 model-year vehicles based on surveys of Consumer Reports’ readers. This year, 800,000 people submitted information on 1.2 million vehicles.

The rankings are critical for auto companies. Americans frequently cite Consumer Reports as a main source of car-buying advice.

The best-performing U.S. brand was Cadillac. Ford fell to the bottom because of persistent problems with glitchy touch screens and bumpy transmissions.