Buick better than Lexus?

Some years ago, people began dropping the phrase “the Cadillac of the [fill in the blank]” to describe the very best, and when they did, they sometimes substituted Lexus for Cadillac.

So, who would have predicted Buick becoming the most reliable brand? Like Cadillac, Buick is owned by General Motors, which still is of enormous importance to Indiana suppliers.

J.D. Power and Associates says Buick and Jaguar tied for first place in its latest dependability study. This is also quite an accomplishment for Jaguar, which once had a reputation for being in repair shops about as much as on the road.

Buick also has gained quite a reputation for customer satisfaction, but detractors suggest the happiness is the result of Buick owners’ dying off before living with their cars for more than a couple of years.

To what extent do you associate reliability with “best?” Without moving into hyper-luxury brands like Bentley, is Lexus still the gold standard?