Infiniti, Mercury gain in key quality survey-source

DETROIT, June 4 (Reuters) - Nissan Motor Co's (7201.T) luxury Infiniti brand unseated Toyota Motor Corp's (7203.T) Lexus as the No. 2 ranked brand in a closely watched survey of quality that is to be released Wednesday, a person who has seen the rankings said.

Porsche (PSHG_p.DE) remained at the top of the J.D. Power and Associates Initial Quality Study for the third straight year, according to the source.

The study also showed gains for Ford Motor Co's (F.N) Mercury brand, which was ranked sixth, the highest for any of the U.S. automotive brands.

Lexus was ranked No. 3, followed by Daimler AG's (DAIGn.DE)> Mercedes-Benz at No. 4, and Toyota at No. 5. Honda dropped to No. 7 from No. 4 a year earlier and fell behind Toyota as the top-ranked, mass-market brand.

The survey results, used heavily in auto industry marketing and seen as influential in shaping consumer perceptions, were to be released by J.D. Power Wednesday in Detroit. Automakers are briefed on the results in advance. (Reporting by Poornima Gupta, writing by Kevin Krolicki; editing by Jeffrey Benkoe)