NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- Americans are more satisfied with a broad range of products they use, from autos to personal computers, according to a survey of consumers.

The University of Michigan's American Customer Satisfaction Index (ACSI) increased to an overall 74.4 score in the second quarter out of 100. That's a gain of 2 from the first quarter, and the fifth consecutive quarter at its highest level since 2004.

The satisfaction could be good news not only for the companies involved, but also for the U.S. economy. The school said that results over the 11 years it has conducted the survey show that satisfaction can be a key component to consumer spending decisions, which accounts for nearly three-quarters of the U.S. economy.

"If the historical pattern holds true, the report released today indicates spending growth should increase in the third quarter, contrary to what many observers of the economy expect," the school's statement said.

The latest survey shows that American drivers are more satisfied than ever with cars and trucks, with an overall score of 81 for the segment, up 1.3 percent from a year earlier.

U.S. automakers are still trailing import brands, though some are closing the gap, according to the results.

Toyota Motor's (Charts) core Toyota brand got the top score of 87 for the second straight year, while its luxury Lexus brand tied for No. 2 with an 86. But General Motors' (Charts) Buick brand posted a 2.4 percent gain to tie Lexus and Honda Motor Co.'s (Charts) Honda brand for the No. 2 position in the survey. GM's Chevrolet brand posted a 3.8 percent gain, although that only brought it to the industry average satisfaction rating of 81.

Ford Motor Co.'s Ford brand posted a 2.7 percent gain, the third best percentage gain between Chevy and a 5.1 percent improvement for Nissan (Charts). But Ford still tied for last with Kia and DaimlerChrysler's (Charts) Jeep brand with a score of 77.

Autos saw a better satisfaction rate than personal computers, which scored a 77 rating as a whole, up 4.1 percent from a year earlier.

Apple (Charts) easily led the field for the third straight year, with a satisfaction reading of 83, while Dell (Charts) posted a 5.4 percent improvement to finish No. 2 at 78. Hewlett Packard's (Charts) Compaq brand had the biggest gain, rising 7.5 percent, but it still finished last at 72.

Major appliance makers had a 1.3 percent improvement as a group to come in with an 81 satisfaction rating.

Some categories saw lower satisfaction overall.

Electronics, which includes televisions, DVD players and VCRs, slipped 1.2 percent to 80; Internet search engines fell 1.3 percent to 79; and online news and information providers fell 2.7 percent. Internet portals, however, saw a 1.3 percent increase to 76, and that helped lift satisfaction with Internet services as a whole narrowly to 76.5 from 75.9 a year earlier.

Google (Charts) was still the most popular search engine, although it fell to 81 from 82. CNN.com and USAToday.com both saw their readings improve 2.8 percent to identical readings of 74, letting them tie for first with the "all others" choice in that category.

Among portals, the "all others" choice finished first by itself with a score of 79, while Yahoo! (Charts) fell 5 percent to second place with a 76. AOL, which like CNN.com and CNNMoney.com are units of Time Warner (Charts), posted a 4.2 percent rise to tie Microsoft's (Charts) MSN with a 74 satisfaction reading.