A defect detection and ranking system for a vehicle assembly line is provided. The system includes an image capture device that captures a plurality of images of a vehicle on the vehicle assembly line. The system also includes a defect detector that analyzes the plurality of captured images and, based on the analysis, detects a plurality of defects on the surface of the vehicle. Each of the plurality of defects has an associated x-y-z coordinate location, a defect type, and a defect severity. The system also includes a datastore containing a vehicle specification, for the vehicle on the vehicle assembly line, and a defect priority based on the vehicle specification. The system also includes a defect prioritization generator configured to: receive the plurality of defects from the defect detector, retrieve the vehicle specification and the defect priority, and apply the defect priority to the plurality of defects, and output a prioritized list of defects, wherein the prioritized list of defects. The defect prioritization generator outputs the prioritized list of defects to an output device associated with the vehicle assembly line.