Intellichoice.com and AutoPacific team up to Announce First Annual Motorist's Choice Awards
Infiniti QX56 Wins Highest Rating among All Classes/Vehicle Models
Campbell, CA - September 25, 2006 - PRIMEDIA's IntelliChoice.com, the online source for automotive ownership cost and value analysis, and AutoPacific, the industry source for automotive owner satisfaction ratings, today announced the results of the newly established Motorist's Choice Awards for the 2006 vehicle model year.
IntelliChoice.com and AutoPacific created the Motorist's Choice Awards to determine the vehicles that delivered both the highest satisfaction and lowest cost of ownership. The collaboration between the two respected firms, who have each been authorities on the U.S. auto market for the last 20 years, takes selected owner satisfaction data from AutoPacific's surveys of new car and light truck buyers and combines it with IntelliChoice.com's rating methodology to create a new measurement that speaks to both the hearts and minds of car buyers.
"While the economic analysis of car ownership remains very important - it can save or cost you thousands of dollars over the life of the vehicle - it is also important to recognize owner satisfaction as another significant influencer in vehicle purchases," said James Bell, publisher of IntelliChoice.com. "With these awards, we have identified the vehicles that delight emotionally and economically - key points to consider when buying a vehicle."
"Ratings of owners' satisfaction with their new car and truck illustrate how well the vehicle is satisfying the emotional and practical needs of the driver," said George Peterson, president of AutoPacific. "Satisfaction is more than simply how well a product is screwed together and there are many more dimensions to the equation. Combining AutoPacific's satisfaction results with the value analysis from IntelliChoice.com provides the car buyer with an outstanding benchmark to use when selecting a new vehicle."
WINNERS
For the inaugural awards, IntelliChoice.com and AutoPacific identified 29 winning models by segment and class. The top-ranked vehicles in their respective categories are:
| Luxury Car: | Lexus LS430 |
| Luxury Sport Utility: | Infiniti QX56 |
| Minivan: | Honda Odyssey |
| Fullsize Pickup Truck 2WD 1/2 Ton: | Chevrolet Avalanche 1500 (2WD) |
In terms of overall rankings, the Infiniti QX56 SUV scored highest in both driver satisfaction and lowest cost of ownership, followed closely by the Lexus LS430 sedan.
METHODOLOGY
The Motorist's Choice Awards were calculated by combining IntelliChoice.com cost of ownership data with AutoPacific's customer satisfaction survey data.
AutoPacific surveys 45 different vehicle ownership attributes, and of these, 38 product-focused attributes were used. Each of the product attributes generates a score between 5 and 25, allowing a maximum possible score of 950, which is then normalized to 1000. The actual scores range from 495 to 756.
The remaining seven attributes are cost-ownership-focused and addressed by IntelliChoice.com: Depreciation, Financing, Fuel, Insurance, Maintenance, Repairs, and State Fees. IntelliChoice.com rates vehicles based on the vehicles' total ownership cost against the vehicles' total expected cost.
To merge the IntelliChoice.com data with the AutoPacific rating system, IntelliChoice.com ranked each model within the 29 different classes. A conversion formula was then used such that the best model within the IntelliChoice.com analysis received the equivalent score as the best model within the AutoPacific analysis, and the worst model received the equivalent score as the worst model within the AutoPacific analysis. This conversion was done for each class.
The final step was to combine the AutoPacific score with the converted IntelliChoice.com score. This was accomplished by creating a weighting for each class based on the AutoPacific importance scores from the 45 attributes. The average importance score from the product attributes were weighted against the average importance score from the ownership cost attributes. The AutoPacific and IntelliChoice.com scores were combined through multiplying the AutoPacific Score by the product attributes weighting and the IntelliChoice.com score by the ownership cost attributes weighting, and then adding the two scores together.
About IntelliChoice.com
Part of PRIMEDIA, the country's leading targeted media company, IntelliChoice.com is the market leader in automotive ownership cost and value analysis. Founded in 1986 and celebrating its 20th Anniversary, IntelliChoice.com is committed to empowering consumers to make better purchase decisions by providing independent and essential automotive information and car-buying tools. Through IntelliChoice.com consumers get the help they need to research, compare, configure and price vehicles. The site also connects buyers to the buying alternatives of their choice, including vehicle manufacturers and online buying services.
About AutoPacific
AutoPacific is a future-oriented automotive marketing and product-consulting firm in its 20th year of providing specialized automotive research. Every year AutoPacific publishes a wide variety of syndicated studies for the automotive industry. The firm also conducts extensive proprietary research and consulting for auto manufacturers, distributors, marketers and suppliers worldwide. Company headquarters and its state-of-the-art automotive research facility are in Tustin, California, with an affiliate office in the Detroit area.
| MOTORIST'S CHOICE AWARDS MODEL YEAR 2006 RANKINGS | ||
|---|---|---|
| CARS/WAGONS: | ||
| Index | Model | Class |
| 729 | Lexus LS 430 | Luxury Car |
| 707 | Audi A6 4.2 Quattro | Sports Sedan/Wagon |
| 700 | Toyota Avalon | Fullsize Car |
| 684 | Lexus ES 330 | Near Luxury Car |
| 682 | Chevrolet Corvette | Sports Car |
| 674 | Lexus SC 430 | Luxury Convertible |
| 673 | Honda Accord Sedan V6 | Midsize Car |
| 656 | Honda Accord Coupe | Compact Car |
| 653 | MINI Cooper Convertible | Convertible |
| 647 | MINI Cooper | Subcompact Car |
| 637 | Honda Civic Si | Base Sports Car |
| 620 | Subaru Legacy Wagon | Midsize/Fullsize Wagon |
| 609 | Scion xB | Compact Wagon |
| SUVS/CROSSOVERS: | ||
| Index | Model | Class |
| 737 | Infiniti QX56 | Luxury Sport Utility |
| 704 | Nissan Armada | Sport Utility |
| 700 | Lexus RX 330 | Luxury Crossover |
| 664 | Nissan Murano | Midsize Crossover |
| 660 | Toyota 4Runner | Intermediate Sports Utility |
| 638 | Mercury Mariner Hybrid | Small Crossover/Sports Utility |
| 625 | Kia Sportage | Compact Sports Utility |
| PICKUP TRUCKS: | ||
| Index | Model | Class |
| 697 | Chevrolet Avalanche 1500 2WD | Fullsize Pickup Truck 2WD 1/2 Ton |
| 695 | Honda Ridgeline | Compact Pickup Truck 4WD |
| 694 | Chevrolet Silverado 2500 Extended Cab 2WD | Fullsize Pickup Truck 2WD 3/4 Ton |
| 686 | Chevrolet Silverado 1500 Extended Cab 4WD | Fullsize Pickup Truck 4WD 1/2 Ton |
| 645 | Chevrolet Avalanche 2500 4WD | Fullsize Pickup Truck 4WD 3/4 Ton |
| 638 | Dodge Ram 3500 Mega Cab 2WD | Fullsize Pickup Truck 2WD One Ton |
| 638 | Dodge Ram 3500 Mega Cab 4WD | Fullsize Pickup Truck 4WD One Ton |
| 617 | Toyota Tacoma 2WD | Compact Pickup Truck 2WD |
| MINIVANS: | ||
| Index | Model | Class |
| 664 | Honda Odyssey | Minivan |
