IntelliChoice Announces Award-Winning Certified Pre-Owned Vehicle Programs

Jaguar and Honda Top the List for Program Quality

ANAHEIM, Calif., Oct. 29 -- PRIMEDIA's IntelliChoice announced today the winners of the fifth annual ranking of certified pre-owned vehicle programs. The list of winners reveals that manufacturers are responding to consumers' desire for quality pre-owned cars. Overall, Honda Certified Used Cars was judged the best Non-Luxury program and Jaguar Select Edition the best Luxury program. This is the fifth year in a row that Honda has had the best program in the Non-Luxury class. Jaguar has achieved this honor in four out of the past five years.

Programs are evaluated based on how well they match up with consumer preferences. Major areas of analysis include the inspection lists, warranties, title verification, availability of special financing, roadside assistance benefits, and return/exchange policies. Since the target markets are different between Luxury and Non-Luxury vehicles, the 24 different manufacturer sponsored programs available have been split into two classes -- Luxury and Non-Luxury.

                Top Certified Pre-Owned Programs By Class

                 Luxury                            Non-Luxury

   Ranking       Manufacturer      Ranking         Manufacturer

   1             Jaguar            1               Honda
   2             Volvo             2               Volkswagen
   3             Lincoln           3               Chrysler/Dodge/Jeep
   4             Acura             4               Ford/Mercury
   5             Saab              4               Mazda

The most important considerations for consumers shopping for certified pre-owned vehicles are the warranties and inspections offered by the manufacturers. In the luxury class, Jaguar has the Best Warranty, and ties with Land Rover for the best inspection list. In the Non-Luxury class, Volkswagen has the Best Warranty and Ford and Mercury tie for the best Inspection.

"We continue to improve the quality of this analysis. This year we've incorporated new consumer research to better reflect the program attributes that are most valued by consumers," said Dave Wurster, publisher of PRIMEDIA's IntelliChoice. In addition to Honda and Jaguar, other notable performances include:

   * Chrysler/Dodge/Jeep is the top ranked Non Luxury domestic program for
     the second year in a row.
   * Ford Motor Company has six brands ranked among the leaders.  There are
     three in the Luxury class (Jaguar, Volvo, Lincoln) and three in the
     Non-Luxury class (Ford, Mercury, Mazda).
   * Volkswagen, based on the strength of their warranty and inspection list
     has moved into the second spot in the Non-Luxury class.
   * Both American Honda brands (Honda and Acura) are among the leaders in
     their respective classes.
   * Saab has moved into the top five for the Luxury class in the first year
     that IntelliChoice has included them in its analysis.

According to John Cobb, PRIMEDIA's vice president and general manager of the automotive and action sports internet group, "It's very important that consumers understand the value of the manufacturer sponsored Certified Pre-Owned Programs. This continues to be a growing trend in the marketplace. We are happy to be able to provide this information on over 50 sites throughout the PRIMEDIA Automotive Network including http://www.motortrend.com/ and http://www.automobile.com/."