Leasing Guide Announces Fifth Annual Residual Value Awards for the Top Segment Leaders and Brand Residual Value Awards

SANTA BARBARA, Calif., Nov. 10, 2003 -- ALG's annual Residual Value Awards honor those vehicles in each segment predicted to retain the highest percentage of their original price. This year's awards are based on 2004 model year vehicles. For the second year, ALG has also added awards for the brand with the highest predicted resale value of all industry and luxury vehicles. The awards are arrived at after careful study of segment competition, historical vehicle performance and industry trends. Award winners are featured on ALG.com, The Wall Street Journal, Automotive News, and other automotive websites dedicated to bringing the industry's best performing models into the public eye.

Heading the list this year is American Honda Motor Company, Inc. with the Honda Brand winning the Industry Brand Residual Value Award. Honda also received four individual segment awards: the Accord for the Midsize Car Segment; the Odyssey for the Minivan Segment; the CR-V for the Compact SUV Segment; and the Pilot for the CUV Segment. Both the Honda Odyssey and CR-V are repeat winners from last year.

BMW of North America, LLC also made a strong showing in this year's awards winning the Luxury Brand Residual Value Award. MINI USA, a division of BMW of North America, won the Compact Car Segment for the MINI Cooper for the second consecutive year.

Toyota Motor Sales, USA, Inc. continued a strong tradition in the Residual Value Awards winning four individual segment awards: the Tacoma for the Compact Truck Segment, Sequoia for the Fullsize SUV Segment, 4Runner for the Midsize SUV Segment, and the Tundra for the Fullsize Truck Segment. All, excluding the 4Runner, are repeat segment leaders from last year.

Another repeat winner this year is Mercedes-Benz USA LLC for the CLK, which won the Luxury Segment award.

Nissan North America Inc. is the winner of this year's Sports Segment award for the 350Z.

And last but not least, the Near Luxury Segment award goes to Lexus for the ES330.

"Residual Value performance continues to be a leading indicator of the success of a vehicle or brand," said John Blair, Automotive Lease Guide's Chief Executive Officer. "ALG individual segment award winners represent a combination of desirability as new cars and long term appeal in the used vehicle marketplace. Honda and BMW have captured the industry brand awards due to the strength of their entire product lines, which is quite an accomplishment given the fierce competition in today's automotive industry."

                 Summary of 2004 Residual Value Award Winners

           Brand Awards                            Brand
      Industry Brand Residual Value Award   American Honda
                                            Motor Company, Inc.
      Luxury Brand Residual Value Award     BMW of North America, LLC

      Segment Awards                        Vehicle
      Compact Car                           MINI Cooper
      Midsize Car                           Honda Accord
      Sports Car                            Nissan 350Z
      Near Luxury Car                       Lexus ES330
      Luxury Car                            Mercedes-Benz CLK
      Minivan                               Honda Odyssey
      CUV*                                  Honda Pilot
      Compact SUV**                         Honda CR-V
      Midsize SUV***                        Toyota 4Runner
      Fullsize SUV                          Toyota Sequoia
      Compact Truck                         Toyota Tacoma
      Fullsize Truck                        Toyota Tundra

   *    CUV Segment new this year.
   **   Compact SUV segment has replaced last year's Sub Compact SUV
        segment.
   ***  Midsize SUV segment has replaced last year's Compact SUV segment.

                    Industry Brand Residual Value Rankings

                 Rank                   Brand
                  1                    HONDA
                  2                    TOYOTA
                  3                    VOLKSWAGEN
                  4                    NISSAN
                  5                    SUBARU
                  6                    JEEP
                  7                    MAZDA
                  8                    FORD
                  9                    GMC TRUCKS
                  10                    DODGE

Only brands above the industry average were ranked. Below industry average were the following brands (listed in alphabetical order): Buick, Chevrolet, Chrysler, Hyundai, Kia, Mercury, Mitsubishi, Oldsmobile, Pontiac, Saturn, and Suzuki.

                     Luxury Brand Residual Value Rankings

                 Rank                   Brand
                  1                    BMW
                  2                    LEXUS
                  3                    ACURA
                  4                    MERCEDES-BENZ
                  5                    AUDI
                  6                    INFINITI
                  7                    VOLVO

Only brands above the luxury average were ranked. Below luxury average were the following brands (listed in alphabetical order): Cadillac, Jaguar, Land Rover, Lincoln, and Saab.

Note: All brands with vehicles in at least two segments and minimum annual volume of 40,000 units were included. As a result of this requirement, MINI and Porsche as well as other brands were excluded from the above rankings.

Based in Santa Barbara, California, Automotive Lease Guide is a privately held company that has been forecasting automotive residual values for over 35 years in both the U.S. and Canadian markets.