Survey of 72,000 Consumers Reveals Vehicles That Meet Their Owners Demands; Ford Motor Company Leads with Seven Wins; Porsche Scores Fourth Straight Top Brand Win

FYI: Ford Buyer's Guide

FYI: Porsche Buyer's Guide

TUSTIN, CA--Aug. 16, 2011: The 2011 Ideal Vehicle Awards (IVA), announced today by automotive research and consulting firm AutoPacific, reveal the vehicles that most closely match their owners desires. "Everyone has had the experience of wanting to change something after you've bought it and experienced it for awhile.  This is especially true of vehicles," says George Peterson, President of AutoPacific. "This research recognizes the vehicles that owners want to change the least.  In other words, the vehicles that already match their owner's demands.

The IVAs are based on owners' ratings of their new 2011 model year cars and trucks across 15 key vehicle attributes ranging from power and acceleration to interior roominess.  The survey includes responses from more than 72,000 vehicle acquirers. The cars or trucks that owners would change the least are the most ideal.

"Its getting harder and harder to measure quality differences in today's vehicles, says Peterson. "Consumers need better insights into which vehicles will meet their ideal for comfort, ride and handling, cargo space, and other attributes that are experienced on a daily basis. IVA winners deliver the most of what consumers are really looking for in their vehicles. Shoppers can use the IVAs as a benchmark for vehicles that are designed and built with customers in mind."

Among premium brands, Porsche scores the highest for 2011, giving Porsche its fourth straight IVA win since 2008.  Chrysler leads the pack among popular brands, followed by Hyundai and Ford.

"Ford Motor Company leads the industry with a total of seven segment winners. Like last year, no other manufacturer came even close," said Peterson.  Volvo scores three category wins and has a "win and a place" among Luxury Crossover SUVs with the XC70 and XC60.  American-branded vehicles perform well in this year's IVAs. Of the twenty-four Ideal Vehicle Award (IVA) categories, American brands win eleven segments, European brands seven and Asian brands six.

The top-rated product segment is Premium Luxury Car, beating out Large Pickups and last year's leading category Large Crossover SUV. As in previous years, American buyers continue to value large, comfortable vehicles suitable for suburban driving and highway cruising.

In addition to identifying segment winners, IVA also establishes numerical ideal vehicle ratings for virtually every passenger car and light truck in the United States market. These results come from calculating owner input across 15 specific areas related to a vehicle's attributes, including: exterior styling, exterior size, passenger roominess, cargo space, driver's seat comfort, driver's seat visibility, info/entertainment technology, interior lighting, power and acceleration, ease of getting in and out, interior storage compartments, ride, handling, safety features and tires and wheels.

AutoPacific's IVAs are featured on autobytel.com, the original website for consumer research and car buying, providing visibility of the awards to millions of new car shoppers.  Autobytel.com will highlight AutoPacific's IVA's on each individual vehicle with an award icon along with vehicle award descriptions and exclusive editorial content based on the market research.

About AutoPacific

AutoPacific is a future-oriented automotive marketing research and product-consulting firm. Every year AutoPacific publishes a wide variety of syndicated studies on the automotive industry. The firm, founded in 1986, 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.