Honda/General Motors Lead 2004 Model Automotive Environmental Performance Study

Consumers can do what Congress hasn't - raise CAFE

NOVI, Mich., Dec. 16 -- Honda Motor Company and General Motors Corporation captured top honors in the 2004 Automotive Market Environmental Superiority (AMES) Study released today by AMES Award LLC.

Through a patent-pending process, AMES produces an environmental performance index for over 250 models for sale in the US using the same data supplied by auto manufacturers to the Federal and state governments to certify compliance to emission and fuel economy standards.

AMES also uses information provided by their contributing affiliates, automotive market data specialist R.L. Polk & Company and the market research firm Wirthlin Worldwide.

Contrary to what many consumers believe, not every new 2004 vehicle meets the Federal/California emission or Federally mandated fuel economy standards per se. The standards are actually sales weighted standards, which means some of a manufacturer's vehicles may exceed the standards while others may fall below them. Identifying the over-achievers is the core concept of the AMES Awards.

AMES Model Awards are given to models that place in the upper quartile of environmental performance in each of the AMES 8 car and 9 light truck vehicle classes.

The AMES Manufacturer Award and AMES Brand Award measure the overall environmental competitiveness of the manufacturers and their individual brands by determining the percentage of AMES Model Winners in their forecast volume.

Honda Motor Company separated itself from 19 other manufacturers to win the 2004 AMES Manufacturer Award. Honda Motor Company sells its products under the Honda and Acura brand names in the US. Toyota Motor Corporation and Nissan Motor Company finished second and third respectively.

General Motors Corporation was the leading domestic automaker in fourth position. DaimlerChrysler was the ranked eighth and Ford Motor Company twelfth.

Honda Motor Company's Acura nameplate earned the 2004 AMES Brand Award over 44 other competitors. The Honda brand finished second. Toyota Motor Corporation's Lexus nameplate edged General Motors Corporation's Buick brand to capture third place honors.

Relative to specific models, General Motors Corporation, which offers 55 models, captured the most AMES Model Awards, a record setting total of 18 Awards. GM's winning total was driven by a dominating performance in the light truck segment where it earned 13 Awards.

William Mattick, AMES' president, said that consumers can make a contribution to sustaining the environment by choosing AMES Model Award winners over non-winners in a vehicle class. "Along with the health benefits from improved air quality, the 2004 new model fleet's corporate average fuel economy (CAFE) would rise by over 2 miles per gallon -- a huge gain considering Congress' struggle with revising the current Federal fuel economy standards."

AMES has calculated that the fuel savings translate to an annual reduction in greenhouse gas emissions of almost 500 million metric tons.

Who cares? Well, most consumers do.

Market research conducted by Wirthlin Worldwide shows the vast majority of consumers are concerned about sustaining the environment, but they aren't willing to change their lifestyle to ease that concern. Translation: a SUV or pickup truck owner isn't likely to buy a subcompact car.

However, AMES' own proprietary research also indicates that consumers shopping in a specific vehicle class (midsize car, minivan, SUV, pickup, etc.) are very likely to include models on their purchase consideration list that are environmentally superior to others -- the AMES Award winners.

Addressing recent environmental groups' concern over the popularity of sport utility vehicles (SUVs), AMES doesn't see the product mix in the market changing very soon. Larry Ranka, AMES' executive vice president added, "With SUVs and other light trucks representing over half the new vehicles sold, it is imperative that we provide consumers with direction on which vehicles are superior environmental performers relative to other vehicles in the same utility class.

The complete list of 2004 AMES Model Award winners in their respective classes:

Car

Subcompact: Honda Civic, Honda Insight, Hyundai Elantra, Mazda 3, Nissan Sentra, Toyota Corolla, Toyota Echo

Compact: Mitsubishi Gallant, Toyota Prius

Midsize: Chevrolet Impala, Chevrolet Malibu, Honda Accord, Nissan Altima, Toyota Camry

Full Size: Buick LaSabre, Pontiac Bonneville

Premium: Acura TL, Acura TSX, Lexus ES330, Volvo S60, Volvo V70/XC70

Luxury: BMW 5-Series, Jaguar XJ Series, Lexus LS430, Lincoln Town Car, Saab 9-5, Volvo S80

Sporty: Acura RSX, MINI Cooper, Toyota Celica, Toyota Solara

Sports: Audi TT, BMW Z4, Chrysler Crossfire, Mazda Miata, Mercedes SLK Class, Porsche Boxster, Toyota MR2

Light Truck

Minivan: Dodge Caravan, Nissan Quest, Toyota Sienna, Chevrolet Venture, Oldsmobile Silhouette, Pontiac Montana

Full Size Van: Ford E150/E250 2WD Compact Pickup: Mazda B-Series, Subaru Baja

Full Size Pickup: Dodge Ram 1500, Chevrolet Silverado C/K 1500, GMC C/K 1500 Sierra

Compact SUV: Honda CR-V, Honda Element, Saturn Vue, Toyota RAV4

Midsize SUV: Buick Rendezvous, Isuzu Axiom, Mitsubishi Endeavor, Nissan Murano, Pontiac Aztek, Suzuki Grand Vitara XL7, Toyota Highlander

Midsize Luxury SUV: Acura MDX, Cadillac SRX, Lexus RX330

Full Size SUV: Buick Rainier, Chevrolet C/K 1500 Suburban, GMC C/K 1500 Yukon XL

Full Size Luxury SUV: Cadillac Escalade, Lincoln Navigator 2WD

CLICK HERE For a complete list of vehicles in each class.

About AMES Award LLC

Founded in 1999 and headquartered in Novi, MI, the privately held AMES Award LLC has emerged as the automotive industry's authority on vehicle environmental performance. AMES Award utilizes a life cycle based, patent- pending business process to evaluate car and light truck environmental performance. The AMES Awards are the first consumer-friendly, first industry compatible and the only rating of vehicle environmental performance at the brand-model level. Being able to communicate environmental performance at the brand-model level is critical because brand-model is the language consumers use to become aware of and consider vehicles and the language of manufacturers trying to sell their products. AMES annually announces it Award winners near the start of each new model year.