Polk Moves Automotive Loyalty Awards Presentation To Autmotive News World Congress

SOUTHFIELD, Mich., Dec. 6, 2004 -- R. L. Polk & Co., the automotive industry's authoritative source of consumer loyalty among owners of new vehicles, will present its ninth annual Polk Automotive Loyalty Awards at the Automotive News World Congress, which will be held January 18, 2005 at the Hyatt Regency hotel in Dearborn, Mich.

The Polk Automotive Loyalty Awards recognize manufacturers for superior owner loyalty performance. Loyalty is determined when a household that owns a new vehicle returns to market and purchases or leases another new vehicle of the same model, make or manufacturer.

"We are pleased to unveil the 2004 model year owner loyalty findings with key influential industry leaders at the Automotive News World Congress," said Stephen R. Polk, chairman, president and CEO of R. L. Polk & Co. "We will reveal which manufacturers are setting the benchmark for customer retention, which is a significant contributor to an OEM's profitability."

Loyalty Award recipients for the 2003 model year were BMW of North America, DaimlerChrysler, Ford Motor Co., General Motors Corp., Subaru of America and Volkswagen of America.

Last year, General Motors won in the Overall Manufacturer loyalty category for the fourth consecutive year, and Ford Division won in the Overall Make loyalty category for the eighth straight year.

Polk Manufacturer Loyalty Excelerator(TM) Report

Polk's Manufacturer Loyalty Excelerator(TM) Report, which is the basis for the Polk Automotive Loyalty rankings and annual awards, is the latest insight into consumer loyalty. This report was introduced to the automotive industry in 1995 and was created to provide household loyalty information to manufacturers at many different levels. It is now used to provide loyalty percentages for the entire automotive industry and allows for cross-industry comparisons of loyalty behavior. The report measures loyalty throughout the entire model year so that manufacturers may keep abreast of loyalty trends as they occur in the industry.

About R. L. Polk & Co.

R. L. Polk & Co. is the premier provider of automotive information and marketing solutions. Polk collects and interprets global data, and provides extensive automotive business expertise to help customers understand their market position, identify trends, build brand loyalty, conquest new business and gain a competitive advantage. Polk helps automotive manufacturers and dealers, automotive aftermarket companies, finance and insurance companies, advertising agencies, consulting organizations, government agencies and market research firms make good business decisions. A privately held global firm, Polk is based in Southfield, Mich. with operations in Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Mexico, the Netherlands, Spain, the United Kingdom and the United States. For more information, please visit http://www.polk.com/ .