Polk Automotive Loyalty Award Winners Announced

GM Extends Record by Taking Top Honors for 2007 Model Year

SOUTHFIELD, Mich., Jan. 23 -- R. L. Polk & Co., the automotive industry's premier provider of consumer loyalty information among new vehicles, presented the 12th Annual Polk Automotive Loyalty Awards yesterday evening at the 2008 Automotive News World Congress with General Motors and Toyota once again taking the top awards.

Winning the Overall Manufacturer award by demonstrating the greatest ability to retain previous customers for a record eighth consecutive year was General Motors. GM also secured six additional awards including honors for its Chevrolet Suburban, Silverado, Impala, Saturn ION, Pontiac Solstice and the Cadillac Escalade for the 2007 model year, which ended Sept. 30.

"Being able to retain your customers over time with great products and after-the-sale service has always been a key factor to attaining success. GM and Toyota have proven that they know what it takes to keep customers coming back to their brands," said Stephen R. Polk, chairman, president and CEO of R. L. Polk & Co. "GM won a total of seven awards, including three vehicles that have won for the first time, which is a great testament to their overall manufacturer loyalty."

Toyota was also a big winner, taking repeat honors in the Overall Make category award for posting the highest make loyalty to an automotive division. It was also recognized with five segment loyalty awards. Toyota Prius repeated as the Midsize Car segment winner and Toyota Tacoma repeated as the Compact Pickup segment winner. Lexus, the luxury division of Toyota Motor Sales, USA, Inc., was a repeat winner in the Midsize SUV segment for its Lexus RX, marking the third consecutive win. The Lexus ES was a first time winner in the Luxury Car segment and Lexus LS was a five-time winner in the Prestige Luxury Car segment.

Overall for the industry, make loyalty for the 2007 model year was 44.84 percent. Recent studies by Polk show consumers are consistently more loyal to Asian brands (47.98 percent), versus European (38.13 percent) and domestic makes (43.74 percent).

Other vehicles capturing loyalty honors were the Chrysler Town & Country in the Minivan category, Honda CR-V in the Compact SUV category and the Jaguar XK in the Prestige Sports Car category.

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.

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 or make.

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, Canada, China, France, Germany, Japan, Spain, the United Kingdom and the United States. For more information, please visit www.polk.com.

  TABLE:

  POLK AUTOMOTIVE LOYALTY AWARD WINNERS - 2007 MODEL YEAR

                                                          Avg. Loyalty % for
  Category           Winner                     Loyalty %      Category

  Overall Awards:
  Manufacturer
   Loyalty            General Motors*           62.89           54.58
  Make Loyalty        Toyota*                   56.69           44.84
  Vehicle Segment
   Awards:
  Small Car           Saturn ION*               23.50           15.20
  Midsize Car         Toyota Prius*             33.34           18.90
  Large Car           Chevrolet Impala*         33.89           20.68
  Luxury Car          Lexus ES                  32.80           18.80
  Prestige Luxury Car Lexus LS                  44.41           29.92
  Sports Car          Pontiac Solstice          19.08           11.81
  Prestige Sports Car Jaguar XK                 28.79           18.24
  Minivan             Chrysler Town & Country*  25.81           15.49
  Compact Pickup      Toyota Tacoma*
   Truck                                        17.73           11.69
  Full-Size Pickup    Chevrolet Silverado
   Truck                                        36.64           33.34
  Compact SUV         Honda CR-V                27.66           19.76
  Midsize SUV         Lexus RX*                 29.04           16.50
  Full-Size SUV       Chevrolet Suburban        23.21           17.79
  Prestige SUV        Cadillac Escalade         33.61           21.69

  *2006 Model Year Polk Automotive Loyalty Award Winner