Motorist Choice Awards Reveal Vehicles That Please Both Hearts and Minds

Awards Show Consumers Enjoy Luxury and Size

CAMPBELL, Calif. and TUSTIN, Calif., Aug. 11 -- Right brain, left brain; the practical versus the emotional - an age-old dilemma often at the center of decision making when buying a new car or truck. The 2009 Motorist Choice Awards recognize new cars and trucks that give their owners both economic and emotional satisfaction, helping new-car buyers find vehicles that best satisfy all of their personal-transportation needs. The fourth annual Motorist Choice Awards survey, announced today, scores 196 cars, trucks, crossovers and SUVs. With the top overall scores in both owner satisfaction and value, the Lexus LS placed highest of any 2009 model year vehicle.

Large and luxury vehicles dominated this year's results. The top 34 ranked cars, and 106 of the top 107, are large cars, luxury cars, sport utility vehicles, crossover SUVs or minivans. Only one small car, the BMW 1-Series, scored in the top 100, landing in the 35th slot. Toyota Prius is the next-highest-scoring small car, coming in 107th.

Awards are given for top-scoring vehicles scoring in each of twenty-three segments, as well as for the top-scoring brand. Nine manufacturers earned segment wins, led by Toyota with nine awards (including three for Lexus), followed by General Motors with six (Chevrolet 4, Cadillac 2), Honda with three, and Chrysler with two (Dodge 1, Jeep 1). Audi, Ford, Hyundai, Nissan and Volkswagen took top honors in one segment each.

The Motorist Choice Awards were co-developed by Tustin, Calif.-based AutoPacific, known for its owner satisfaction rankings, and Campbell, Calif.-based IntelliChoice.com, the online source for automotive ownership cost and value analysis, to recognize the vehicles that delivered both the highest customer satisfaction and the lowest cost of ownership. The awards combine AutoPacific's owner satisfaction data from new car and truck buyers with IntelliChoice.com's cost-of-ownership rating methodology to find and honor those vehicles that speak to both the hearts and wallets of car buyers.

"Automakers have long known that car buyers are looking for outstanding value, and want to be proud of the car they drive," said James Bell, publisher and editor of IntelliChoice.com. "This is data that helps consumers make purchase decisions. Every car winning a Motorist Choice Award is a defendable purchase, and their owners will be pleased, both financially and behind the wheel."

"Clearly, consumers still get great satisfaction from large and luxurious cars, despite the economy, rising fuel costs and manufacturers' focus on smaller vehicles," said George Peterson, president of AutoPacific. "The highest scoring cars in this survey are Premium Luxury Cars, Large Cars, Crossovers and SUVs, whether they're built in the U.S., Asia or Europe. This affinity for big vehicles makes the American market unique compared to the rest of the world."

  WINNERS
  The complete list of winners for the 2009 Motorist Choice Awards include:

  Top Brand                    Lexus

  SEGMENT                      WINNER
  Premium Luxury Car           Lexus LS
  Aspirational Luxury Car      Audi A5
  Large Car                    Cadillac DTS
                               Lincoln Town Car (TIE)
  Mid-Size Luxury Car          Lexus ES
  Premium Mid-Size Car         Toyota Camry
  Mid-Size Car                 Volkswagen Jetta
  Image Compact Car            Toyota Prius
  Compact Car                  Toyota Matrix
  Economy Car                  Honda Fit
  Sports Car                   Chevrolet Corvette
  Sporty Car                   Dodge Challenger

  Large Pickup                 Chevrolet Avalanche
  Compact Pickup               Nissan Frontier
  Minivan                      Honda Odyssey

  Premium Luxury SUV           Cadillac Escalade
  Large SUV                    Chevrolet Tahoe
  Large Crossover SUV          Chevrolet Traverse
  Luxury Crossover SUV         Lexus RX
  Premium Mid-Size
   Crossover SUV               Toyota Venza
  Premium Mid-Size SUV         Toyota 4Runner
  Mid-Size SUV                 Toyota FJ Cruiser
  Mid-Size Crossover SUV       Honda CR-V
  Compact Crossover SUV        Hyundai Tucson
                               Jeep Patriot (TIE)

  About IntelliChoice.com and Source Interlink Companies, Inc.

IntelliChoice.com, part of Source Interlink Media, LLC., is the market leader in automotive ownership cost and value analysis. Founded in 1986, IntelliChoice.com is committed to empowering consumers to make better purchase decisions by providing independent and essential automotive information and tools. Through the IntelliChoice.com web site (www.intellichoice.com), consumers get the help they need to research, compare, configure and price vehicles. The site also connects buyers to the buying alternatives of their choice, including vehicle manufacturers and an online car buying guide. Source Interlink Media LLC is a subsidiary of Source Interlink Companies, Inc., a recognized provider of targeted media and marketing services, a leading U.S. distributor of home entertainment products and services and one of the largest publishers of magazines and online content for enthusiast audiences.

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. Additional information can be found on AutoPacific's websites: http://www.autopacific.com/ and http://news.vehiclevoice.com/.