TrueCar.com Releases November Grades for Manufacturers and Brands

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SANTA MONICA, Calif., Dec. 15, 2010 -- TrueCar.com, the authority in new car pricing, trends and forecasting, today released its scorecard for automotive manufacturers and brands. The full report, which is available tomorrow, is in TrueCar.com's monthly TrueTrends report. The performance scorecards grade each manufacturer and brand on eight different measurements including pricing, sales, incentives, customer loyalty, market share and days in inventory data.

Overall, the top four manufacturers are European with Porsche, BMW, Daimler and Jaguar Land Rover graded the highest in November. Near the bottom of the list are Mazda, Saab and Mitsubishi. Among the brands that received the highest grades are Audi, Porsche and Land Rover while Mazda had the only failing grade.

The biggest gainers among manufacturers, from October 2010 to November 2010, were:

• Daimler moving from a C+ to an A
• Suzuki moving from a D+ to a B+

The biggest decliners among manufacturers, from October 2010 to November 2010, were:

• Mazda moving from a D- to an F
• Toyota moving from a B- to a C-

"Lower incentive spending and strong transaction prices helped Daimler experience one of the greatest gains in November whereas Porsche claimed the top spot based on an all-around strong performance," said Jesse Toprak, VP of Industry Trends and Insights at TrueCar.com. "Toyota's grade decline came from their sub-par retail sales performance, which is still being affected by the recalls."

Below are the Top Three Highest and Lowest Manufacturer and Brand Rankings by TrueCar.com: