Total Car Score Ranks the Top 10 Best Car Brands for 2012

Auto Industry Ranking of Car Makers based on Total Car Score of entire model range

Infiniti tops list - Kia and Chrysler most improved from 2011

LOS ANGELES--June 12, 2012: Total Car Score (www.totalcarscore.com), the most comprehensive automotive ranking and comparison website, announced today the Top Scoring Manufacturers of 2012.

These Top Scoring car companies in the automobile industry have at least four widely available models on the market for the 2012 model year. The manufacturer's score is based on the average Total Car Score for every model within the manufacturer's product line up.

"Total Car Score's list of the Top 10 Best Car Brands for 2012 is based on numerical ratings for 2012 model year vehicles currently on the market. The list provides a data-driven assessment of which automakers are producing the most desirable, highest quality cars, crossovers, SUVs and pickup trucks," said Karl Brauer, editor in chief, founder and CEO of Total Car Score. "With the economy and car sales on the rebound, this is a transitional year for the automotive industry. Our analysis provides an overall perspective of how automakers are fairing at this unique point in time. We performed the analysis and created the rankings because we wanted to highlight the state of the automotive industry in such a critical year."

Infiniti and Mercedes-Benz Top the Automotive Industry List
Infiniti earned the top spot on the list with seven models averaging a Total Car Score of 82.09. That is 2.2 points higher than the average vehicle score for Infiniti's 2011 model lineup. Mercedes- Benz followed closely with 17 models earning an average Total Car Score of 81.82. In terms of year-over-year improvement, Kia had the biggest increase in manufacturer score from 2011, with a jump of 3.76 points, followed by Chrysler's increase of 3.71 points.

"The extremely close scores between the top 10 ranked auto manufacturers show just how competitive the industry has become," said Brauer. "The 11th and 12th ranked brands, Subaru and Hyundai, were less than one point behind Chrysler, BMW and Kia, the automakers ranked 8th, 9th and 10th and, perhaps more dramatically, less than three points behind top-ranked Infiniti."

"It's interesting to see Buick and Chrysler in the top 10, as the future of both brands was in doubt just a few years ago. This reflects how far the domestic auto industry has come in a short time," Brauer added.

Top 10 Best Car Brands for 2012

Total Car Score's manufacturer rankings follow on the site's recent Top Scoring Car awards of 2012, which featured Ford, Honda and Hyundai cars ranking first in multiple categories for specific models. While the Top Scoring Car awards of 2012 highlighted individual models, the list of Top 10 Best Car Brands for 2012 focuses on the strength of a brand's overall product range.

Total Car Score's Auto Ranking Methodology
Recently dubbed the "Rotten Tomatoes of car review sites" by Forbes, Total Car Score aims to make car buying easier by providing a high-level, industry assessment of a vehicle in an easy-to-use format. Total Car Score evaluates vehicles by utilizing ratings from the top automotive authorities and converting those ratings into a simple percentage.

When ranking the automakers for 2012, Total Car Score considered only those brands with validated Total Car Scores on at least 50 percent of available models.

About Total Car Score
Total Car Score is an automotive research and comparison website that establishes a new industry-wide standard for ranking every car, truck, van and crossover on the market. TotalCarScore.com evaluates and ranks cars according to an aggregate score based on the most trusted automotive authorities available. The site also features original content, reviews and insights from a veteran automotive journalism and data team. For more information, please go to TotalCarScore