2011 AutoPacific Vehicle Satisfaction Awards (updated)
05-24-10, 05:21 AM
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2011 AutoPacific Vehicle Satisfaction Awards (updated)
The annual vehicle satisfaction study from California-based market-research firm AutoPacific places two new-for-2010 models at the top: the 2010 Suzuki Kizashi and the 2010 Lincoln MKT.
The Kizashi was the highest-rated vehicle overall in the 14th Annual Vehicle Satisfaction Awards.
"This is an amazing win for Suzuki," said George Peterson, AutoPacific's president, in a release. "The Kizashi is Suzuki's most important vehicle, and this performance in our research is exceptional."
This is indeed good news for Suzuki, as the brand has been facing dealership service issues in recent years. In the latest J.D. Power Customer Satisfaction Index (CSI), an annual measure of dealer service performance over three years of ownership, the automaker ranked at the bottom, among all brands. But Suzuki has made gains in Power's Sales Satisfaction Index (SSI) and now ranks mid-pack—an indicator that the automaker has made some substantial changes at the dealership level.
The 2010 Lincoln MKT was the highest-rated vehicle among trucks and SUVs in AutoPacific's annual satisfaction measure.
Vehicles are rated in 48 different categories that pertain to various areas of the ownership experience, and overall results are based on the research firm's polling of more than 42,000 new-vehicle owners during the first few months of ownership.
AutoPacific divides vehicles into a total of 27 different vehicle segments—such as 'luxury mid-size car,' or 'premium mid-size crossover SUV'—and a winner was named for each of these. Ford had the most segment winners, followed by Toyota, GM, Honda, and Nissan.
Other new-for-2010 models that ranked at the top of their segments included the Chevrolet Camaro, Mercury Milan Hybrid, Volkswagen GTI, and Toyota 4Runner.
On a brand basis, Buick was the popular brand with the highest satisfaction while Cadillac came out on top among premium brands.
The Kizashi was the highest-rated vehicle overall in the 14th Annual Vehicle Satisfaction Awards.
"This is an amazing win for Suzuki," said George Peterson, AutoPacific's president, in a release. "The Kizashi is Suzuki's most important vehicle, and this performance in our research is exceptional."
This is indeed good news for Suzuki, as the brand has been facing dealership service issues in recent years. In the latest J.D. Power Customer Satisfaction Index (CSI), an annual measure of dealer service performance over three years of ownership, the automaker ranked at the bottom, among all brands. But Suzuki has made gains in Power's Sales Satisfaction Index (SSI) and now ranks mid-pack—an indicator that the automaker has made some substantial changes at the dealership level.
The 2010 Lincoln MKT was the highest-rated vehicle among trucks and SUVs in AutoPacific's annual satisfaction measure.
Vehicles are rated in 48 different categories that pertain to various areas of the ownership experience, and overall results are based on the research firm's polling of more than 42,000 new-vehicle owners during the first few months of ownership.
AutoPacific divides vehicles into a total of 27 different vehicle segments—such as 'luxury mid-size car,' or 'premium mid-size crossover SUV'—and a winner was named for each of these. Ford had the most segment winners, followed by Toyota, GM, Honda, and Nissan.
Other new-for-2010 models that ranked at the top of their segments included the Chevrolet Camaro, Mercury Milan Hybrid, Volkswagen GTI, and Toyota 4Runner.
On a brand basis, Buick was the popular brand with the highest satisfaction while Cadillac came out on top among premium brands.
05-24-10, 05:30 AM
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Winners
TUSTIN, Calif. (May 20, 2010) –AutoPacific today announced its 14th Annual Vehicle Satisfaction Awards (VSA) to help consumers make informed vehicle purchase decisions.
“While the auto industry is showing signs of improvement, more than ever before, manufacturers need to be able to differentiate themselves. Proof of satisfied customers is as good as gold,” says George Peterson, president of AutoPacific. “We’ve found that more than 25% of new car buyers are positively influenced by owner-based awards like the VSA when deciding on a new car or truck.”
AutoPacific's Vehicle Satisfaction Award is an industry benchmark for measuring how satisfied an owner is with his/her new car or light truck. This study by the Southern California-based automotive research firm summarizes the results of over 42,000 new vehicle owners.
“Vehicles that score highest in the Vehicle Satisfaction Awards are delivering value and satisfaction across a wide range of attributes,” says Peterson. “The winners perform well in 48 separate categories that objectively measure the ownership experience.”
The vehicle - car or truck - registering highest overall satisfaction in 2010 is the all new Suzuki Kizashi. The Kizashi scored 99 points above the industry average to place first among all 2010-model year vehicles in AutoPacific’s survey. “This is an amazing win for Suzuki,” said Peterson, “The Kizashi is Suzuki’s most important vehicle, and this performance in our research is exceptional.” The truck or SUV with the highest overall satisfaction score is the Lincoln MKT, scoring 94 points above industry average.
At the manufacturer level, multiple top-ranked award winners are: Ford with seven wins, Toyota with four wins, and General Motors, Honda and Nissan with three wins each.
“As we cautiously emerge from this economic crisis, new vehicle buyers are being especially careful, and the data we’ve analyzed for the Vehicle Satisfaction Award will help this year’s customers make wise purchase decisions,” says Peterson.
Top 2010 model year performers are:
HIGHEST SATISFACTION PREMIUM BRAND: Cadillac
HIGHEST SATISFACTION POPULAR BRAND: Buick
PASSENGER CARS:
Premium Luxury Car: Lexus LS
Aspirational Luxury Car: Hyundai Genesis
Luxury Mid-Size Car: Nissan Maxima
Large Car: Ford Taurus
Premium Mid-Size Car: Honda Accord
Mid-Size Car: Suzuki Kizashi
Premium Compact Car: Volkswagen GTI
Compact Car: Nissan Cube
Economy Car: Honda Fit
Sports Car: Porsche 911
Sporty Car: Chevrolet Camaro
Hybrid Car: Mercury Milan Hybrid
LIGHT TRUCKS:
Heavy Duty Pickup: Dodge Ram HD
Large Light Duty Pickup: Ford F-150
Compact Pickup: Honda Ridgeline
Luxury Sport Utility: Cadillac Escalade
Large Sport Utility: Ford Expedition
Premium Mid-Size Sport Utility: Nissan Pathfinder/Toyota 4Runner
Mid-Size Sport Utility: Dodge Nitro
Premium Luxury Crossover: Lincoln MKT
Luxury Crossover SUV: Lexus RX
Large Crossover SUV: GMC Acadia
Premium Mid-Size Crossover SUV: Ford Edge
Mid-Size Crossover SUV: Ford Escape
Compact Crossover SUV: Hyundai Tucson
Minivan: Honda Odyssey
Hybrid Truck: Lexus RX400h Hybrid
05-24-10, 07:57 AM
#4
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Thread Starter
List
PASSENGER CARS:
Premium Luxury Car: Lexus LS
Aspirational Luxury Car: Hyundai Genesis
Luxury Mid-Size Car: Nissan Maxima
Large Car: Ford Taurus
Premium Mid-Size Car: Honda Accord
Mid-Size Car: Suzuki Kizashi
Premium Compact Car: Volkswagen GTI
Compact Car: Nissan Cube
Economy Car: Honda Fit
Sports Car: Porsche 911
Sporty Car: Chevrolet Camaro
Hybrid Car: Mercury Milan Hybrid
LIGHT TRUCKS:
Heavy Duty Pickup: Dodge Ram HD
Large Light Duty Pickup: Ford F-150
Compact Pickup: Honda Ridgeline
Luxury Sport Utility: Cadillac Escalade
Large Sport Utility: Ford Expedition
Premium Mid-Size Sport Utility: Nissan Pathfinder/Toyota 4Runner
Mid-Size Sport Utility: Dodge Nitro
Premium Luxury Crossover: Lincoln MKT
Luxury Crossover SUV: Lexus RX
Large Crossover SUV: GMC Acadia
Premium Mid-Size Crossover SUV: Ford Edge
Mid-Size Crossover SUV: Ford Escape
Compact Crossover SUV: Hyundai Tucson
Minivan: Honda Odyssey
Hybrid Truck: Lexus RX400h Hybrid
Premium Luxury Car: Lexus LS
Aspirational Luxury Car: Hyundai Genesis
Luxury Mid-Size Car: Nissan Maxima
Large Car: Ford Taurus
Premium Mid-Size Car: Honda Accord
Mid-Size Car: Suzuki Kizashi
Premium Compact Car: Volkswagen GTI
Compact Car: Nissan Cube
Economy Car: Honda Fit
Sports Car: Porsche 911
Sporty Car: Chevrolet Camaro
Hybrid Car: Mercury Milan Hybrid
LIGHT TRUCKS:
Heavy Duty Pickup: Dodge Ram HD
Large Light Duty Pickup: Ford F-150
Compact Pickup: Honda Ridgeline
Luxury Sport Utility: Cadillac Escalade
Large Sport Utility: Ford Expedition
Premium Mid-Size Sport Utility: Nissan Pathfinder/Toyota 4Runner
Mid-Size Sport Utility: Dodge Nitro
Premium Luxury Crossover: Lincoln MKT
Luxury Crossover SUV: Lexus RX
Large Crossover SUV: GMC Acadia
Premium Mid-Size Crossover SUV: Ford Edge
Mid-Size Crossover SUV: Ford Escape
Compact Crossover SUV: Hyundai Tucson
Minivan: Honda Odyssey
Hybrid Truck: Lexus RX400h Hybrid
05-24-10, 08:22 AM
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They are all on the list as well:
PASSENGER CARS:
Premium Luxury Car: Lexus LS
Aspirational Luxury Car: Hyundai Genesis
Luxury Mid-Size Car: Nissan Maxima
Large Car: Ford Taurus
Premium Mid-Size Car: Honda Accord
Mid-Size Car: Suzuki Kizashi
Premium Compact Car: Volkswagen GTI
Compact Car: Nissan Cube
Economy Car: Honda Fit
Sports Car: Porsche 911
Sporty Car: Chevrolet Camaro
Hybrid Car: Mercury Milan Hybrid
LIGHT TRUCKS:
Heavy Duty Pickup: Dodge Ram HD
Large Light Duty Pickup: Ford F-150
Compact Pickup: Honda Ridgeline
Luxury Sport Utility: Cadillac Escalade
Large Sport Utility: Ford Expedition
Premium Mid-Size Sport Utility: Nissan Pathfinder/Toyota 4Runner
Mid-Size Sport Utility: Dodge Nitro
Premium Luxury Crossover: Lincoln MKT
Luxury Crossover SUV: Lexus RX
Large Crossover SUV: GMC Acadia
Premium Mid-Size Crossover SUV: Ford Edge
Mid-Size Crossover SUV: Ford Escape
Compact Crossover SUV: Hyundai Tucson
Minivan: Honda Odyssey
Hybrid Truck: Lexus RX400h Hybrid
Premium Luxury Car: Lexus LS
Aspirational Luxury Car: Hyundai Genesis
Luxury Mid-Size Car: Nissan Maxima
Large Car: Ford Taurus
Premium Mid-Size Car: Honda Accord
Mid-Size Car: Suzuki Kizashi
Premium Compact Car: Volkswagen GTI
Compact Car: Nissan Cube
Economy Car: Honda Fit
Sports Car: Porsche 911
Sporty Car: Chevrolet Camaro
Hybrid Car: Mercury Milan Hybrid
LIGHT TRUCKS:
Heavy Duty Pickup: Dodge Ram HD
Large Light Duty Pickup: Ford F-150
Compact Pickup: Honda Ridgeline
Luxury Sport Utility: Cadillac Escalade
Large Sport Utility: Ford Expedition
Premium Mid-Size Sport Utility: Nissan Pathfinder/Toyota 4Runner
Mid-Size Sport Utility: Dodge Nitro
Premium Luxury Crossover: Lincoln MKT
Luxury Crossover SUV: Lexus RX
Large Crossover SUV: GMC Acadia
Premium Mid-Size Crossover SUV: Ford Edge
Mid-Size Crossover SUV: Ford Escape
Compact Crossover SUV: Hyundai Tucson
Minivan: Honda Odyssey
Hybrid Truck: Lexus RX400h Hybrid
I would though the GS/5series/Eclass is luxury. I don't know Maxima is consider luxury. Hmm .. how time change
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05-24-10, 04:23 PM
#9
Lexus Fanatic
We have had several discussions and opinions on CAR CHAT, in the past, about the competence and the relevence/accuracy of AutoPacific's data. No need to rehash it again here.
Having said that, though, there is at least some reason to give the Kizashi a high rating like that. It is clearly a well-designed, well-built compact car, and is probably Suzuki's best effort yet in the American market (several recent Suzuki vehicles were merely rebadged/redone Daewoos). Suzuki's biggest problem (and this is not the car's fault) seems to be simply too few auto dealerships for a country as large as the U.S., although its motorcycle-dealer network is better-equipped.
Having said that, though, there is at least some reason to give the Kizashi a high rating like that. It is clearly a well-designed, well-built compact car, and is probably Suzuki's best effort yet in the American market (several recent Suzuki vehicles were merely rebadged/redone Daewoos). Suzuki's biggest problem (and this is not the car's fault) seems to be simply too few auto dealerships for a country as large as the U.S., although its motorcycle-dealer network is better-equipped.
05-25-10, 08:31 AM
#14
Lexus Fanatic
05-25-10, 09:00 AM
#15
Lexus Champion
In addition to the looks, I wonder if pricing is an issue. IIRC some of these things can go over $50k pretty fast with options. That puts it in the ballpark with some tough competition.