Why Are The German Big Guns MIA in The Motorist Choice Awards?

General Motors and Toyota raked in most of the accolades as Intellichoice.com and AutoPacific joined forces to release the 2007 Motorist Choice Awards.

Of the 25 vehicle segments, Toyota units were named the winner in eight different categories. The nameplate's haul of honors included the top overall winner — the Lexus LS. Other Toyota vehicles on the awards' list were the Tacoma, FJ Cruiser, Avalon, 4Runner and Lexus IS and SC and Scion tC.

GM claimed the top spot in five vehicle segments. The Chevrolet Silverado 1500 was tapped as best in both light-duty and heavy-duty pickup categories, while the GMC Yukon XL rose to the top among SUVs and crossovers. Chevrolet's HHR also led the compact crossover SUV segment.

Special notice was given to GM's other honoree, the Cadillac DTS, which topped the listing for large luxury cars.

"Those who monitor the industry closely are probably not surprised by the performance of the Cadillac DTS," explained George Peterson, president of AutoPacific.

"Across all segments, the DTS came in a close second to the overall winner Lexus LS, and it was the top ranked vehicle overall in AutoPacific's recently announced Vehicle Satisfaction Awards. It's a car that can definitely challenge the other elite brands," Peterson continued.

The top-performing minivan award went to the Honda Odyssey, which was one of four honors for the nameplate. Other Honda vehicles that topped a segment were the Fit among economy cars, the CR-V among midsize crossover SUVs, and the Acura MDX among luxury crossover SUVs.

Nissan was right behind Honda with three award-winning vehicles. Its honors included the Maxima among luxury midsize cars, the Altima among premium midsize cars and the Murano among midsize crossover SUVs.

Volkswagen was the only other OEM with more than one vehicle on the awards list. VW units honored were the GTI in the image compact car segment and the Jetta in the midsize car segment.

While the report listed only one vehicle per segment, Peterson noted a host of other vehicles that scored quite well in the award study. Those units included the Lexus GS, RX, Lincoln Town Car, Chevrolet Tahoe, Suburban, Mercedes-Benz E-Class, S-Class, GL450, Acura RL, BMW 5-Series, 7-Series and Hyundai Azera.

Officials said the Motorist Choice Awards recognized vehicles that generated the highest customer satisfaction while having the lowest cost of ownership. AutoPacific explained that it took its owner satisfaction data and combined it with Intellichoice's cost of ownership ratings to create the awards list.