Study Indicates Americans Are Clearly Still In Love With Big Luxury Cars

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 Aspirational Luxury Car Large Car Mid-Size Luxury Car Premium Mid-Size Car Mid-Size Car Image Compact Car Compact Car Economy Car Sports Car Sporty Car Large Pickup Compact Pickup Minivan Premium Luxury SUV Large SUV Large Crossover SUV Luxury Crossover SUV Premium Mid-Size Crossover SUV Premium Mid-Size SUV Mid-Size SUV Mid-Size Crossover SUV Compact Crossover SUV	Lexus LS Audi A5 Cadillac DTS Lincoln Town Car (TIE) Lexus ES Toyota Camry Volkswagen Jetta Toyota Prius Toyota Matrix Honda Fit Chevrolet Corvette Dodge Challenger Chevrolet Avalanche Nissan Frontier Honda Odyssey Cadillac Escalade Chevrolet Avalanche Chevrolet Traverse Lexus RX Toyota Venza Toyota 4Runner Toyota FJ Cruiser Honda CR-V Hyundai Tucson Jeep Patriot (TIE)

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STJ88 - 8/12/2009 11:51:13 AM

+4 Boost

Some body should tell that to Acura! Because they thing RWD and V8 is dead.

Designer1 - 8/12/2009 11:56:50 AM

+4 Boost

Acura is dead actually, and you're right they need to stop whatever they're smoking.

Deutschland - 8/12/2009 12:03:58 PM

+1 Boost

Of course Lexus wins a lot of these segments because people view them as affordable and not apirational like they view German cars. Lexus is the car of the people.

Agent009 - 8/12/2009 1:58:34 PM

-2 Boost

And they may be part of their problem.

DinamoR - 8/12/2009 6:44:30 PM

+5 Boost

pretty funny how some still live in 1989.

Lexus is the #1 premium brand. Audi is the aspirational luxury car.

Mercedes has fallen sharply.

XYZZ - 8/14/2009 4:57:29 AM

+1 Boost

people may ASPIRE to problem prone but stylish Audis, but when they've actually ARRIVED and have the money, their first choice to OWN are Lexuses.

Joe_Limon - 8/12/2009 12:09:14 PM

+2 Boost

"Image Compact Car" lolol

Joe_Limon - 8/12/2009 12:29:04 PM

+1 Boost

Also, I live in a very hick part of the world where half of the vehicles on the road are trucks. I don't think I have yet seen a Nissan Frontier on the road.

XYZZ - 8/14/2009 5:05:29 AM

+1 Boost

hmmm. i presume what you see more of, are TOYOTA trucks? where mechanics are few and far between, those are the vehicles of choice.

this is true in the 'hick' parts of alaska, as well as most of the 3rd world.

Caraficionado - 8/12/2009 1:26:51 PM

+8 Boost

I can't believe the Town Car still has followers

pennfootball - 8/12/2009 1:54:52 PM

+6 Boost

no one wants a town car, a Cadillac maybe, my one friend named Monkey bought a used DTS one year old car with 14,000 miles for 27,000. He has issues though and is one of those weird people that will only buy American at all costs. Those guys won't even drive a foreign car so they have no frame of reference. Sad really to live your life in the dark devoid of the European giants like Ferrari, to never have the passion of a flogging a Subaru WRX into a corner, or wringing out a Honda S2000 at 8500 RPM. I would die if this ever happened to me.

SpicyMikey - 8/12/2009 1:57:53 PM

-1 Boost

Lexus ES wins the midsize lux category? I never know what to take away from these lists. For what it's worth, here's a description of this ranking:

A unique partnership between two established and respected automotive industry research firms - IntelliChoice and AutoPacific.

Winning vehicles are identified by merging owner satisfaction data from AutoPacific's survey of new car and light truck buyers and IntelliChoice's empirical Cost of Ownership data. The result is a new measurement - one that represents vehicle ownership satisfaction and overall ownership costs.

XYZZ - 8/14/2009 5:12:34 AM

+1 Boost

why not? i have yet to see a new ES on the street. (the closest lexus dealer is 360 miles away; i have seen a few older models that've migrated up).

but from the commercials, the ES is the most beautiful car in its class. all the german brands, STUCK with having to keep their traditional "signature" styling cues, look OLD FASHIONED and DATED.

americans have less respect for old, established names, and prefer MODERN, STYLISH cars. toyota/lexus bulletproof reliability is also highly desired, by those with no time to waste in service departments.

XYZZ - 8/14/2009 5:22:42 AM

+1 Boost

"... to recognize the vehicles that delivered both the highest customer satisfaction and the lowest cost of ownership."


on these metrics, the japanese do have a decided advantage. when your cars rarely or never break, costs are minimal, satisfaction high.

pennfootball - 8/12/2009 2:00:11 PM

-5 Boost

Dream "Big" Car...Maserati Quattroporte S anything else is irrelevant! Even a big Bentley won't be as fun to drive, a Mercedes AMG too generic, a BMW to hard to change a radio station, a Jaguar too boring and a Lexus too much like a big Camry.

rxh8me9000 - 8/12/2009 3:39:34 PM

+2 Boost

Hmm, I didnt know a lot of these cars still sell. The town car outsold other cars to win the large car award? The FJ cruiser? Doesnt sound right to me.

Denali - 8/12/2009 5:15:56 PM

+1 Boost

can i see the runners up?

Deutschland - 8/12/2009 6:05:08 PM

-2 Boost

"Everybody got PWNED by Toyota and Lexus. Hell yeah!"

Of course because Lexus is the car of the people it isn't high end.

DinamoR - 8/12/2009 6:45:15 PM

0 Boost

not high end?? i want some of what your smoking. by the way, the LF-A will blow away the SLR McLaren.

bfghemicuda - 8/12/2009 8:56:21 PM

+4 Boost

I can't believe the Avalanche made it twice. Somebody did'nt count right.

XYZZ - 8/14/2009 5:29:08 AM

+2 Boost

yet toyota by itself, got as many awards as all of GM, with its multiple brands. add lexus, and they score an additional 50% more.