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2006 Ideal Vehicle AwardsJune 14, 2006  Tustin, California, June 14, 2006 – An “ideal” is defined as an excellent or perfect example. In the first Ideal Vehicle Awards, announced today by automotive research and consulting firm AutoPacific, owners rate their new 2006 model year cars and trucks by how closely they come to their ideal. The cars or trucks that owners would change the least are the most ideal. Those carmakers that best understand their customers and create the vehicle their core buyer group desires have come closest to the ideal. The top-rated vehicle and top-rated car is the Mercury Montego in the Large Car/Luxury Car category. In fact, Ford Motor Company sweeps the first three positions overall with the Ford Crown Victoria and Ford Five Hundred in second and third place. The top-rated truck is the Honda Odyssey Minivan. The top-rated brand overall is Hyundai out-pointing Mercury and Lincoln for the most ideal vehicle honors. Ford Motor Company and American Honda have three segment winners apiece. BMW and Hyundai have two each. Of the sixteen Ideal Vehicle Award (IVA) categories, Japanese brands have seven segment winners, American brands have four, European brands have three and Korean brands have two winners. The top-rated product segment is Large Car/Luxury Car confirming that Americans continue to value large, comfortable cars suitable for suburban and highway cruising. Top-rated 2006 Ideal Vehicle brand: Hyundai Top-rated 2006 Ideal Product Segment: Large Car/Luxury Car Top rated 2006 Ideal Vehicles by segment: PASSENGER CARS: Premium Luxury Car Lexus LS Entry Luxury Car BMW 3-Series Large Car/Luxury Car Mercury Montego Premium Mid-Size Car Hyundai Sonata Mid-Size Car Mercury Milan Image Compact Car Toyota Prius Compact Car Ford Focus Sports Car Porsche 911 Sporty Car Acura RSX SUT, SUV, and MINIVAN: Sport Utility Truck Honda Ridgeline Luxury Sport Utility BMW X-5 Large Sport Utility GMC Yukon Premium Mid-Size Sport Utility Nissan Murano Mid-Size Sport Utility Hyundai Santa Fe Compact Sport Utility Subaru Forester Minivan Honda Odyssey In addition to identifying segment winners, IVA also establishes numerical ideal vehicle ratings for virtually every passenger car and light truck (except pickups) in the United States market. This results from calculating owner input across 11 specific areas related to a vehicle's exterior size, passenger roominess, cargo space, driver’s seat comfort, drivers seat visibility, interior technology, power, ease of getting in and out, interior storage compartments and tires and wheels. The 2006 ratings reflect input from buyers and lessees of new vehicles acquired September 2005 through January 2006. Pickup trucks are not incorporated because of numerous body styles included within each pickup line. AutoPacific is a future-oriented automotive marketing and product-consulting firm. Every year it publishes a wide variety of syndicated studies for the automotive industry. The firm also conducts extensive proprietary research and consulting for auto manufacturers, distributors, marketers and suppliers worldwide. Company headquarters and its state-of-the-art automotive research facility are in Tustin, California, with an affiliate office in the Detroit area. Additional information can be found on AutoPacific's websites: http://www.autopacific.com and http://blog.vehiclevoice.com. CONTACT: George Peterson or Dan Hall @ AutoPacific, 714.838.4234 |
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