http://www.automotive.com/features/90/auto-news/20611

TUSTIN, Calif., May 17 /PRNewswire/ -- A study released today by noted automotive consulting firm AutoPacific, Inc. summarizes the results of its 2006 model year owner satisfaction research. AutoPacific's VSA (Vehicle Satisfaction Award) study is an industry benchmark for objectively measuring how satisfied an owner is with their new car or light truck.

The vehicle registering highest overall satisfaction in 2006 is the Lincoln Navigator Luxury SUV. The highest rated car is the new-for-2006 Hyundai flagship -- Hyundai Azera.

Unlike 2005, when Nissan North America had seven winners, the 2006 results are distributed across the industry. There are eighteen Vehicle Satisfaction Award categories. Honda won four categories, General Motors won three categories, Ford won three categories, Nissan won two categories, Hyundai won two categories, Mitsubishi won two categories.

Top 2006 model year performers are:

BRAND: --- Lexus

PASSENGER CARS:
Premium Luxury Car --- Lexus LS
Entry Luxury Car--- Cadillac CTS
Luxury/Large Car --- Hyundai Azera
Premium Mid-Size Car --- Volkswagen Passat
Mid-Size Car --- Mercury Milan
Image Compact Car --- MINI Cooper
Compact Car --- Honda Civic
Sports Car --- Chevrolet Corvette
Sporty Car --- Acura RSX

LIGHT TRUCKS:
Large Light-Duty Pickup --- Nissan Titan
Large Heavy-Duty Pickup --- Chevrolet Silverado HD
Sport Utility Truck --- Honda Ridgeline
Compact Pickup --- Mitsubishi Raider
Luxury Sport Utility --- Lincoln Navigator
Large Sport Utility --- Nissan Armada
Premium Mid-Size Sport Utility --- Mitsubishi Endeavor
Mid-Size Sport Utility --- Hyundai Santa Fe
Compact Sport Utility --- Suzuki Grand Vitara
Minivan --- Honda Odyssey

In addition to identifying segment winners, VSA also establishes numerical satisfaction ratings for virtually every passenger car and light truck in the North American market. This results from calculating owner satisfaction across 44 specific areas related to a vehicle's operation, comfort, safety and the overall purchase/lease experience. The 2006 ratings reflect input from buyers and lessees of new vehicles acquired September 2005 through January 2006.

AutoPacific releases VSA results yearly as a consumer and industry service. AutoPacific also offers a Satisfaction Benchmark Study (SBS) that analyzes, on a feature-by-feature basis, cars and trucks in the North American market. This study allows manufacturers and key suppliers to assess and compare their vehicles on a feature level with the best in the business. "We feel SBS is the best and most economical way for manufacturers and suppliers to rate their own performance, and find out who is setting the standard for satisfaction. It then takes the analysis to the discrete level, from cupholders to the dealership experience," says Peterson.

AutoPacific is a future-oriented automotive marketing and product-consulting firm. Every year it publishes a wide variety of syndicated studies on 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. To weigh in with comments concerning these results, you can comment on the VehicleVoice blog site.

 

I find it kind of odd that we are only halfway through 2006 and this study is already done. What did they do, only give surveys to people who bought 2006 model cars in the first 1 or 2 months of the year, then analyze the data? Seems weird.

 

im' sure the study started mid to late 2005, considering most, if not all 2006 models were released before the end of 2005.

 

Yes, I suppose that makes sense. My mind was thinking about when the '06 TSX came out (late fall/early winter). I still think they should have given the 06's more time though, since some models probably weren't out yet (or barely out) when they did the survey.

 

mitsu raider? what da hell is that?

 

mercury milan?? raider?? endeavor?? passat? and grandvitara?

they sell??

meh.

 

isn't that a bad guy from the star wars trilogy? I think luke skywalker was attacked by a mitsu raider, but ben kenobi saved him.

 

This survey is BS, imo. How long has the Azera really been out ?

 

The winning cars are always obscure models that all ten idiots that bought them happen to really love them for whatever silly reason.

But the Azera is nothing but great news for Hyundai. GM/Ford/Chrysler are really going to hate Hyundai's ascendancy.

 

hyundai started to sell azera aggressively only for about last 2-3 months. you can see azera commercial every time you watch the basketball on TNT. and i agree, it's little too early because even though hyundai sold 2700 azeras in april (which is 85% up from XG's number), still not enough buyers to claim this title.

 

Oh I am not questioning the Azera, I think its a great car and I'm sure the people love them. But 3 months on the market.. its hard to draw an accurate conclusion from that type of data imo...

 

i don't think this is a "comprehensive" survey like JD's initial quality or reliability.

It's just how many people are "satisfied" with different aspects of the car. I can usually tell if i'm satisfied or not with different features of a car after driving it a month or so.

it's probably all relative anyway...if someone who is used to driving high quality brands go to a hyundai, they probably wont' be satisfied with many things. But if someone is moving from a $15k car to a $30k car, they'll probably rank more satisfied.

So i'd just take it with a grain of salt.

 

AutoPacific Announces 2008 Vehicle Satisfaction Awards

Cadillac Top Brand, Mercedes-Benz S-Class Top Car, Toyota Sequoia Top Truck and Top Vehicle

TUSTIN, Calif., May 29 -- A study released today by noted automotive consulting firm AutoPacific, Inc. summarizes the results of its 2008 model year vehicle satisfaction research. AutoPacific's Vehicle Satisfaction Award (VSA) is an industry benchmark for objectively measuring how satisfied an owner is with their new passenger car or light truck.

In a year that promises to be the toughest in a decade, owner-based awards like AutoPacific's Vehicle Satisfaction Award will help customers make their purchase decisions.

The brand with the highest satisfaction rating is Cadillac. The vehicle -- car or truck -- registering highest overall satisfaction in 2008 is the new-for-2008 Toyota Sequoia Large Sport Utility Vehicle. The passenger car with the highest overall satisfaction score is the Mercedes-Benz S-Class.

There are twenty-eight Vehicle Satisfaction Award categories. At the manufacturer level, multiple top ranked award winners include: General Motors (eleven categories), Toyota (nine categories), Ford (six categories), Volkswagen (four categories), Honda (three categories) and Hyundai (two categories).

"Cadillac wins the Vehicle Satisfaction Award as the top brand in a close race. Strong satisfaction performance by Cadillac cars and trucks has Cadillac winning over other leading luxury marques including Lexus, Mercedes-Benz, and BMW" says AutoPacific president George Peterson. "Top ranked finishes by Cadillac's Escalade, CTS and DTS helped cement their industry topping position."

Peterson continues, "Vehicles that are all new received top rankings in several categories: Cadillac CTS, Honda Accord, Mitsubishi Lancer, Scion xD, Toyota Sequoia, Audi Q7, Buick Enclave, Hyundai Veracruz, GMC Acadia, Saturn Vue and Nissan Rogue. These new-for-2008 vehicles were strongly rated by their owners showing that the industry continues to improve as new vehicles are added to the hotly contested American car and light truck markets."

Top 2008 model year performers are:

BRAND: Cadillac

PASSENGER CARS:

Premium Luxury Car Mercedes-Benz S-Class
Aspirational Luxury Car Cadillac CTS
Large Luxury Car Cadillac DTS
Large Car Toyota Avalon/Ford Taurus
Luxury Mid-Size Car Lexus ES350
Premium Mid-Size Car Honda Accord
Mid-Size Car Volkswagen Jetta/Mercury Milan
Image Compact Car Chevrolet HHR/Volkswagen GTi
Compact Car Mitsubishi Lancer
Economy Car Scion xD
Premium Sports Car Audi TT
Sports Car Saturn Sky
Sporty Car Scion tC

LIGHT TRUCKS:

Large Light-Duty Pickup Cadillac Escalade EXT/Lincoln Mark LT
Large Heavy-Duty Pickup Chevrolet Silverado HD
Compact Pickup Ford Explorer Sport Trac/Honda Ridgeline
Luxury Sport Utility Cadillac Escalade/Cadillac Escalade ESV
Large Sport Utility Toyota Sequoia
Premium Mid-Size Sport Utility Ford Explorer
Mid-Size Sport Utility HUMMER H3/Kia Sorento
Compact SUV/Off-Road Vehicle Toyota FJ Cruiser
Premium Luxury Crossover SUV Audi Q7
Luxury Crossover SUV BMW X3/Acura RDX/Buick Enclave
Large Crossover SUV Hyundai Veracruz/GMC Acadia
Premium Mid-Size Crossover SUV Ford Edge/Suzuki XL-7
Mid-Size Crossover SUV Saturn Vue/Toyota RAV4
Compact Crossover SUV Nissan Rogue
Minivan Toyota Sienna

In addition to identifying category winners, VSA also establishes numerical satisfaction ratings for virtually every passenger car and light truck in the North American market. Owner satisfaction is measured across 46 specific areas related to a vehicle's operation, comfort, safety and the overall purchase/lease experience. The 2008 ratings reflect input from buyers and lessees of new vehicles acquired September through December 2007.

AutoPacific is a future-oriented automotive marketing and product-consulting firm. Every year AutoPacific publishes a wide variety of syndicated studies on 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/.

 

Wow. I guess if you create enough categories and enough classes, pretty much everything can win an award!!

It would have been easier for them to just list cars that didn't win anything.

 

I'm not a total automotive guru, but I've never heard of AutoPacific. And, as sl_33 pointed out, there are so many winners here that the results are all but worthless. Add to that the fact that they gave awards like Cadillac as the top brand, the Ford Taurus tied for best large car, and the Ford Explorer as "premium" mid-size SUV, and their credibility is shot.

 

2010 Suzuki Kizashi, Lincoln MKT Top Satisfaction Ratings

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.

 

AutoPacific Announces 2010 Vehicle Satisfaction Awards

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

 

Ew how'd the Kizashi win anything? That was a disappointment when I hopped into that thing. Good handing and that was about it. For $27,000 on the sticker?

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! No wonder its sales are haven't picked up yet.

 

there are rumors of a turbo'd kizashi coming out. It honestly is a really nice car sans the price tag

 

The MKT is one of the ugliest cars out there today. Eww.

 

Caddy and Buick at the top for brands

 

The Accord is a "Premium Mid-Size Car" and "Luxury Mid-Size Car" = Nissan Maxima??!

Remind me to ignore AutoPacific henceforth.

 

Yeah, I have a Maxima, and I've never heard it classified as a luxury mid-size sedan before ! I think Premium mid-size sedan is more accurate!

 

AutoPacific Announces 2011 Vehicle Satisfaction Awards

TUSTIN, Calif., May 19, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- AutoPacific today announced its 15th annual Vehicle Satisfaction Awards (VSA) to help consumers make informed vehicle purchase decisions.

Carmakers are constantly improving their products and relationships with their customers. They communicate their success by citing the satisfaction of their owners. "Proof of satisfied customers is as good as gold," says George Peterson, president of AutoPacific. "We've found that more than 1/3 of new car buyers are positively influenced by objective awards based on owner ratings 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 vehicle. This study by the Southern California-based automotive research firm summarizes the results of over 68,000 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 2011 is the Cadillac Escalade Luxury SUV. The car with the highest overall satisfaction score is the Mercedes-Benz S-Class.

At the manufacturer level, multiple top-ranked award winners are: Ford with 7 wins; Toyota with 4 wins; and General Motors and Hyundai with 3 wins.

"While the economy is strengthening, new vehicle buyers continue to be especially careful in selecting the perfect vehicle for their needs. AutoPacific's Vehicle Satisfaction Award will help this year's customers sort through the 262 car and truck nameplates presently available in the United States. A wise purchase decision is like money in the bank," says Peterson.

Top 2011 model year performers are:

HIGHEST SATISFACTION PREMIUM BRAND:
Lincoln

HIGHEST SATISFACTION POPULAR BRAND:
Chrysler

PASSENGER CARS:

Premium Luxury Car
Mercedes-Benz S-Class

Aspirational Luxury Car
Hyundai Genesis

Luxury Mid-Size Car
Lincoln MKZ

Large Car
Ford Taurus and Toyota Avalon (tie)

Premium Mid-Size Car
Hyundai Sonata

Mid-Size Car
Suzuki Kizashi

Premium Compact Car
Volvo C30/S40/V50

Compact Car
Hyundai Elantra

Economy Car
Honda Fit

Sports Car
Porsche 911

Sporty Car
Scion tC

Hybrid Car
Lincoln MKZ Hybrid


LIGHT TRUCKS:

Heavy Duty Pickup
Ford F-Series Super Duty

Large Light Duty Pickup
Chevrolet Avalanche

Compact Pickup
Honda Ridgeline

Luxury Sport Utility Vehicle
Cadillac Escalade

Large Sport Utility Vehicle
GMC Yukon

Premium Mid-Size Sport Utility Vehicle
Jeep Grand Cherokee

Premium Luxury Crossover SUV
Lincoln MKT

Luxury Crossover SUV
Lexus RX

Large Crossover SUV
Ford Flex

Premium Mid-Size Crossover SUV
Ford Explorer

Mid-Size Crossover SUV
Mitsubishi Outlander

Compact Crossover SUV
Kia Sportage

Minivan
Chrysler Town & Country

Hybrid Truck
Lexus RX450h Hybrid

AutoPacific is a future-oriented automotive marketing and product-consulting firm. Every year AutoPacific publishes a wide variety of syndicated studies on the automotive industry. The firm also conducts extensive proprietary research and consulting for auto manufacturers, distributors, marketers and suppliers worldwide. Company headquarters are in Tustin, California, with an affiliate office in the Detroit area.

Additional information can be found on AutoPacific's websites: AutoPacific - AutoPacific: Research & Forecasting for the Auto Industry and VehicleVoice -.

 

Biker, who thinks his own "industry benchmark" is about as valid.