VW:
Posted by George Peterson on July 30, 2012 at 1:01 pm
AutoPacific’s Ideal Vehicle Award (IVA) recognizes the vehicle that best hits the target its buyers demand. Winning an IVA shows the product planners, engineers and designers of the manufacturer understand what their target customers want and have created the vehicle to best meet their demands.
Passat Edges Out Kia Optima for IVA Win: The all-new 2012 Volkswagen Passat comes closest to the ideal of any Premium Mid-Size Car. The Passat edges out the Kia Optima by six points to win its class. Having eighty-percent or more of owners rating a characteristic ideal is outstanding. Achieving a score of ninety-percent is even more impressive. Ninety-percent or more of Passat owners rate these characteristics ideal: exterior size, passenger roominess and cargo space. Each of these is a size- or space-related attribute showing that Volkswagen aimed the Passat directly at the sweet spot Americans love – lots of space. Eighty-percent or more of Passat owners find these additional characteristics ideal: interior lighting, wheels, driver’s seat comfort, ride and handling, power and acceleration and safety features.
The Volkswagen Passat also was Best In Class in AutoPacific’s 2012 Vehicle Satisfaction Award research.
A Few Shortfalls – Some Could Have Been Corrected by Selecting Available Options: About 32% want more or better infotainment and entertainment technology. About 30% want the Passat to be easier to get into and out of. About 30% want more interior storage compartments than now. About 26% want more daring exterior styling than the Passat presently has. About 26% want more power and acceleration. While the visibility from the Passat is pretty good, 21% of its owners want better driver’s seat visibility.
You can find an Autobytel review of this IVA award winner at http://www.autobytel.com/auto-news/awards/consumer-s-ideal-cars-revealed-in-2012-iva-awards-112116/
For a complete summary of all AutoPacific 2012 Ideal Vehicle Award results contact karin.turner@vehiclevoice.com and title your email “IVA Results”. A copy of the results will be emailed to you within 48-hours.
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Posted by George Peterson on July 30, 2012 at 12:58 pm
AutoPacific’s Ideal Vehicle Award (IVA) recognizes the vehicle that best hits the target its buyers demand. Winning an IVA shows the product planners, engineers and designers of the manufacturer understand what their target customers want and have created the vehicle to best meet their demands.
Golf Edges Kia Forte for IVA Win: The 2012 Volkswagen Golf comes closest to the ideal of any Compact Car. The Golf edges out the second place Kia Forte by 21 rating points to win this highly competitive class. Having eighty-percent or more of owners rating a characteristic ideal is outstanding. Achieving a score of ninety-percent is even more impressive. Ninety-percent or more of Golf owners rate exterior size, interior lighting, passenger roominess, exterior styling, driver’s seat comfort, ride and handling and safety features ideal. Eighty-percent or more of Golf owners find these additional characteristics ideal: cargo space, wheels and tires.
A Few Shortfalls – Most are Related to Size and Style, but Infotainment can be Improved. About 35% of Golf owners want the car to be easier to get into and out of. Going hand-in-hand with ingress/egress, about 26% of the owners want better driver’s seat visibility. This may be due to the Golf’s high mix of 3-door hatchbacks that have a longer door, tougher rear seat access and a thick C-Pillar restricting visibility. About 32% want more interior storage compartments. While 20% want better infotainment technology, about 12% want the technology in the car to be easier to use.
You can find an Autobytel review of this IVA award winner at http://www.autobytel.com/auto-news/awards/consumer-s-ideal-cars-revealed-in-2012-iva-awards-112116/
For a complete summary of all AutoPacific 2012 Ideal Vehicle Award results contact karin.turner@vehiclevoice.com and title your email “IVA Results”. A copy of the results will be emailed to you within 48-hours.
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Posted by George Peterson on June 10, 2012 at 12:10 pm
Best in Class 2012 Premium Compact Car: Volkswagen GTi
2012 Volkswagen GTi Wins AutoPacific Vehicle Satisfaction Award
Owners of the Volkswagen GTi give the car top satisfaction marks in its class. GTi owners gave the GTi top satisfaction ratings for 29 of the 48 attributes contributing to AutoPacific’s Vehicle Satisfaction Award research, including: Exterior Size, Seating Capacity, Rear Seat Comfort, Flexible Seating, Cargo Space (GTi is a hatchback), Ease of Loading Cargo, Image, Vehicle’s Reputation, Interior Styling, Feel of Interior Fabrics and Materials, Power and Acceleration, Braking, Handling, Fun to Drive, Reliable/Dependable, Ride, Controls Easy to Understand, Controls Have Quality Feel, Instrument Layout, Cupholder Design and Size, Tire Brand, Size and Appearance, Wheel Size and Style, Infotainment Technology, Feeling Safe While Driving, Safety Features, Safety Rating, Overall Quality, Price, and Collision Avoidance Technology. With a possible high of 5.0 rating points on each of the 48 characteristics, GTi owners rate the car at 4.6 rating points or higher on: Exterior Size, Seating Capacity, Image, Vehicle’s Reputation, Interior Styling, Power and Acceleration, Braking, Handling, Fun to Drive (4.95 – almost perfect), Reliable Dependable, Feeling Safe While Driving, Safety features, Safety Ratings, Overall Quality. The lowest ratings are for Environmental Friendliness, Recyclability and Interior Storage. Clearly owners perceive the GTi to be a very safe car with great dynamics at a reasonable price.
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Posted by George Peterson on June 10, 2012 at 11:25 am
Best In Class 2012 Compact Crossover SUV: Volkswagen Tiguan
2012 VW Tiguan Wins AutoPacific Vehicle Satisfaction Award
Owners of the 2012 Volkswagen Tiguan Compact Crossover SUV give the vehicle top ratings in sixteen of forty-eight categories in AutoPacific’s 2012 Vehicle Satisfaction Award research. Owners give the Tiguan top ratings for: Seating Capacity, Flexible Seating, Vehicle’s Reputation, Interior Styling, Interior Materials, Quality Feeling of Controls, Brand of Audio System, Visibility, Cupholders, Tire Size/Brand/Appearance, Environmental Friendliness, Infotainment Technology, Feeling Safe While Driving, Safety Features, Safety Ratings, Overall Quality and Durability. With a maximum score of 5.0 satisfaction rating points, a score of 4.5 or higher is considered very good. Tiguan owners rated their vehicle at 4.5 or higher in: Overall Satisfaction, Seating Capacity, Vehicle’s Reputation, Brand’s Reputation, Exterior Color, Exterior Styling, Interior Styling, Interior Materials, Handling, Fun to Drive, Reliability, Visibility, Feeling Safe While Driving, Safety Features, Safety Ratings and Overall Quality. There are five ratings under 4.0 satisfaction rating points: Cargo Space, Fuel Economy, Cruising Range, Recyclability and Collision Avoidance Technology. This is a very strong performance by Tiguan showing VW’s strengths in interior and exterior styling and materials selection are clearly appreciated by its owner group.
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Posted by Dave Sullivan on March 25, 2012 at 8:50 am
When was the last time you can honestly say that you’ve driven a full-size car with 140 horsepower and it has been more than adequate? Maybe the 1986 Ford Taurus with the venerable Vulcan V6? Well, I was given the opportunity for some seat time with a 2012 Passat TDI clean diesel and it is Volkswagen’s newest sedan to hit American soil, err, actually be built on American soil. While the styling may not be anything to get excited about at first glance; like a jelly donut, it’s what is inside that counts.
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Posted by Ed Kim on August 17, 2011 at 7:31 pm
It’s almost become cliche. How many automakers have tried to tell you that their four-door mid-size sedans are sleek, sporty, and stylish? In the end, most of them are plain, boring, and eminently forgettable, at least in terms of looks. That’s where the Volkswagen CC truly stands out.
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Posted by Dave Sullivan on May 12, 2011 at 3:03 am
Volkswagen is excited with the work they have completed thus far on the Golf blue-e-motion battery electric vehicle. So excited, in fact, that I was recently able to drive one in Germany.
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Posted by Stephanie Brinley on August 11, 2009 at 6:47 am
“Pulling ahead of the competition in the Mid-Size Car segment, the Volkswagen Jetta wins AutoPacific’s 2009 Motorist Choice Award. This after winning AutoPacific’s Ideal Vehicle and Owner Recommendation Awards. Jetta offers a touch of class and German engineering not found in the competition which, when added to the high ratings for powertrain and safety, makes it a Motorist Choice.” — AutoPacific
“The Jetta has best-in-segment ownership costs. The Jetta has the highest retained value and lowest fuel costs in the segment.” — IntelliChoice
Owner Satisfaction Highlights
* Cargo Space / Capacity
* Powertrain and Acceleration
* Braking
* Handling
* Fun to Drive
* Feeling Safe While Driving
Cost-of-Ownership Strengths
* Best-in-Segment Ownership Costs
* Best Retained Value
* Lowest Fuel Costs
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Posted by Stephanie Brinley on May 28, 2009 at 10:25 am
Volkswagen seizes the lead in the Mid-Size Crossover SUV segment over strong competition including the well-regarded Toyota RAV4, Honda CR-V and major change Ford Escape. How did they do that? With great owner satisfaction ratings for overall satisfaction, and specifically with respect to:
• Fun-to-drive, power/acceleration, handling
• Exterior and interior styling including instrument layout, the feel of interior fabrics and materials, and the quality feel/operation of controls
• Durability/long lasting
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Posted by George Peterson on April 17, 2007 at 3:24 pm
During the last week of March 2007, 1,254 VehicleVoice panelists responded to an Internet survey concerning their opinion of major automakers in the USA. VehicleVoice asked these questions because the opinion of buyers and their attitudes towards various aspects of a manufacturer’s image are critically important. Managing image and opinion plus understanding what is driving that opinion can influence whether a person will positively consider or reject a brand next time they are in the market.
The key question in the VehicleVoice survey was whether the respondent’s opinion of a manufacturer had changed since this time last year. If their opinion had changed, the panel member was given the chance to explain why their opinion had changed. We received over 5,000 comments concerning these manufacturers. Some were as short one word. Some were as long as a page of 10-point type. Folks really had a lot to say and their comments were fascinating.
Discussion for each of the brands is below the fold.
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