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Automotive Lease Guide is an influential and closely watched barometer of the value of brands and vehicles in the USA. ALG’s data are used by leasing companies to set the values for vehicles two and three years in the future and are critical in determining what lease rates a lessee will pay.
While ALG’s Residual Value Awards are not of the ilk of Motor Trend, Automobile, Car & Driver enthusiast awards, they provide an interesting counterpoint to awards based test track measurements, zero to 60 times and seat of the pants opinions. Here is the text of the ALG release…

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ALG’s annual Residual Value Awards honor those vehicles in each automotive segment predicted to retain the highest percentage of their original price. For the third consecutive year, American Honda Motor Company, Inc. heads the list with the Honda Brand winning the Industry Brand Residual Value Award. Honda also received two individual segment awards: the Odyssey for the Minivan Segment and the Accord for the Midsize Car Segment. This is the fifth consecutive win for the Honda Odyssey and the second win for the Accord.
Acura, a division of American Honda Motor Company, Inc., is the winner of the Near Luxury Car Segment for the TL.
BMW of North America, LLC has once again made a strong showing by winning the Luxury Brand Residual Value Award for the third consecutive year. MINI USA, a division of BMW of North America, has won the Compact Car Segment for the MINI Cooper for the fourth time.
Toyota Motor Sales, USA, Inc. took home the most Residual Value Awards this year by winning six individual segment awards: the Avalon for the Fullsize Car Segment, Tacoma Pick-up for the Compact Truck Segment, Tundra for the Fullsize Truck Segment, RAV4 for the Compact SUV Segment, 4Runner for the Midsize SUV Segment, and the Sequoia for the Fullsize SUV Segment. This is the fifth consecutive win for the Toyota Tacoma, Tundra and Sequoia; and the third consecutive win for the 4Runner.
Mercedes-Benz USA LLC is the winner of this year’s Luxury Car Segment award for the CLS Class.
The Sports Car Segment award this year goes to Porsche Cars North America, Inc. for the 911 Carrera.
And last but not least, the CUV (Crossover Utility Vehicle) award goes to Land Rover North America, Inc. for the Range Rover Sport.
“In an era of negative pricing and overcapacity, Residual Value excellence is increasingly difficult to achieve,” said Raj Sundaram, President of Automotive Lease Guide. “Both the segment and brand winners clearly demonstrate that quality products combined with effective pricing strategies will rise to the top.” Sundaram added that, “While the top rankings did not change, several brands have shown significant improvement over last year, highlighting the importance manufacturers are placing on residual value as a long-term objective.”
This year’s awards are based on 2006 model year vehicles. For the fourth year, ALG has also included awards for the brand with the highest predicted resale value of all industry and luxury vehicles. The awards are derived after careful study of segment competition, historical vehicle performance and
industry trends. Award winners are featured on http://www.alg.com, The Wall Street Journal, Automotive News, and other automotive publications and websites dedicated to bringing the industry’s best performing models into the
public eye.

2006 Residual Value Award Winners
Brand Awards: Brand
Industry Brand Residual Value Award: American Honda Motor Company, Inc.
Luxury Brand Residual Value Award: BMW of North America, LLC
Segment Awards:Vehicle
Compact Car: MINI Cooper
Midsize Car: Honda Accord
Fullsize Car: Toyota Avalon
Sports Car: Porsche 911 Carrera
Near Luxury Car: Acura TL
Luxury Car: Mercedes-Benz CLS Class
Minivan: Honda Odyssey
CUV (Crossover Utility Vehicle): Land Rover Range Rover Sport
Compact SUV: Toyota RAV4
Midsize SUV: Toyota 4Runner
Fullsize SUV: Toyota Sequoia
Compact Truck: Toyota Tacoma Pick-up
Fullsize Truck: Toyota Tundra

2005 Residual Value Award Winners
Brand Awards: Brand
Industry Brand Residual Value Award American Honda Motor Company, Inc.
Luxury Brand Residual Value Award BMW of North America, LLC
Segment Awards: Vehicle
Compact Car: MINI Cooper
Midsize Car: Nissan Altima
Sports Car: Mercedes-Benz SLK
Near Luxury Car: Infiniti G35
Luxury Car: Mercedes-Benz CLK
Minivan: Honda Odyssey
CUV : Volvo XC90
Compact SUV: Honda CR-V
Midsize SUV : Toyota 4Runner
Fullsize SUV: Toyota Sequoia
Compact Truck: Toyota Tacoma
Fullsize Truck: Toyota Tundra
Industry Brand Residual Value Rankings
Rank Brand
1 HONDA
2 TOYOTA
3 VOLKSWAGEN
4 SUBARU
5 NISSAN
6 JEEP
7 MAZDA
8 SATURN
9 GMC
Only brands above the industry average were ranked. Below industry average were the following brands (listed in alphabetical order): Buick, Chevrolet, Chrysler, Dodge, Ford, Hyundai, Kia, Mercury, Mitsubishi, Pontiac, and Suzuki.
Luxury Brand Residual Value Rankings
Rank Brand
1 BMW
2 LEXUS
3 LAND ROVER
4 MERCEDES-BENZ
5 ACURA
6 INFINITI
Only brands above the luxury average were ranked. Below luxury average were the following brands (listed in alphabetical order): Audi, Cadillac, Jaguar, Lincoln, Saab and Volvo.
Note: All brands with vehicles in at least three segments and minimum annual volume of 40,000 units were included. As a result of this requirement, MINI and Porsche as well as other brands were excluded from the above rankings.