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National Survey Reveals Cadillac as Top Premium Brand, Buick as Top Popular Brand, Ford Motor Company Has Most Awards with Seven, Suzuki Kizashi as Top Car and Lincoln MKT as Top Truck
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, General Motors, Honda, Nissan and Toyota 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
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: www.autopacific.com and www.vehiclevoice.com.
CONTACTS:
Dan Hall dan.hall@autopacific.com 714.838.4234 or 800.576.AUTO
Deborah Grieb deborah.grieb@autopacfic.com 734.446.6940