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IntelliChoice and AutoPacific Announce Motorist’s Top Picks in both Popular and Premium Categories

Irvine, Calif. (September 21, 2010) – There is only one annual automotive award handpicked by active consumers in the marketplace that goes beyond the editorial and performance test data and provides a window into the wants and needs of motorists. This year’s Motorist Choice Awards highlight a collection of 15 unique buyer categories covering both market segments – Popular and Premium. Both reflect the purpose and perception of the consumer and illustrate the results of practical analysis, like total cost of ownership, fuel economy and resale value.
The fifth annual awards, announced today, are the result of exhaustive national value data and consumer lifestyle studies performed by the consumer-driven automotive analysis of IntelliChoice and automotive market research firm, AutoPacific. A first for this year, the awards were broken up into popular lifestyle categories that shoppers easily identify with, rather than the alternatives based on vehicle size, price and other such factors.

“From an emotional standpoint these awards are a reflection of how cars fit into people’s daily lives, the tasks they fulfill on a day-to-day basis and the image people have of their vehicles,” says Charlie Vogelheim, Executive Editor of IntelliChoice. “The cars in these categories not only represent tremendous value, they are also about the image you want to portray to other motorists as well.”
This year’s Motorist Choice Awards include 15 new areas buyers might categorize their potential purchases into including, Best Active Lifestyle vehicle, Best Cargo Hauler and Best Value Car. Each of the 15 categories is sub-divided, honoring automakers from both popular and premium brands. A complete list of winners follows:

“Rather than grouping these cars into stereotypical categories like ‘Best Sedan’ we produced a list of the best cars buyers would themselves categorize, like Most Kid Friendly,” says George Peterson President of AutoPacific. “These awards are a good reflection of the perceptions of the American consumer; showing what they want to drive and why they want to drive it.”
Despite this year’s public relations challenges, Lexus and parent company Toyota managed to come away with 10 of a possible 30 awards for this year’s field chosen by motorists. The automaker swept categories including City Car and Eco-Friendly with their Lexus and Toyota offerings. Other notable awards included Hyundai’s new luxury car, the Genesis, earning top marks in the Country Club category for Popular Brands.
The awards demonstrate that consumer taste spans the globe from Asian automakers to European and domestic manufacturers all taking away several awards. The Big Three were popular among motorists as well – Ford’s all-new Taurus and Taurus SHO models took awards in the High Tech and Performance categories respectively for the popular brand segment. Furthermore, the recently restructured General Motors counted a win for its Cadillac DTS in the premium brand segment for the Road Trip category. The Dodge Ram Pickup was chosen as a favorite for those with active lifestyles.
The Motorist Choice Awards are the result of 42,000 consumer surveys by AutoPacific and ongoing data analysis from IntelliChoice. The awards represent the commitment AutoPacific and IntelliChoice share in being advocates on behalf of the car buying public; empowering consumers to make educated decisions about potential purchases that satisfy not only their automotive needs, but also their wants.
“Economically, the past few years have been some of the toughest in more than a decade. Even in light of the current recovery, car buyers continue to be especially prudent, and the data we’ve analyzed for the Motorist Choice Awards helps customers make wise purchase decisions,” says Peterson. “We’ve found that more than 27 percent of respondents are positively influenced by awards like the Motorist Choice Awards when deciding on a car and this trend will certainly continue given the economy.”
About IntelliChoice
IntelliChoice, part of the Motor Trend Auto Group is the market leader in automotive ownership cost and car values analysis. Founded in 1986, IntelliChoice is committed to empowering consumers to make better purchase decisions by providing independent and essential automotive information and tools. Through the IntelliChoice.com web site consumers get the help they need to research, compare, configure and price new cars. The site also connects buyers to the buying alternatives of their choice, including vehicle manufacturers and an online car buying guide. Motor Trend Auto Group is a subsidiary of Source Interlink Media, a recognized provider of targeted media and marketing services and one of the largest publishers of magazines and online content for enthusiast audiences.
About AutoPacific
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. Since 1986, AutoPacific has provided innovative, methodologically sound, strongly implemented research in addition to expert automotive analysis. AutoPacific is nationally known for its annual Vehicle Satisfaction Awards and Ideal Vehicle Awards. Additional information can be found on AutoPacific’s websites: www.autopacific.com and www.vehiclevoice.com.