AutoPacific Announces 2013 Ideal Vehicle Award Winners

TUSTIN, Calif., Aug. 15, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- Automotive research and consulting firm AutoPacific, Inc. today announced the 2013 Ideal Vehicle Awards (IVAs).

"AutoPacific's Ideal Vehicle Awards are very significant because they identify which automotive manufacturers listen best to their buyers when updating and developing their latest vehicles," said George Peterson, President of AutoPacific. "In addition to identifying segment winners, the IVAs also establish numerical Ideal Vehicle Ratings for virtually every passenger car and light truck in the United States market. With 38% of car buyers being positively influenced by owner-based awards like the IVAs, these awards can give car shoppers a great head start finding cars and trucks that have best satisfied their friends, neighbors and other buyers like them".

Established in 2006, the IVAs recognize the cars that best meet their owner's expectations and desires about their automotive purchases.  Based on a model-year survey of automotive owners, the IVAs are designed to help consumers make informed vehicle purchase decisions with a true "peer-to-peer" survey.  More than 52,000 vehicle owners across all major manufacturers were surveyed to reveal the vehicles that best meet their owners' demands. The survey reflects the views of owners who have driven their 2013 vehicles for 90 days or more.  Owners were asked what changes they would make to their car or truck.  The Ideal Vehicle Awards recognize vehicles where owners want the least amount of change across 15 key vehicle attributes including:  exterior styling, exterior size, passenger roominess, cargo space, driver's seat comfort, driver's seat visibility, info/entertainment technology, interior lighting, power and acceleration, ease of getting in and out, interior storage compartments, ride, handling, safety features and tires and wheels.

"The Ideal Vehicle Awards complement AutoPacific's recently announced Vehicle Satisfaction Awards.  We gladly provide car buyers with consumer-to-consumer points-of-view to assist them with their car buying choices. The Ideal Vehicle Awards offer shoppers a unique perspective based on current owners' ratings." Peterson continued, "We are pleased to announce this year's winners and congratulate the manufacturers on their ongoing commitment to listening to their customer and providing the vehicles that come closest to their buyers' desires."

Some Highlights in the 2013 IVAs

The top Premium Brand is Porsche.  The top-scoring Popular Brand is Chrysler Group's Ram brand.  The top-scoring vehicle, overall, is the Mercedes-Benz ML-Class Luxury Crossover SUV. 

Ford Motor Company vehicles score the most segment wins with four categories.  With its 2013 win, the Ford Flex Large Crossover SUV has won the IVA award in each of its four years of existence. The Ford F-150 has won the Light Duty Pickup IVA for the past six years.  

General Motors vehicles win four categories.

Toyota Motor Sales vehicles have two wins for Lexus and one for Toyota.  Toyota hybrids win the IVAs for both cars (Toyota Avalon Hybrid) and trucks (Lexus RX450h).

Chrysler Group vehicles win two categories with the Jeep Grand Cherokee winning for three years in a row.

The Honda Fit has won the IVA in the Economy Car category for the past five years.

Porsche has won the IVA for Sports Cars in seven of the past eight years.

The MINI hardtop has won the award for the past two years.

SOURCE AutoPacific