Car Blog

Porsche Top Premium Brand, Ford Top Mainstream Brand, Mercedes-Benz S-Class Top Vehicle, Lincoln Navigator Top Truck

An “ideal” is defined as an excellent or perfect example. In the annual Ideal Vehicle Awards (IVA), announced today by automotive research and consulting firm AutoPacific, owners rate their new 2008 model year cars and trucks by how closely they come to their ideal, as measured by 15 key vehicle attributes. The cars or trucks that owners would change the least are the most ideal.

The conclusion to be drawn from AutoPacific’s IVA results is that carmakers that best understand their customers create the vehicles that are ideal for their core buyers.

There are twenty-eight segment winners and overall winners for premium brands and mainstream brands.

The top-rated premium brand overall is Porsche, out-scoring Jaguar and Buick for the most ideal premium vehicle brand honors. The top-rated mainstream brand is Ford, out-scoring GMC for top mainstream brand results.

The top-rated vehicle (and top-rated car) is the Mercedes-Benz S-Class, a Premium Luxury Car. The second and third top-rated cars are from Ford Motor Company — the Mercury Sable and the Ford Taurus, both in the Large Car category. The top-rated truck is the Lincoln Navigator, a Premium Luxury SUV, closely followed by the Ford Taurus X, a Large Crossover SUV, and the Ford Expedition EL, a Large SUV.

Ford Motor Company leads the industry with a total of fifteen segment winners (including three for Volvo). General Motors has six segment winners. Ford won no less than five sport utility vehicle categories with Expedition EL, Taurus X, Edge, Escape, and Lincoln Navigator.

Including eight ties, of the twenty-eight Ideal Vehicle Award (IVA) categories, American brands have twenty segment winners, European brands have nine, Japanese brands have six and Korean brands have two winners.

The top-rated product segment is Large Crossover SUV, confirming that Americans continue to value large, comfortable vehicles suitable for suburban driving and longer distance highway cruising, but without the fuel consumption of heavier, traditional SUVs.

  2008 Ideal Premium Brand: Porsche

2008 Ideal Mainstream Brand:  Ford

2008 Ideal Product Segment: Large Crossover SUV

Top-rated 2008 Ideal Vehicles:

Passenger Cars:
Premium Luxury Car                    Mercedes-Benz S-Class
Aspirational Luxury Car               Cadillac CTS/Volvo C70
Large Luxury Car                      Mercury Grand Marquis
Large Car                             Mercury Sable
Luxury Mid-Size Car                   Volvo S40
Premium Mid-Size Car                  Buick LaCrosse/Chevrolet Malibu
Mid-Size Car                          Ford Fusion
Image Compact Car                     Volvo C30
Compact Car                           Volkswagen Rabbit
Economy Car                           Nissan Versa
Premium Sports Car                    Porsche 911/Cayman/Boxster
Sports Car                            Mazda MX-5 Miata
Sporty Car                            Ford Mustang

Pickups, SUVs, and Minivans:
Large Light-Duty Pickup               Ford F-150/Chevrolet Silverado
Large Heavy-Duty Pickup               Ford Super Duty
Compact Pickup                        Ford Explorer Sport Trac
Luxury Sport Utility                  Lincoln Navigator
Large Sport Utility                   Ford Expedition EL
Premium Mid-Size Sport Utility        Chevrolet Trail Blazer/Toyota
4Runner/GMC Envoy
Mid-Size Sport Utility                Kia Sorento/Jeep Liberty
Compact SUV/Off-Road Vehicle          Suzuki Grand Vitara
Premium Luxury Crossover SUV          Audi Q7
Luxury Crossover SUV                  Buick Enclave
Large Crossover SUV                   Ford Taurus X
Premium Mid-Size Crossover SUV        Ford Edge
Mid-Size Crossover SUV                Ford Escape
Compact Crossover SUV                 Subaru Forester
Minivan                               Toyota Sienna/Hyundai Entourage

In addition to identifying segment winners, IVA also establishes numerical ideal vehicle ratings for virtually every passenger car and light truck in the United States market. This results from calculating owner input across 15 specific areas related to a vehicle’s attributes, including: exterior styling, exterior size, passenger roominess, cargo space, driver’s seat comfort, driver’s seat visibility, interior technology, interior lighting, power and acceleration, ease of getting in and out, interior storage compartments, ride, handling, safety features and tires and wheels.

AutoPacific is a future-oriented automotive marketing and product-consulting firm. Every year it publishes a wide variety of syndicated studies for 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.

Additional information can be found on AutoPacific’s websites: http://www.autopacific.com/ and http://blog.vehiclevoice.com/. To weigh in with comments concerning these results, you can comment on the VehicleVoice blog site.

Source: AutoPacific, Inc.

Production milestone proves commitment to reducing harmful emissions

Emitec Inc. will produce its 100 millionth metal catalyst substrate for the worldwide market in June. This production milestone demonstrates Emitec’s commitment and expertise in exhaust aftertreatment and evaporative emissions technology.

Emitec’s METALIT(R), a metallic substrate, used in the catalytic converter components of exhaust emissions reduction systems, has been proven to show improvements in both performance and overall system cost when compared to the traditional ceramic catalytic converter based systems. The turbulent flow conditions created by the specific foil geometry forming the catalytic cells reduces size and cost of the exhaust gas purification system. This has been recognized by the gasoline engine manufacturers as well as the light duty, heavy duty and on/off highway diesel and gasoline engine manufacturers worldwide who are successfully applying Emitec’s technologies.

“We’re proud to have met the 100 million mark in our 22 years of operation,” explained Claus Bruestle, president, Emitec Inc. “Innovation in technology, research and development in products and production methods have helped Emitec become a world leader in emissions technology.”

With North American headquarters in Auburn Hills, Mich., Emitec produced approximately 20 percent of the 100 million metal catalyst substrates in its Fountain Inn, S.C. manufacturing facility over the past 10 years of its operation.

Source: Emitec Inc.

Web site: http://www.emitec.com/

Hybrid vehicles and $1 million to emphasize science education and promote environmental leadership

Toyota and Great Smoky Mountains National Park have partnered to foster environmental education through Toyota’s contribution of $1 million and three hybrid vehicles to America’s most visited national park. In support of raising environmental awareness, the donation will enhance and develop a variety of new science education initiatives for K-12 students, teachers and families to encourage careers in science and service-learning opportunities.

The donation, which was made through Friends of Great Smoky Mountains National Park, the park’s non-profit fundraising partner, is part of Toyota’s $5 million contribution in support of five national parks and the National Park Foundation to enhance environmental leadership and educational programs at parks around the country.

“Toyota and Great Smoky Mountains National Park have a shared goal in enhancing environmental education and advancing the understanding and conservation of the park’s natural resources,” said Dian Ogilvie, senior vice president of Toyota Motor North America. “Toyota is proud to support Great Smoky Mountains National Park and its commitment to promoting science education and developing future environmental leaders.”

Through Toyota’s grant, Great Smoky Mountains National Park will develop a variety of science education opportunities to enhance its existing educational programs and introduce new specialized programming to promote careers in science. Plans geared toward youth programming encompass the implementation of new Junior Ranger programs such as “Let’s be a Scientist”, “Be a GPS Guru”, and “Even You Can Play the Hog Fiddle” (Appalachian music). The Kindergarten – 8th grade Parks as Classrooms program will be updated with fresh curriculum, tapping into new technologies in the form of podcasts and earthcaching. Additionally, the funding will support a new “Not-So-Junior Ranger” program for visitors, ages 13 and higher, along with in-park teacher and student enrichment workshops at the Park’s new Twin Creek’s Science and Education Center, the Appalachian Highlands Science Learning Center in North Carolina and the partner-operated Great Smoky Mountains Institute at Tremont in Tennessee. Besides the educational programs, funding will also support the addition of four temporary staff members to develop program enhancements and engage the public in new opportunities for science and environmental learning.

“Throughout the National Park Service, we have become concerned about research that shows a growing disconnect of the public, and especially younger Americans, from the natural environment,” said Park Superintendent Dale Ditmanson. “With its focus on our 6- to 12-year-old Junior Rangers, high school age students and the education community, we see Toyota’s grant as a powerful tool to help engage the next generation’s interest in science and the environment.”

Toyota selected Great Smoky Mountains National Park as its grant recipient for its environmental educational programs and dedication to developing environmental stewards.

“These donations reflect Toyota’s strong commitment to conservation and education, and we are very grateful for their support,” said Jim Hart, President of Friends of Great Smoky Mountains National Park. “With people turning more of their attention to environmental concerns these days, the timing of Toyota’s support could not be better.”

Other national parks receiving Toyota funding include Everglades National Park, Grand Canyon National Park, Yellowstone National Park and Yosemite National Park. A total of 23 vehicles will also be donated to the national parks.

Source: Toyota

Web site: http://www.toyota.com/