Cadillac Adds Premium Care  Cadillac is adding standard scheduled maintenance - Premium Care - to its 2011 Model Year products. Providing scheduled maintenance is a way to demonstrate commitment to the customer, reduce ownership costs and increase customer loyalty. BMW has been offering scheduled maintenance for years and has effectively shed its "Break My Wallet" image that existed prior to the scheduled maintenance program.

Premium Brands Abandoned Standard Scheduled Maintenance  In the past, most of the European luxury brands included standard scheduled maintenance - BMW, Audi, Mercedes-Benz, Jaguar, Land Rover. As costs went up and belts had to be tightened all with the exception of BMW dropped out. Surprising because consumer input to AutoPacific has indicated that standard scheduled maintenance is a strong enticement in selecting one brand over another.  BMW was winning the battle with no competition.

Standard Scheduled Maintenance Returning as Customer Satisfaction and Marketing Tool  Brands have begun to slowly return to standard scheduled maintenance as a customer satisfaction enhancer and sales enticement... Volvo, Volkswagen are now on board.  Jaguar has added its Platimum Coverage for 2011 that provides all scheduled maintenance for 5-years or 50,000 miles.  2010MY Land Rover models include scheduled maintenance for a short period after purchase. Perhaps they will follow Jag's lead.

In any event, standard scheduled maintenance appears to again gain traction in the marketing wars at the top of the market.  That VW has adopted it may indicate adding standard scheduled maintenance even to popular high volume brands.

Posted by George Peterson at 10:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

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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."

Continue reading "Autopacific Announces 2010 Vehicle Satisfaction Awards" »

Posted by Stephanie Brinley at 6:26 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

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Being a company focused firmly forward, we don't talk used cars much. But a program like this deserves some virtual ink.

Recalls have been in the news this year like rarely before. The depth and scope of Toyota's problems has increased sensitivity to any manufacturer's recalls--and make no mistake, there are many issued. Most not so severe as Toyota's problems with accelerator shims, but out there all the same.

Half of the equation for ensuring cars on the road have had any recall work performed is in the owner's hands. Often, owners ignore recall notices, particularly for minor issues, or figure it'll get handled with the next oil change, to have it fall off today's crowded to-do lists.

GM and Carfax announced a measure of help for anyone looking to purchase a used vehicle, making it easier to find out if the car was affected by a recall and if the work was done. GM is providing VINs to Carfax of millions of Buicks, Cadillacs, Chevrolets, GMCs, Saabs, Saturns, Pontiacs, and Hummers with open recalls.

Continue reading "Recalls and Used-Car Shopping: GM and Carfax Team Up" »

Posted by Stephanie Brinley at 4:43 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

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Reconciling Consumer Expectations with Reality Won't be Easy

TUSTIN, Calif. (December 2, 2009) -- A study released today by automotive research firm AutoPacific shows that while consideration for alternative fueled vehicles is on the rise, it is often driven by economic forces, rather than consumer desire to help the planet. "We have witnessed that hybrid consideration increased with fuel price, until people became used to higher fuel prices," says Jim Hossack, Vice President of AutoPacific. "Fuel prices have settled down in 2009 and so has demand for hybrid vehicles"

Going green will not be a walk in the park. Hybrid considerers are 10 percentage points more likely than gasoline considerers to agree with the statement, "I am prepared to pay a higher price for an environmentally friendly vehicle." This is even truer for plug-in hybrid considerers (+17 percentage points) and pure electric considerers (+ 19 percentage points). However, they plan to pay between $2,000 and $5,000 less on their next vehicle than gasoline considerers. "Clearly, there is a disconnect here. While green car considerers indicate that are willing to pay more, they are actually budgeting less for their next car. This needs to be reconciled, or alternative fueled vehicles may stall in the marketplace," said Hossack.

Continue reading "Do Green Cars Really Add Up?" »

Posted by Stephanie Brinley at 8:36 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

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The Cash for Clunkers Program Ended at 8PM EDT on Monday August 24.  According to government statistics, 680,114 Cash for Clunkers deals were made using $2.88 billion of the $3 billion authorized for the program..  The average clunker received a $4,235 rebate.  Reimbursements are coming very slowly to dealerships and the government is putting more processors on staff to handle the backlog.  Overall, a rare successful stimulus program.

On July 24, 2009 new car dealers in the United States began accepting trade-ins of older vehicles not worth much for new cars. Based on their fuel economy and the fuel economy of the new vehicle purchased, customers received a voucher for $3,500 or $4,500 to apply to the purchase of a new car or light truck.

Ultimately, the results of this program may be the sale of slightly over 700,000 new cars and light trucks with about 250,000 incremental to what would otherwise have been sold. But the impact goes deeper. There will have been substantial sales tax revenue from each sale going to states and cities that sorely need the income. Additional income taxes will be generated from the additional commissions and salaries dealership personnel otherwise would not have earned. The list goes on.

A brief synopsis of the impact of the Car Allowance Rebate System (CARS) is shown below the fold...

Continue reading "Impact of Cash for Clunkers Program" »

Posted by George Peterson at 5:29 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

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Those Intending to Keep Car More than Four Years Up Over 12 Percent

TUSTIN, Calif. (July 14, 2009) -- An annual survey of new vehicle buyers shows a significant increase in the number of people planning to hold onto their cars and trucks. In 2005, just over 46 percent of new car acquirers indicated they would not be shopping for a new vehicle for four years or more; in the just completed survey that number has risen to about 59 percent -- an increase of almost 13 percent. At the same time, the number of people intending to replace their vehicle within the next 2 years has fallen.

Continue reading "Americans Keeping Their Cars Longer" »

Posted by Stephanie Brinley at 7:33 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

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Hyundai is the winner of the first Rising Star Award from AutoPacific. The Rising Star Award is given to the brand climbing the most positions in AutoPacific's Vehcile Satisfaction Award research. Hyundai climbed eleven positions year-to-year. This is testament to Hyundai Motor America and Hyundai dealers selling vehicles that satisfy their customers and good customer handling at the dealerships.

Hyundai had two category winning vehicles - the Hyundai Genesis won the Aspirational Luxury Car Category and the Sonata won the Premium Mid-Size Car Category.

Other Rising Stars were Infiniti climbing ten positions and Mercury climbing nine.

Posted by George Peterson at 9:34 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

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If you're one of the many people who would like to get into a new or newer automobile, but you're concerned about shelling out the down payment, consider a lease acquisition. In the current economic climate, the opportunity to get a top quality vehicle for little or no cash out of pocket is rising. And, while many automobile manufacturers also offer "no down" car sales or leases, there is a big difference in commitment to consider. Many leases offered for takeover have less than two years remaining, giving you an opportunity to drive your way through the current recession, without committing yourself to 36, 48, or 60 months on a loan or lease.

Continue reading "No Auto Down Payment? Consider a Lease Takeover..." »

Posted by dbarrett at 7:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

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In the midst of ongoing media attention aimed at the auto industry in general and the Detroit "Big Three" specifically, some positive and important news emerged this week as Ford announced it had reduced its debt load by just under $10 billion dollars. The Detroit automaker said it was spending $2.4 billion in cash, in addition to 468 million shares to improve its balance sheet and distance it from federal aid.

The news is seen as important, because buyers are reluctant to step off the sidelines, even with incentives and greatly reduced pricing. A just-completed AutoPacific online survey showed that buyers are disappointed by automakers taking bailout funds and that Ford tops their choice options in U.S. vehicles, in part due to its ability to avoid an Uncle Sam handout. The same survey respondents indicated they were unlikely to purchase vehicles from either GM or Chrysler.

Continue reading "Job #1 at Ford: Debt Reduction" »

Posted by dbarrett at 7:20 AM | Permalink | Comments (2)

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No doubt many of you have heard the news about the Domestic manufacturers pulling back from leasing. Chrysler has pulled out of leasing altogether effective August 1 while Ford and GM are significantly raising their lease rates on many vehicles, particularly trucks whose residuals are now in the tank.

What’s the rationale here, and what does it mean for the consumer? Well, let’s start off real quick with a one-paragraph explanation of leasing for the benefit of those of you who are still a bit confused as to what leasing is (it's ok to admit it - there are more than a few of us!). In a nutshell, when you lease a vehicle, you’re essentially paying monthly payments that add up to the difference between what the vehicle is worth new and what the car is pre-determined to be worth (residuals or resale value) when the lease term is up. This means that among similarly priced vehicles, those with higher resale values will generally have a lower lease price since the difference between the sales price and the pre-determined residual value at the end of the term will be smaller.

Continue reading "Exhaust Note #23: Dude, Where's My Lease?" »

Posted by Ed Kim at 12:40 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

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This week, BMW dealers across the United States began receiving the initial run of the new BMW 1 Series Coupe. Previewed on video (watch) by AutoPacific during the Los Angeles International Auto Show, the coupe looks even better on the showroom floor. While some dealers greed factor could be seen on the window sticker (between $2,000 and $5,000 over sticker), the real sales prices are more likely to be at or near the manufacturers price ($28,600 MSRP for the 128i ).

The 1 Series represents a significant step for BMW. As the 3 Series has become larger with each new edition, room has opened up at the bottom of the model range for a new addition. And the 1 Series is only new in America - European models being available since 2004. The 1 Series is currently the only vehicle in its class featuring rear-wheel drive and a longitudinally-mounted engine

Continue reading "BMW 1 Series Arrives Plus Cabrio Update" »

Posted by dbarrett at 10:40 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

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Video is rapidly becoming an important component for any new, magazine, or entertainment website. At VehicleVoice, we’ve been using video for nearly two years and we want to make certain you know how useful and entertaining our video stories can be.

Our video stories are typically fairly short, so you can enjoy them during a coffee break, or while waiting for that report to print. Two recent surveys show that more than three quarters of the people who use the Internet watch an hour or more of video every week. And, a huge percentage of that audience takes advantage of the lunch hour to enjoy the various video clips and stories now being posted everywhere from CNN to political campaigns to your own private website -- to, yup, right here at VehicleVoice.

Continue reading "Video Reviews, Test Drives, and Opinion from VehicleVoice" »

Posted by dbarrett at 10:36 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

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The Motorist Choice Award is in its second year and is a collaboration between AutoPacific and IntelliChoice.com. AutoPacific, widely known for its industry expertise and research, and IntelliChoice, known for its comprehensive cost of ownership information, designed the Motorist Choice Award to help consumers identify the most satisfying cars and trucks that are also the least expensive to own.

Using data from AutoPacific's national Vehicle Satisfaction research and the IntelliChoice Best Overall Value information, AutoPacific and IntelliChoice have developed a unique tool that can be used by consumers to help them sort through the myriad of choices in today's automotive marketplace.

Here are the 2007 Winners of the 25 individual segment awards:

SEGMENT - Winner

Aspirational Luxury Car - Lexus IS
Compact Car - Mazda3
Compact Crossover SUV - Chevrolet HHR
Compact Pickup - Toyota Tacoma
Compact Sport Utility/ORV - Toyota Tacoma
Economy Car - Honda Fit
Image Compact Car - Volkswagen GTi
Large Car - Toyota Avalon
Large Heavy Duty Pickup - Chevrolet Silverado HD
Large Light Duty Pickup - Chevrolet Silverado 1500
Large Luxury Car - Cadillac DTS
Large Sport Utility - GMC Yukon XL
Luxury Crossover SUV - Acura MDX
Luxury Mid-Size Car - Nissan Maxima
Luxury Sport Utility - Land Rover Range Rover Sport
Mid-Size Car - Volkswagen Jetta
Mid-Size Crossover SUV - Honda CR-V
Mid-Size Sport Utility - Toyota 4Runner
Minivan - Honda Odyssey
Premium Luxury Car - Lexus LS
Premium Mid-Size Car - Nissan Altima
Premium Mid-Size Crossover SUV - Nissan Murano
Premium Sports Car - Lexus SC
Sports Car - Porsche Boxster
Sporty Car - Scion tC

The press release can be found below the fold.

Continue reading "2007 Motorist Choice Awards Announced" »

Posted by George Peterson at 8:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

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If you want to get attention you do something really spectacular. Right?

Well, beginning on July 26, 2007 Chrysler began offering a lifetime powertrain warranty for the initial owners on all 2006, 2007 and 2008 model year vehicles with the exception of diesels and high performance SRT models.

Chrysler Leapfrogs Competition with Lifetime Powertrain Warranty

Having been a laggard in the warranty wars up to now, Chrysler one-ups Hyundai's and Kia's 10-year/100,000 mile powertrain warranty, General Motors' 5-year/100,000 mile powertrain warranty, and Ford's 5-year/60,000 mile powertrain warranty. Even Mitsubishi is in the game with a 10-year/100,000 mile warranty for initial owners.

Chrysler needed this bump to get its vehicles more competitive and to eliminate a barrier to sales that dealers have been finding. It was too easy to use warranty as one excuse among many not to buy a Chrysler, Dodge or Jeep. Now that Chrysler can tout the ONLY lifetime warranty in the industry, maybe this is just what is needed to boost sales and welcome their new owners - Cerberus Capital Management.

How Will Competition Respond? Lifetime Bumper-to-Bumper Warranties?

Over the next few weeks and months it will be interesting to watch how Chrysler's competition responds to this move. It is known that several other companies have considered lifetime warranties - even including lifetime bumper-to-bumper warranties - but Chrysler is the first to commit.

Posted by George Peterson at 3:13 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

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The following story tracks the actual sales and service experience of long time AutoPacific project manager Mary Beth Martin. Mary Beth's husband leased her a new Mercedes GL450 from Fletcher Jones Motorcars. The GL450 is the top-of-the-line Mercedes SUV - not cheap by any means. Fletcher Jones is the largest Mercedes-Benz dealership in the USA if not in the world. Located in Newport Beach, California Fletcher Jones is admittedly a bit landlocked for the amount of business they push through the dealership, but that is a feeble excuse for the experience Mary Beth had when acquiring her new ride. Read on, the story will surprise you.

Nightmare at Fletcher Jones Motorcars

Purchasing or leasing a new vehicle is a wonderful thing or at least it should be! My husband surprised me with a new Mercedes GL 450 as an early Christmas present. He said all I had to do was pick out the color (I had already told him what features I wanted on my next vehicle), sign (documents) and leave (December 5th). He had prearranged the deal with a salesman at Fletcher Jones Motorcars in Newport Beach, California.

I need to give you a little background information: my husband arranged to lease two vehicles in the deal, one for myself and one for his partner’s wife. Both vehicles were to be GL450s equipped the same way (or were supposed to be). We were to sign for the vehicles and Fletcher Jones was to bill my husband's company. So I was all excited about my first luxury vehicle (my husband already has a S500, but my vehicle was a Ford Expedition schlepmobile) and since purchasing my Expedition had been wonderful I anticipated this to be even better (at least that is what the Mercedes and Fletcher Jones ads implied).

Read on for my story of woe...

Continue reading "Mercedes GL450 Buying Experience - Nightmare at Fletcher Jones" »

Posted by George Peterson at 4:56 PM | Permalink | Comments (4)

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The horrific parade of cars “designed to meet the youthful needs of Generation Y” seems to have taken its proper course. I pray the trend is dead. (No, Dan, as VehicleVoice correspondent and AutoPacific president George Peterson found at a recent Dodge Caliber press event, cars targeted at GenY are alive and well. At least Dodge admitted they would not be embarrassed when the Caliber sells to older folks.)

I remember watching Trevor Creed, head of Chrysler Group design, unveil the Dodge Razor designed for “millenials” at the 2002 Detroit Auto Show. The typical Chrysler todo included boom boxes and kids on Razors, those small-wheeled scooters that pre-adolescents use for terrorizing shopping mall parking lots. “What are they thinking?” was my first thought. “Did Trevor get into a terrible Razor accident?”

Continue reading "The Perfect Gen Y Car - A Used Car?" »

Posted by Dan Hall at 10:04 AM | Permalink | Comments (2)

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First of all, nobody should have a vehicle purchased for him or her. Cars are a responsibility, both financially and from a safety standpoint. So when my wife asked me what kind of car we were going to buy my daughter Danielle for her 16th birthday I was not exactly enthusiastic. “Shouldn’t she save her babysitting cash and get a car when she goes to college?” I thought. By then she might have a better handle on both financial responsibility and safety. Besides, the cash she gets for watching some of my neighbor’s offspring is amazing.

Continue reading "Buying Your Teen a Car" »

Posted by Dan Hall at 3:09 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)

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