The ratings are based on the magazine’s average road test scores and predicted reliability scores.

Chrysler fared the worst in the pack, though Consumer Reports recommended one of its vehicles, the Ram pickup. It did not recommend any Chrysler vehicles last year.

Honda and Subaru, both Japanese car makers, tied for first with an overall score of 77 out of 100 points in Consumer Reports’ ranking.

They were followed by Toyota and Hyundai. Nissan and Volkswagen tied for fourth with a score of 72.

Burt J.

But the deal involves giving up $1,000 in rebates, so shoppers will have to do the math. At 30 mpg, Gas Lock would apply to 400 gallons of gasoline. So losing that $1,000 in rebates means that the customer would have to save $2.50 per gallon to break even. And, soon to come, a big marketing push alongside Hyundai Gas Lock to take advantage of the government’s cash for guzzlers program.

Joel Ewanick, Hyundai Motor America’s vice president of marketing, says, “That will be our focus the next 60 days.” Hyundai Gas Lock guarantees the price of gasoline for a year, or the number of gallons that equal about 12,000 miles. It includes every Hyundai vehicle except the base Accent and the Genesis sedan and Coupe.

The factory-issued debit card can be used at almost any gas station in the nation at $1.49 for regular, $1.64 for mid grade and $1.79 for premium. Hyundai will pay the difference.

Consumers also can take advantage of Hyundai’s cash rebates; but if they take Gas Lock, the rebates will be reduced by $1,000.

In 2009, the APEAL score for all-new and redesigned models averages 790 on a 1,000-point scale–11 points higher than in 2008 and 15 points higher than the 2009 score for carryover models. In addition, seven all-new and redesigned models rank highest in their respective segments, including the Dodge Challenger, Ford F-150 (in a tie), Ford Flex, Hyundai Genesis, Nissan Maxima, Volkswagen CC and Volkswagen Tiguan.

“Most automakers are on track in terms of designing new models that are highly appealing,” said David Sargent, vice president of automotive research at J.D. Power and Associates. “The greater challenge for manufacturers lies in creating models that launch with both strong appeal and high quality, which ultimately lead to improved sales through greater customer loyalty and advocacy.”

Throughout the years, vehicle models achieving high APEAL scores have been shown to benefit from faster sales, less need for cash incentives and higher profit margins on each vehicle sold.

The average APEAL score for all models in 2009 has improved considerably to 779 from 770 in 2008, driven primarily by increased owner satisfaction with fuel economy. This higher satisfaction comes from three main sources. First, fuel prices have decreased significantly during the past year, which has reduced owner concerns about gas mileage. Second, owners are switching to more fuel-efficient vehicles–in 2009, more than one-half of all vehicles included in the study are powered by four-cylinder engines, compared with just 39 percent in 2008. Third, automakers are designing models to be more fuel efficient than their predecessors.

“Although lower fuel prices and the switch to smaller vehicles have undoubtedly helped, there are also many individual vehicles that have made strong improvements in fuel economy ratings,” said Sargent. “For example, the Ford F-150, Cadillac Escalade, Volkswagen Jetta and redesigned Dodge Ram have all made major strides in owner satisfaction with fuel economy through the introduction of more efficient powertrains.”

In 2009, domestic brands comprise the four most-improved nameplates. Dodge posts the largest improvement, followed by Pontiac, Buick and Cadillac, respectively. In addition, the three most-improved models are from domestic manufacturers, including the Dodge Ram, Buick Lucerne and Ford F-150.
“Consumers have a great array of appealing vehicles to choose from by both domestic and import brands,” said Sargent.

The overall gap in APEAL scores between domestic and import models has narrowed considerably during the past several years and is just five index points in 2009, compared with 15 points in 2008 and 27 points in 2007. Among premium models, import nameplates retain a slight edge, while among non-premium models, domestic brands have a similar edge.

APEAL Model-Level and Nameplate Rankings

Volkswagen captures four segment-level awards–more than any other vehicle nameplate in 2009–for the CC, GTI, Passat and Tiguan. Ford, Honda, Mercedes-Benz and Nissan each garner two awards. Ford receives model-level awards for the F-150 (in a tie) and Flex. Honda models receiving awards are the Odyssey (for a fifth consecutive year) and Ridgeline (for a fifth consecutive year). Mercedes-Benz earns awards for the S-Class (for a third consecutive year) and SLK-Class. The S-Class achieves the highest APEAL score of any model in the industry. Nissan receives awards for the Armada and Maxima.

Also receiving awards are the Chevrolet Avalanche (for a second consecutive year), in a tie; Dodge Challenger, Hyundai Genesis, MINI Cooper (for a second consecutive year); Porsche Cayenne (for a second consecutive year); and smart fortwo. The Ford F-150 and Honda Ridgeline are the only two models to rank highest in their respective segments in both the 2009 APEAL Study and 2009 Initial Quality Study (IQS) released in June.

Porsche is the highest-ranking nameplate in APEAL for a fifth consecutive year.

The APEAL Study examines how gratifying a new vehicle is to own and drive, based on owner evaluations of more than 90 vehicle attributes. The 2009 APEAL Study is based on responses gathered between February and May 2009 from more than 80,900 purchasers and lessees of new 2009 model-year cars and trucks who were surveyed after the first 90 days of ownership. The APEAL Study complements the recently released J.D. Power and Associates Initial Quality Study(SM) (IQS), which focuses on problems experienced by owners during the first 90 days of ownership.

Find more detailed findings on new-vehicle APEAL performance as well as model photos and specs by reading an article and reviewing APEAL ratings at JDPower.com. 

    2009 APEAL Nameplate Ranking

   (Based on a 1,000-point scale)
    Porsche                            869
    Jaguar                             859
    Cadillac                           852
    Audi                               846
    BMW                                844
    Mercedes-Benz                      841
    Lexus                              837
    Infiniti                           828
    Land Rover                         822
    Lincoln                            820
    Acura                              818
    MINI                               817
    Volkswagen                         807
    Buick                              801
    Volvo                              793
    Ford                               785
    Dodge                              784
    GMC                                784
    Saturn                             779
    Industry Average                   779
    Honda                              778
    Mazda                              778
    HUMMER                             773
    Scion                              772
    Pontiac                            769
    Nissan                             768
    Mitsubishi                         767
    Smart                              767
    Chevrolet                          764
    Hyundai                            763
    Mercury                            763
    Chrysler                           757
    Toyota                             756
    SAAB                               754
    Kia                                748
    Subaru                             738
    Jeep                               727
    Suzuki                             715
 
    Top Three Models per Segment

    Car Segments

    Sub-Compact Car
    Highest Ranked: smart fortwo
    Scion xD
    Honda Fit
 
    Compact Car
    Highest Ranked: MINI Cooper
    Volkswagen Jetta
    Mitsubishi Lancer
 
    Compact Sporty Car*
    Highest Ranked: Volkswagen GTI
 
    Compact Premium Sporty Car*
    Highest Ranked: Mercedes-Benz SLK-Class
    Nissan Z
 
    Entry Premium Vehicle
    Highest Ranked: Volkswagen CC
    Cadillac CTS
    Audi A4/5
 
    Midsize Sporty Car*
    Highest Ranked: Dodge Challenger
 
    Midsize Premium Car
    Highest Ranked: Hyundai Genesis
    Jaguar XF
    BMW 5 Series
 
    Large Premium Car*
    Highest Ranked: Mercedes-Benz S-Class
    Lexus LS
 
    Midsize Car
    Highest Ranked: Volkswagen Passat
    Mazda 6
    Honda Accord
 
    Large Car
    Highest Ranked: Nissan Maxima
    Pontiac G8
    Toyota Avalon
  
NOTE: For a segment award to be issued, there must be at least three models with sufficient sample that comprise 80 percent of market sales within an award segment. There were only two premium sporty models with sufficient sample size, thus no premium sporty awards have been presented.
*No other model in this segment performs above the segment average. 

   Top Three Models per Segment

   Truck / Multi-Activity Vehicle (MAV) Segments

    Compact MAV
    Highest Ranked: Volkswagen Tiguan
    Saturn VUE
    Mazda CX-7
 
    Midsize MAV
    Highest Ranked: Ford Flex
    Buick Enclave
    Toyota Venza
 
    Large MAV
    Highest Ranked: Nissan Armada
    Chevrolet Suburban
    GMC Yukon
 
    Midsize Premium MAV
    Highest Ranked: Porsche Cayenne
    BMW X5
    Mercedes-Benz M-Class
 
    Large Pickup
    Highest Ranked: Chevrolet Avalanche (tie); Ford F-150 (tie); Dodge Ram Pickup
 
    Midsize Pickup
    Highest Ranked: Honda Ridgeline
    HUMMER H3T
    Toyota Tacoma
 
    Minivan
    Highest Ranked: Honda Odyssey
    Volkswagen Routan
    Toyota Sienna
 
NOTE: For a segment award to be issued, there must be at least three models with sufficient sample that comprise 80 percent of market sales within an award segment. There were three large premium MAV models with sufficient sample, but they comprised less than 80 percent of market sales for the segment. There were no large van models with sufficient sample size. As such, no large premium MAV or large van awards have been presented.

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