Hyundai Motor Wins AutoPacific ‘Ideal Vehicle’ Awards
By Ryu Jin
Staff Reporter
AutoPacific, a U.S. automotive research and consulting firm, announced Friday that Hyundai Motor, the top South Korean carmaker, has won the 2007 Ideal Vehicle Award in four product segments, including the Most Ideal Premium Mid-Size Car with its Sonata sedan.
The Elantra was chosen as the Most Ideal Compact Car; the Tucson as the Most Ideal Compact Crossover SUV (Sport Utility Vehicle); and the Entourage as the Most Ideal Minivan, according to AutoPacific.
The Sonata, has won the AutoPacific award for the second consecutive year, boosting Hyundai Motor’s sales in North America.
AutoPacific's second annual Ideal Vehicle Awards (IVA) ranked auto manufacturers for how closely their 2007 car or truck models came to matching owners' expectations and criteria.
Criteria for the award included consumer trust, anticipation, expectations and reality. And the vehicles that customers said they would change the least were considered the most ``ideal,’’ according to the research company.
``Hyundai has done an outstanding job understanding their target buyer and is creating the product that is `ideal’ for its buyers,’’ said AutoPacific President George Peterson.
``These awards are a reflection of Hyundai's continued commitment to our customers,’’ said John Krafcik, Hyundai Motor America vice president in charge of product development and strategic planning.
Ford Motor ranked top, winning the Ideal Vehicle Award in nine out of the total 25 categories, followed by General Motors (GM) and Hyundai Motor. The top-rated vehicle was the new Mercedes-Benz S-Class in the premium luxury car segment.
In the meantime, Automotive Lease Guide, a leading provider of residual value information, analytical data products and consultation to the automotive industry, also gave high scores to Hyundai Motor in a survey of the prices of used cars.
The Veracruz, Hyundai Motor’s mid-size crossover SUV, was placed above Toyota’s Highlander in the survey, which examined the residual value of vehicles after three years of use in the future.
Hyundai Motor’s Veracruz was expected to retain between 50 percent and 53 percent of the 2008 model’s value, while Toyota’s Highlander was expected to be worth 44 percent to 51 percent of its initial value after three years of use, according to the U.S.-based firm.