Is this the cutest car on the market?
Despite its ongoing problems with safety-related recalls, the various Toyota brands managed to capture 10 of 30 categories in the annual Motorist Choice Awards, easily overwhelming the Japanese maker’s nearest competition.
The fifth annual Motorist Choice Awards, jointly conducted by the market research firm AutoPacific, Inc. and IntelliChoice, is designed to reveal the vehicles US. car buyers see as doing the best job in specific categories – whether it’s driving the kids to soccer practice, improving the environment or simply making the owner look good at the country club.
“From an emotional standpoint these awards are a reflection of how cars fit into people’s daily lives, the tasks they fulfill on a day-to-day basis and the image people have of their vehicles,” says Charlie Vogelheim, Executive Editor of IntelliChoice. “The cars in these categories not only represent tremendous value, they are also about the image you want to portray to other motorists as well.”
In contrast to traditional automotive quality or customer satisfaction surveys, the Motorist Choice Awards are organized into 15 functional categories, and then separated into two separate groups representing mainstream and luxury products.
Toyota, Lexus and Scion grabbed honors in segments long associated with the Japanese maker, the Toyota Prius and high-line Lexus RX Hybrid chosen by motorists as the most Eco Friendly models. Surprisingly, while the Toyota Sienna minivan was picked as the favorite Road Trip car, the maker’s Sequoia SUV was declared most Kid Friendly.
If you include the former Ford subsidiary, Volvo — whose C30 was chosen the Cute category winner among Premium models – Detroit captured 10 of the 30 awards. Among the notably Big Three scores were the Chevrolet Corvette, for most Sexy Styling, the Ford Taurus SHO in the performance category, and the now-discontinued Cadillac DTS as the best Premium model for a Road Trip.
In what might have been inconceivable a few years ago, the Hyundai Genesis was voted the best model to take to the Country Club on the mainstream side, with the Audi A6 winning similar honors among Premium brands.
European marques, including Porsche – the Cayenne SUV winning the Active Lifestyle category – slightly dominated in the Premium categories, but only one of their models showed up a winner on the mainstream side, the Volkswagen Beetle named the most Cute car.
Chrysler, meanwhile, which hasn’t been doing well in traditional, quality-based surveys, won two Motorist Choice Awards, as the most Youthful and best Active Lifestyle products, with the Dodge Challenger and Dodge Ram HD pickup, respectively.
A total of 42,000 motorists were surveyed for the 2010 Motorist Choice Awards.