GM Wins Overall Polk Automotive Loyalty Award Winners - Keeps Customers Better

Numerous New Winners Emerge Across Segment Level Categories for Model Year 2004

SOUTHFIELD, Mich., Jan. 19 -- R. L. Polk & Co., the automotive industry's premier tracker of consumer loyalty among new vehicles, presented the ninth annual Polk Automotive Loyalty Awards yesterday at the 2005 Automotive News World Congress.

Capturing loyalty honors for the 2004 model year, which ended September 30, 2004, are Buick, Cadillac, Chrysler, Ford Division, General Motors Corp., Jaguar, Land Rover, Mercury, Lexus, Saturn, Subaru and Toyota.

General Motors won for the fifth consecutive year in the Overall Manufacturer Category. "General Motors' success can be partially attributed to the wide range of vehicle offerings," said Stephen R. Polk, president and CEO of R. L. Polk & Co. "The more vehicle choices an automaker provides a returning customer, the more likely the customer will remain within the manufacturer family."

Ford Division, increasing its loyalty rate slightly from the previous year, won the Overall Make Award. Ford Division has won the award every year since the inaugural year of the Polk Loyalty Awards in 1996 and boasted the highest number of model loyalty awards with four models posting the highest loyalty rate within their vehicle segments.

Loyalty Awards Reveal Many New Car Leaders

The Jaguar XK and Land Rover Range Rover won in the Prestige Sports Car and Prestige SUV categories, respectively. This marks the first year a model from either make has won an award.

There were six repeat winners from 2003 within the segment level categories, all truck-based vehicles: Chrysler Town & Country, Ford Ranger, Ford F-Series, Subaru Forester, Mercury Mountaineer and Ford Expedition (see TABLE).

Meanwhile, new vehicle winners were almost entirely comprised of cars: Saturn ION, Toyota Camry, Buick LeSabre, Cadillac DeVille, Lexus LS 430, Ford Mustang, Jaguar XK, and the Land Rover Range Rover, the only new truck among the new winners. "While most SUV, pickup truck, and minivan categories had the same winner as last year, the passenger car segment saw new additions," said Lonnie Miller, director of Analytical Solutions for Polk. "2004 placed added emphasis on new passenger cars and we expect the car-based segments will continue to diversify over the coming years." Miller added that automakers must continue to focus their efforts on retaining customers to their models in this increasingly expanded market.

Polk Manufacturer Loyalty Excelerator(TM) Report

Polk's Manufacturer Loyalty Excelerator(TM) report, which is the basis for the Polk Automotive Loyalty rankings and annual awards, is the latest insight into consumer loyalty. This report was introduced to the automotive industry in 1995 and was created to provide household loyalty information to manufacturers at many different levels. It is now used to provide loyalty percentages for the entire automotive industry and allows for cross-industry comparisons of loyalty behavior. The report measures loyalty throughout the entire model year so that manufacturers may keep abreast of loyalty trends as they occur in the industry.

The Polk Automotive Loyalty Awards recognize manufacturers for superior owner loyalty performance. Loyalty is determined when a household that owns a new vehicle returns to market and purchases or leases another new vehicle of the same model or make.

About R. L. Polk & Co.

R. L. Polk & Co. is the premier provider of automotive information and marketing solutions. Polk collects and interprets global data, and provides extensive automotive business expertise to help customers understand their market position, identify trends, build brand loyalty, conquest new business and gain a competitive advantage. Polk helps automotive manufacturers and dealers, automotive aftermarket companies, finance and insurance companies, advertising agencies, consulting organizations, government agencies and market research firms make good business decisions. A privately held global firm, Polk is based in Southfield, Mich. with operations in Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Mexico, the Netherlands, Spain, the United Kingdom and the United States. For more information, please visit http://www.polk.com/ .

      TABLE: POLK AUTOMOTIVE LOYALTY AWARD WINNERS - 2004 MODEL YEAR

  Category        Winner (*2003 Winner)    Loyalty %    Avg. Loyalty %
                                                         for Category
  Overall Awards:
  Manufacturer
   Loyalty         General Motors*           65.1            54.6
  Make Loyalty     Ford Division*            57.4            44.8
  Vehicle Segment
   Awards:
  Small Car        Saturn ION                30.6            13.9
  Midsize Car      Toyota Camry              28.0            19.2
  Large Car        Buick LeSabre             41.2            29.3
  Luxury Car       Cadillac DeVille          40.9            18.8
  Prestige
   Luxury Car      Lexus LS 430              32.7            25.9
  Sports Car       Ford Mustang              15.0             9.0
  Prestige
   Sports Car      Jaguar XK                 22.8            15.4
  Minivan          Chrysler Town & Country*  25.8            14.0
  Compact Pickup
   Truck           Ford Ranger*              18.2            13.2
  Full-Size Pickup
   Truck           Ford F-Series*            42.7            36.7
  Compact SUV      Subaru Forester*          25.2            16.3
  Midsize SUV      Mercury Mountaineer*      32.9            18.1
  Full-Size SUV    Ford Expedition*          27.1            22.1
  Prestige SUV     Land Rover Range Rover    33.9            21.6