Mercedes-Benz Dealers Achieve Highest Ranking Among All Makes in '2010 Pied Piper Prospect Satisfaction Index'

MONTVALE, NJ - July 14, 2010: Mercedes-Benz dealerships ranked number one in the newly released 2010 Pied Piper Prospect Satisfaction Index (PSI) U.S. Auto Industry Study. The independent annual benchmarking study used 3,658 "mystery shoppers" to measure and compare how consumers are treated when shopping.

According to Ernst Lieb, President and CEO of Mercedes-Benz USA, "This tells us that the comprehensive 'Customer One' initiative we have undertaken with our dealers over the past three years to provide the best customer experience in the industry is being noticed and appreciated by customers and prospects alike. And it is certainly consistent with the strong upward momentum we've been seeing in virtually all customer satisfaction surveys."

Pied Piper PSI measures aspects of the "Shopping Experience" (facility exterior, facility interior, dealership welcome, inventory display, salesperson professionalism and sales person attitude) and "Salesmanship Effectiveness" (fact finding, product knowledge, prospect involvement, salesperson selling and brand focus).

Among their strengths in the Index, Mercedes-Benz salespeople were more likely than most counterparts at other makes to: discuss different financing options; take on primary responsibility for setting the price; offer brochures and utilize visual aids; discuss pre-owned options; distinguish features unique from the competition; provide compelling reasons to buy and promote the assigned brand (Mercedes-Benz) over all others.

About the 2010 Pied Piper Prospect Satisfaction Index (PSI) U.S. Auto Industry Study
The Mercedes-Benz dealer network received the highest numerical score in the proprietary 2010 Pied Piper Prospect Satisfaction Index® (PSI®) U.S. Auto Industry Benchmarking Study, based upon the findings from 3,658 hired anonymous "mystery shoppers" sent into auto dealerships nationwide representing 34 auto brands between July 2009 and June 2010. Proprietary study results are based upon patent-pending Pied Piper PSI® process. Your experiences may vary. For more information visit www.piedpiperpsi.com