Domestic Automakers Dominate R. L. Polk's Mid-Year Consumer Loyalty Rankings

North America's Big Three Lead in 12 of 14 Loyalty Categories

DETROIT, June 25 -- Owners of vehicles manufactured by North America's Big Three automakers are remaining loyal to their chosen brands and models, despite increasing competitive pressure from foreign automakers that has slowly eroded the dominance of General Motors, Ford Motor Company and the Chrysler Division of DaimlerChrysler in the United States automotive market over the past decade.

According to mid-year consumer loyalty rankings prepared by R. L. Polk & Co., domestic manufacturers and brands enjoy consumer loyalty leadership in all but two vehicle segments -- Prestige Luxury Car (BMW 7 Series) and Sports Car (Mercedes-Benz SL Class). Polk is the world's premier provider of statistical data and information solutions to the automotive industry and hosts the Polk Automotive Loyalty Awards annually at the North American International Auto Show in Detroit.

"The first half of the 2003 model year saw U.S. automakers overcome difficult domestic economic conditions to attract repeat buyers to dealer showrooms," said Melissa Mullen, manager of Polk's Loyalty Solutions Team. "Loyal owners always are important to automakers, but especially today as competition within the marketplace intensifies due to incentives, innovation and the influx of foreign brands and models -- many of which are now made in the United States."

According to Polk's analysis, new loyalty leaders are emerging quickly in 2003. Only eight of the 14 mid-year leaders won their respective categories in the 2002 model year. The new leaders include:

* The Mercury Sable in the Midsize Car segment - a segment captured by the Toyota Camry in 2002.

* The Saturn VUE in the Compact SUV segment - won in 2002 by the Honda CR-V.

* The Lincoln Navigator in the Fullsize SUV segment - a segment dominated in recent years by the Chevrolet Suburban.

* The Lincoln Town Car in the Luxury Car segment - captured in 2002 by the Cadillac DeVille.

* The BMW 7 Series in the Prestige Luxury Car segment - captured by the Lexus LS 430 over the past two model years.

* The Jeep Grand Cherokee in the Midsize SUV segment - won in 2002 by the Mercury Mountaineer.

"In a down market, where automotive manufacturers are looking to save money, loyalty is very important because it is far more costly to lure a new customer to your brand than it is to keep an existing customer," Mullen said. "The final six months of the 2003 model year are going to be interesting, to see if the new leaders can retain their edge and if many of the domestic brands remain strong at the end."

About Loyalty

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. 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.

Table: 2003 Model Year Mid-Year Loyalty Rankings (October 2002 - March 2003)

  Category               Leader                    Loyalty %    Avg. Model
                         (* = 2002 winner)                    Loyalty Within
                                                                 Category %
  Overall Categories:
  Manufacturer Loyalty   General Motors*             68.7%         55.8%
  Make Loyalty           Ford Division*              57.6%         45.5%

  Model Categories:
  Small Car              Ford Focus*                 26.9%         15.4%
  Midsize Car            Mercury Sable               31.5%         21.0%
  Large Car              Buick LeSabre*              41.3%         31.2%
  Luxury Car             Lincoln Town Car            42.9%         21.1%
  Prestige Luxury Car    BMW 7 Series                32.8%         25.4%
  Sports Car             Mercedes-Benz SL-Class*     25.3%         11.0%
  Minivan                Chrysler Town & Country*    31.9%         17.7%
  Compact Pickup Truck   Ford Ranger*                24.0%         17.9%
  Fullsize Pickup Truck  Ford F-Series*              38.0%         35.6%
  Compact SUV            Saturn VUE                  30.2%         17.4%
  Midsize SUV            Jeep Grand Cherokee         30.7%         18.6%
  Fullsize SUV           Lincoln Navigator           31.9%         22.3%