Automotive Lease Guide (ALG) Announces Ninth Annual Residual Value Awards for the Top Segment Leaders and Brand Residual Value Awards

SANTA BARBARA, Calif., Oct. 24, 2007 -- Automotive Lease Guide (ALG) today announced its annual Residual Value Awards, which honor those vehicles in each automotive segment predicted to retain the highest percentage of their original price after a conventional three-year lease term.

This year's awards are based on 2008 model year vehicles. For the sixth year, ALG has also included awards for the brands with the highest predicted resale values among all industry and luxury vehicles. The awards are derived after careful study of segment competition, historical vehicle performance and industry trends. Award winners are featured on ALG.com and other automotive publications and websites dedicated to bringing the industry's best-performing models into the public eye.

For the fifth consecutive year, American Honda Motor Company, Inc. has won the Industry Brand Residual Value Award. Honda also received individual segment awards for the Accord in the Mid-Size Car category and the Odyssey in the Minivan category. It was the seventh consecutive win for the Odyssey.

Infiniti USA won the Luxury Brand Residual Value Award for the first time -- also the first time any company other than BMW or Lexus has won the overall Luxury award. In addition, Infiniti won the Near Luxury segment award for the G35/G37.

Toyota Motor Sales, USA again received the most segment Residual Value Awards, and was runner-up for the Industry Brand Award. Toyota received three segment awards, for the Avalon in the Full-Size Cars; the 4Runner in SUVs; and the Tacoma in Compact Trucks. It was the seventh consecutive win for the Tacoma and the fifth consecutive win for the 4Runner.

Volkswagen of America won third place in the Industry Brand rankings and received an individual segment award for the Volkswagen EOS in the Sporty Car category.

BMW won two individual awards, for the 5 Series in the Luxury Car segment and the 6 Series in the Luxury Sports Car segment.

Among domestic manufacturers, the Jeep Wrangler won the segment award for Compact SUVs for the second consecutive year, and the GMC/Chevy Sierra/Silverado also won for the second year in a row, in the Full-Size Truck category.

"The 2008 awards prove once again that compelling design, high quality manufacturing and disciplined pricing and volume programs are essential to achieve the highest residual value," said John Blair, Automotive Lease Guide's Chief Executive Officer. "Honda, Toyota, Lexus and BMW continue to show leadership. In addition, Infiniti should be applauded for substantially increasing their Residual Values over the past several years. They have shown steady improvement and the new G35/37 put them over the top. Residual Value continues to be the best metric for determining the health of an automotive brand, and the winners deserve a great deal of credit for their products and sales strategies."

  Summary of 2008 Residual Value Award Winners

   Brand Awards                          Brand
   Industry Brand Residual Value Award   American Honda Motor Company, Inc.
   Luxury Brand Residual Value Award     Infiniti, A division of Nissan
                                          Motor Co., Ltd.

   Segment Awards            Vehicle
   Compact Car               Mini Cooper
   Midsize Car               Honda Accord
   Fullsize Car              Toyota Avalon
   Sporty Car                Volkswagen Eos
   Near Luxury Car           Infiniti G35/37
   Luxury Car                BMW 5 Series
   Luxury Sports Car         BMW 6 Series
   Minivan                   Honda Odyssey
   CUV                       Subaru Tribeca
   Luxury CUV                Range Rover Range Rover Sport
   Compact SUV               Jeep Wrangler
   SUV                       Toyota 4Runner
   Luxury SUV                Lexus GX470
   Compact Truck             Toyota Tacoma Pickup
   Fullsize Truck            GMC/Chevy Sierra/Silverado

                  Industry Brand Residual Value Rankings

   Rank       Brand
   1          HONDA
   2          TOYOTA
   3          VOLKSWAGEN
   4          SUBARU
   5          NISSAN
   6          MAZDA
   7          SATURN
   8          GMC TRUCKS
   9          JEEP

Only brands above the industry average were ranked. Below industry average were the following brands (listed in alphabetical order): Buick, Chevrolet, Chrysler, Dodge, Ford, GMC, Hyundai, Jeep, Kia, Mercury, Mitsubishi, Pontiac & Suzuki.

                   Luxury Brand Residual Value Rankings

   Rank       Brand
   1          INFINITI
   2          LEXUS
   3          BMW
   4          ACURA
   5          PORSCHE
   6          MERCEDES BENZ
   7          LAND ROVER
   8          AUDI

Only brands above the luxury average were ranked. Below luxury average were the following brands (listed in alphabetical order): Cadillac, Jaguar, Lincoln, Saab & Volvo.

Note: All brands with vehicles in at least three segments were included. As a result of this requirement, MINI and Scion were excluded from the above rankings.

About ALG

Based in Santa Barbara, California, Automotive Lease Guide (ALG) is a leading provider of data and consulting services to the automotive industry. ALG publishes the "Automotive Lease Guide" -- the standard for Residual Value projections in North America, and has been forecasting automotive residual values for over 37 years in both the U.S. and Canadian markets. ALG is a company of DealerTrack Holdings, Inc. .