AutoPacific has announced its 5th annual 2010 Motorist Choice Awards, chosen from 15 unique buyer categories. This year’s Motorist Choice Awards include 15 new areas buyers might categorize their potential purchases into, including Best Active Lifestyle Vehicle, Best Cargo Hauler, and Best Value Car. Market segments include Popular and Premium vehicles.

“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, whose data was used in part to determine the results. “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.”

“Rather than grouping these cars into stereotypical categories like 'Best Sedan,' we produced a list of the best cars buyers would themselves categorize, like 'Most Kid-Friendly,' says George Peterson, president of AutoPacific. “These awards are a good reflection of the perceptions of the American consumers, showing what they want to drive and why they want to drive it.”

The Motorist Choice Awards are the result of 42,000 consumer surveys by AutoPacific and by ongoing data analysis from IntelliChoice.

Other 2010 Vehicle Awards from AutoPacific: Ideal Vehicles | Vehicle Satisfaction

Hyundai Motor America has announced that its three most popular models now will be built in the U.S. Beginning in late fall of this year, the all-new 2011 Hyundai Elantra will join the Sonata at the Hyundai Motor Manufacturing Alabama (HMMA) plant. This will further increase the automaker’s overall U.S. production capacity, which was already producing over half of its total U.S. sales volume.

“Hyundai’s philosophy is to build our vehicles where we sell them, and with the addition of the Elantra to our U.S. production, we now manufacture our three most popular models right here in the U.S.,” said John Krafcik, president and CEO, Hyundai America.

The all-new 2011 Hyundai Elantra sedan will make its public debut at the Los Angeles Auto Show this November, and sales are scheduled to begin in early 2011.

The three most popular Hyundai vehicles are:

• Sonata
• Elantra
• Santa Fe

Which Hyundai do you like best? 

Interbrand has released its 11th annual ranking of the “Best Global Brands.” Of the 100 companies listed in the report, 10 are automakers.

• Toyota (#11)
• Mercedes-Benz (#12)
• BMW (#15)
• Honda (#20)
• Ford (#50)
• Volkswagen (#53)
• Audi (#63)
• Hyundai (#65)
• Porsche (#72)
• Ferrari (#91)

Interbrand, a leading brand consultancy, publishes the ranking of the top 100 brands based on a unique methodology that analyzes the many ways a brand touches and benefits an organization. Three key aspects contribute to a brand’s value: the financial performance of the branded products or services, the role of brand in the purchase decision process, and the strength of the brand to continue to secure earnings for the company.

For the entire list of the top 100 global brands, click here.