Edmunds reveals most wanted vehicle awardees; editors, readers differ in view

Edmunds.com announced recently the winners of the sixth annual Edmunds.com Consumers' Most Wanted vehicle awards. Apparently, however, Edmund's editors and readers differ greatly in what they think is important and desirable in terms of a new car or truck. Edmund's readers agreed on only 8 out of 32 of Most Wanted Vehicles with the Editors.



By a considerable margin, the 2007 GMC Acadia won the flagship award, which is Edmunds.com Consumers' Most Significant Vehicle of 2007. The next highest finisher was the 2007 Saturn Aura, and the 2007 Honda Fit took the third place. However, Toyota Tundra was the readers' choice for the flagship award.



On the other hand, among manufacturers, Chevrolet led the pack, winning five awards, while Cadillac and Honda tied for second place, each winning four awards in this year's survey.



The 2007 cars which bagged the awards were the GMC Acadia, Chevrolet Cobalt, Honda Civic and Mazda 3 (tie), Saturn Aura, Acura TSX, Cadillac CTS, Cadillac STS, BMW 5 Series, Lexus LS 460, Honda Civic, Ford Mustang, Infiniti G35, Chevrolet Corvette, Porsche 911, Kia Rio5, Mazda 3, Audi A3, Audi A4 and BMW 3 Series (tie), BMW 5 Series, Toyota RAV4, GMC Acadia/Saturn Outlook, Chevrolet Suburban/ GMC Yukon XL/Chevrolet Tahoe/GMC Yukon, Cadillac Escalade/Cadillac Escalade ESV, Saturn Sky, Honda S2000, BMW Z4, Chevrolet Corvette, Cadillac XLR, Toyota Tacoma, Chevrolet Silverado/2007 GMC Sierra, 2007 Honda Odyssey, and the 2007 Bugatti Veyron 16.4.

The GMC Acadia and Saturn Outlook, Chevrolet Tahoe and GMC Yukon, Cadillac Escalade and Cadillac Escalade ESV, and Chevrolet Silverado and GMC Sierra were considered "twin vehicles" that were listed jointly in the ballot. As described in detail in the Edmunds.com article entitled "Twinned Vehicles", these vehicles are built on the same chassis and share most of their under-hood and interior components.



Aside from the Toyota Tundra that won in two different categories, the other vehicles which were agreed by the Edmunds readers were the Honda Civic (in two different categories), BMW 5 Series, Porsche 911, Kia Rio5, Mazda 3, Audi A4, and the Toyota Tacoma.



Edmunds.com Editor-in-Chief Karl Brauer said these awards provide a good idea of what consumers are looking for in their next vehicle, and this year, consumers voiced the opinion that the domestic markets are developing some very compelling cars and trucks.



Meanwhile, details on all award winners are listed in at the website of Edmunds.com.



Edmunds.com, the premier online resource for automotive consumer information was launched in 1995 as the first automotive information web site. Edmunds Inc. publishes four web sites that empower, engage and educate automotive consumers, enthusiasts and insiders.



Volkswagen, maker of quality VW strut insert, was not chosen either by the editors or the readers. Automobile analysts say this is because the German car maker has still need to boost its image in the US market so that Americans will eventually like their concepts and buy its cars.