Compact vehicles have taken the retained value lead from sport-utility vehicles, according to Power Information Network, an affiliate of J.D. Power and Associates. Compact vehicles showed a 2.6-percent increase in retained value based on a comparison of November 2003/2004 data. "Compact cars have performed consistently well in year-over-year comparisons and their retained values have increased or held steady recently," Dan Zetu, senior manager at PIN, said in a statement. "While gas prices do have a significant influence on this phenomenon (the consistency of compact cars year-over-year), the price of these vehicles, combined with significant improvements in product design and quality, make these vehicles more desirable than in the past," he said. SUVs ranked second in the retained value comparison for November, with a 1.8-percent increase over the same period in 2003. Luxury vehicles came in third with an 0.8 percent climb in year-over-year retained value. "Regarding SUVs, their retained value performance has also improved in year-over-year comparisons, but it has declined within the last model year partly due to gas prices," he said.