BINGHAM FARMS, MI – Vincentric announced the winners of its 2009 Best Fleet Value in America awards, with strong fleet product lines from General Motors and Toyota each earning seven awards, and Ford with five winning vehicles. General Motors' strength was due in part to the Silverado/Sierra sweep of the full-size pickup segments and the top performance from the new Chevrolet Traverse.

Toyota used victories by the Camry, Prius, Tacoma, and the Sienna minivan to show value across the board, while Ford did well in the sedan segments, with the Mercury Sable and the Lincoln MKZ picking up awards.  Chrysler showed its fleet strength by earning three different awards, while Volvo also made its presence known in the premium segments with two winning vehicles, including the three-time winner Volvo S40.

Vincentric used its ongoing, comprehensive analysis of fleet lifecycle costs to identify the best fleet values in the industry, measuring eight cost factors for more than 2,000 vehicle configurations in the 2009 model-year, with twenty different mileage/lifecycle timeframe scenarios used in each of the 50 states, plus D.C. The resulting 16 million-plus lifecycle cost measurements were then reviewed to determine the winning vehicles.

The eight cost factors that determined overall lifecycle costs were:

• Depreciation.

• Fuel.

• Insurance.

• Opportunity cost.

• Financing.

• Maintenance.

• Taxes and state fees.

• Repairs. 

These costs were integrated with the Vincentric Fleet Price, which estimates the acquisition cost for each vehicle in the study.

"As in the past, our 2009 awards use a variety of segments to provide guidance to all types of fleet buyers, including small business fleets, executive fleets, and high-volume managed fleets," said David Wurster, president of Vincentric. "One change for this year was the increase in different mileage/lifecycle timeframe scenarios we measured; going from twelve to twenty different combinations.  By doing so, we're able to account for a wide variety of driving and ownership patterns and provide an independent, solid foundation for accurately evaluating the lifecycle costs of fleet vehicles in any state."  

Below are the 2009-MY vehicle segments and winners of Vincentric's Best Fleet Value in America awards.  In addition, a review of each winner and further information about the study is available at www.vincentric.com.

2009 Winners of Vincentric's Best Fleet Value in America

PASSENGER CARS

-Subcompact - Toyota Yaris Base Hatchback 

-Compact, Hatchback - Nissan Versa S 

-Compact, Sedan - Nissan Versa Base

-Compact, Sedan, Premium - Volvo S40 2.4i 

-Mid-Size - Toyota Camry Base

-Mid-Size, Premium - Lincoln MKZ

-Large - Mercury Sable Base 

-Large, Premium - Chrysler 300 LX

-Wagon - Volkswagen Jetta S Wagon

-Prestige - Mercedes-Benz CLS 550 

-Wagon, Premium - Volvo V50 2.4i 

-Hybrid, Car - Toyota Prius Standard 

UTILITY VEHICLES AND CROSSOVERS

-Crossover, Compact, Mid Level - Toyota Rav4 Base 2WD 4cyl

-Crossover, Mid Size - Dodge Journey SE FWD

-Crossover, Mid Size, Premium - Mercedes-Benz ML320 CDI

-Crossover, Large - Chevrolet Traverse LS FWD

-Crossover, Large, Premium - Buick Enclave CX FWD

-SUV, Compact - Mazda Tribute I 2WD

-SUV, Mid Size - Toyota 4Runner SR5 2WD V6

-SUV, Large - Dodge Durango SE 2WD

-SUV, Large, Premium - GMC Yukon XL 1500 SLE Commercial

-Sport Utility Truck - Ford Explorer Sport Trac

-Hybrid, SUV/Crossover - Ford Escape FWD

PICKUP TRUCKS

Compact Pickup - Toyota Tacoma Base Reg Cab 2WD

Full-Size Pickup - Chevrolet/GMC Silverado 1500 / Sierra 1500 Work Truck Reg Cab 2WD 119

Heavy-Duty 3/4 Ton Pickup - Chevrolet/GMC Silverado HD 2500 / Sierra HD 2500 Work Truck Reg Cab 2WD

Heavy-Duty 1 Ton Pickup - Chevrolet/GMC Silverado HD 3500 / Sierra HD 3500 Work Truck Reg Cab 2WD SRW

VANS

Minivan - Toyota Sienna CE 7 Pass FWD

Full-Size Cargo Van - Chevrolet Express Cargo G1500 Cargo SWB

Full-Size Passenger Van - Ford E150 XL Wagon