Autobytel and AutoPacific Reveal 2012 Ideal Vehicle Awards

Largest National Survey of Automotive Owners Yields Winning Cars

IRVINE, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Automotive research and consulting firm AutoPacific and Autobytel Inc. (Nasdaq: ABTL), the company dedicated to helping dealers and car-buyers connect online, today announced the 2012 Ideal Vehicle Awards (IVAs). Established in 2006, the IVAs recognize the cars that meet their owner's expectations and desires about their automotive purchases.

Based on the largest single-model-year survey of automotive owners, the IVAs are designed to help consumers make informed vehicle purchase decisions with a true "peer-to-peer" survey. More than 75,000 vehicle owners across all major manufacturers were surveyed to reveal the vehicles that best meet their owners' demands. The survey reflects the views of over 75,000 automotive owners who have owned their 2012 vehicles for 90 days. It then measures any changes that the owners would make to their new car or light truck. The Ideal Vehicle Awards recognize vehicles where owners wanted the least amount of change across 15 key vehicle attributes, including: exterior styling, exterior size, passenger roominess, cargo space, driver's seat comfort, driver's seat visibility, info/entertainment technology, interior lighting, power and acceleration, ease of getting in and out, interior storage compartments, ride, handling, safety features and tires and wheels.

"The significance of the Ideal Vehicle Awards is that they identify the automotive manufacturers that are listening to their buyers when updating and developing their latest cars," said George Peterson, President of AutoPacific. "In addition to identifying segment winners, the IVAs also establish numerical Ideal Vehicle Ratings for virtually every passenger car and light truck in the United States market. With 38% of car buyers being positively influenced by owner-based awards like the IVAs, these awards can give car shoppers a good direction to go when searching for their next vehicle purchase."

"The Ideal Vehicle Awards complement the Vehicle Satisfaction Awards we recently announced," said Autobytel Inc. President and Chief Executive Officer, Jeffrey H. Coats. "We gladly provide car buyers with consumer-to-consumer points-of-view to assist them with their car buying choices. The Ideal Vehicle Awards offer shoppers a unique perspective based on current owners' recommendations." He continued, "We are pleased to announce this year's winners and congratulate the manufacturers on their ongoing commitment to listening to their customer and providing the vehicles that come closest to their buyers' desires."

2012 Overall Winner
Mercedes-Benz S-Class

Premium Brand (2012 Model Year)
Audi

Popular Brand (2012 Model Year)
MINI

2012 Ideal Vehicle Awards: Passenger Cars

Most Ideal Premium Luxury Car						2012 Mercedes Benz S-Class
Most Ideal Aspirational Luxury Car						2012 Audi A4
Most Ideal Large Car						2012 Dodge Charger
Most Ideal Luxury Mid-Size Car						2012 Acura TSX
Most Ideal Premium Mid-Size Car						2012 Volkswagen Passat
Most Ideal Mid-Size Car						2012 Subaru Legacy
Most Ideal Premium Compact Car						2012 MINI Cooper
Most Ideal Compact Car						2012 Volkswagen Golf
Most Ideal Economy Car						2012 Honda Fit
Most Ideal Sports Car						2012 Chevrolet Corvette
Most Ideal Sporty Car						2012 Dodge Challenger
Most Ideal Hybrid/EV Car						2012 Nissan Leaf

2012 Ideal Vehicle Awards: Light Trucks

Most Ideal Large Light Duty Pickup					2012 Ford F-150
Most Ideal Heavy Duty Pickup					2012 GMC Sierra HD
Most Ideal Compact Pickup					2012 GMC Canyon
Most Ideal Luxury SUV					2012 Land Rover LR4
Most Ideal Large SUV					2012 GMC Yukon XL
Most Ideal Mid-Size SUV					2012 Jeep Grand Cherokee
Most Ideal Premium Luxury Crossover SUV					2012 Porsche Cayenne
Most Ideal Luxury Crossover SUV					2012 Volvo XC70
Most Ideal Large Crossover SUV					2012 Ford Flex
Most Ideal Premium Mid-Size Crossover SUV					2012 Honda Pilot
Most Ideal Mid-Size Crossover SUV					2012 Honda CR-V
Most Ideal Compact Crossover SUV					2012 MINI Countryman
Most Ideal Minivan					2012 Honda Odyssey
Most Ideal Hybrid/EV Truck					2012 Toyota Highlander Hybrid

While MINI and Audi took the top spots as overall winners for the highest scores for Most Ideal Vehicles, multiple top-ranked award winners include Honda/Acura with five awards; General Motors with four awards; Chrysler/Jeep with three awards; and Volkswagen/Audi with three awards. MINI and Ford achieved two awards, and Audi swept the first three spots in the Aspirational Luxury Car category — A4, A5, A6 — in that order.

For more information about Autobytel and AutoPacific's Ideal Vehicle Awards, please visit www.Autobytel.com. Watch exclusive videos on Autobytel's YouTube page or join the conversation on the Autobytel Facebook Fan Page.

About Autobytel Inc.
Autobytel Inc., an online leader offering consumer purchase requests and marketing resources to car dealers and manufacturers and providing consumers with the information they need to purchase new and used cars, pioneered the automotive Internet when it launched its flagship website in 1995. Autobytel continues to offer innovative products and services to help consumers buy, and auto dealers and manufacturers sell, more used and new cars. Autobytel has helped tens of millions of automotive consumers research vehicles; connected thousands of dealers nationwide with motivated car buyers; and helped every major automaker market its brand online. Through its flagship website, network of automotive sites and respected online affiliates, Autobytel continues its dedication to innovating the industry's highest quality Internet programs to provide consumers with a comprehensive and positive automotive research and purchasing experience, and auto dealers, dealer groups and auto manufacturers with some of the industry's most productive and cost-effective customer referral and marketing programs.

Investors and other interested parties can receive Autobytel news releases and invitations to special events by accessing our online signup form at http://investor.autobytel.com/alerts.cfm

Autobytel Inc. Media Relations
MSC-PR
Michelle Suzuki
310-444-7115
michelle@msc-pr.com
or
Autobytel Inc. Investor Relations
PondelWilkinson Inc.
Roger Pondel/Laurie Berman
310-279-5980
investor@pondel.com
or
CMC Group, Inc.
Bradley Orr
303-887-4932
borr@cmc-group.us
or
AutoPacific
Dan Hall
714-838-4234
dan.hall@autopacific.com
or
George Peterson
714-838-4234
george.peterson@autopacfic.com

Source: Autobytel Inc.

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