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Value Rating
Above Average
IntelliChoice Value Rating
The chart above shows the purchase price versus ownership cost for each car from a specific vehicle class. The cars with better than average ownership cost/purchase price correlations are the best values, and these best value cars are represented by the dots below the curve. (i.e. the cars that have a lower ownership cost compared to its purchase price.) Those cars, which are worse than average or poor values, appear above the curve.
One way to view the graph is to draw a vertical line through any purchase price. You may see several dots that fall on this line - each of which is a car with a similar purchase price. However, notice the difference in ownership costs of each car represented by the vertical position of the dot. Two cars with the same purchase price can have thousands of dollars difference in ownership costs. This is what separates "good value" cars from "poor value" cars.
What is a good car value?
A "good car value" is one whose cost to own and operate is less than expected. The lower the cost to own and operate a car compared to what is expected, the better the value of that car.
But how do we know a car's "expected cost"?
For each car in the class, IntelliChoice plots the car's purchase price against the total five-year cost to own and operate it as determined by IntelliChoice research. Each dot on the above chart represents a specific car. Generally, we find that as the purchase price of the car increases, the cost to own and operate that car increases. This is why the dots on the graph tend to rise upward and to the right. This phenomenon also makes intuitive sense - as the purchase price rises, financing costs tend to rise, as do insurance, depreciation, taxes, and most other car ownership costs.
This is an important concept. It's normal for car ownership costs to rise as purchase price rises. Therefore, we can't just establish one "average" ownership cost number for each class, since cars in the class have different purchase prices. (This is why the "Relative" shown on each chart is different for cars in the same car class.)
Using statistical techniques, IntelliChoice "connects the dots" to form a curve that defines, for this car class, the relationship between the car's purchase price and car's ownership costs. This curve is our "expected cost" curve. The curve defines, for any car in the class, the five-year ownership cost that we would expect to see at each possible purchase price. If every car in the class were an average value, then all the dots would fall exactly on the curve. However, it's rare that any dot is exactly on the curve. Some dots are a little higher or lower, and some are a lot higher or lower. The dots that are a little lower are better than average car values, while the dots that are a lot lower are excellent car values (A dot that is a lot lower than the curve has ownership costs much lower than expected for a car of its purchase price). Conversely, a dot a little higher than the curve is a poorer than average car value, while a dot that is much higher than the curve is a poor car value.
Value is a relative term, not an absolute term. It is performing better than the logical expectation.
So is a Mercedes-Benz E320 expensive to own and operate? Certainly in an absolute sense. Most other cars cost less. But, when its cost to own and operate is plotted against cars with comparable invoice prices, the E320 costs less. So the E320 is not expensive to own and operate - it is a good car value. The Mercedes does not have low ownership costs, but it has low ownership costs for its invoice price.
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Review From Motor Trend Magazine
Long Term Update: 2002 GMC Envoy
"The fuel-filler neck doesn't like the curve of some gas-pump nozzles, shutting off instantly. It takes some nozzle adjusting angle and 20-plus clicks to fill 'er up."
By Jeff Bartlett
One of the best perks of a long-term-test program is having the opportunity to drive the winner of Motor Trend's Sport/Utility of the Year for an entire year in numerous real-world situations. Our '02 Envoy came packed with all the goodies, including 17-inch alloy wheels, tranny cooler, foglamps, Bilstein shocks, four-wheel disc brakes with ABS, OnStar, a dual-zone HVAC, and power everything. To that we added GMC's Professional Technology Package, which scored us heated seats, a locking diff, six-disc in-dash changer, and every mother's delight: a DVD player for the rear seats. 2002 GMC Envoy Base price $33,985 Price as tested $38,320 Vehicle layout Front engine, 4wd, 4-door, 5-pass Engine 4.2L I-6, DOHC, 4valves/cyl Horsepower @ rpm 270 @ 6000 Torque @ rpm 275 @ 3600 Transmission 4-speed automatic 0-60 mph, sec 8.0 EPA mpg 16 city/21 highway Total mileage 6035 Average test mpg 14.7 Problem areas Door-lock actuator Non-warranty cost $0
| We have nothing but praise for the I-6's low-end torque and the air-assisted-suspension's comfortable-yet-firm ride. On the other hand, complaints regarding the interior have begun to appear in the logbook. The tilt steering wheel is poorly designed-its detents are spaced too far apart to provide a satisfactory position for every driver; even when turned to its lowest setting, the stereo is still too loud for some; and the lack of thigh support in the rear seat make it uncomfortable for long trips. With the ski season in full swing, we still look forward to loading up the Envoy with our skis and boards and heading to the powder.
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2006 Future Vehicle Forecast
Manufacturers love to keep us guessing. They try to keep secrets from us, and we fight tooth and nail to get the info out as soon as possible.
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