|
|
|
|
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.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Article From Motor Trend Magazine
Road Test: 2006 Hyundai Azera Limited vs. 2006 Toyota Avalon Touring vs. 2006 Volkswagen Passat 3.6L
Article provided by: Motor Trend Magazine
Given that the Toyota Avalon has long been comically mute as a design statement, that this one's suddenly a visual chatterbox of bevels comes as a pleasant surprise. Some of us smiled at the sculptural boldness: "At least, it's interesting for a change." Others grumbled: "The tall doors make for a thick beltline that comes off as badly proportioned." "Too many unnecessary angles." Coincidence perhaps, the same might be said of the cars in our 1972 comparison. The controversy ceased at the Avalon's door, however. Inside, the driver's studio is clean, crisp, and organized. The dash of our Touring example was brightened by a sleek, silverized center stack that neatly conceals its audio paraphernalia behind touch-opened doors. At night, this is elegantly framed by large, translucent buttons for the climate controls, which at nightfall acquire the look of glowing ice cubes. We prefer the Avalon's approach of unifying the sound system and climate settings into one easy-glance display (although the graphics employed are amusingly Pong-era in style).  2006 Toyota Avalon Interior Because it's a Toyota, you'd expect high standards in materials and craftsmanship, but what's most remarkable is the penthouse dimensions of the back seat. Positioning the front seat for our standard-seating mannequin (an average-dimension six-foot male), the rear seat affords our same mannequin 6.2 inches of knee room--yep, half a foot. That's 2.4 more than in the Azera, 3.2 more than in the Passat, and the sort of stretch space a pricey ticket buys you on Virgin Atlantic. If you're proportioned like Skeleton Jack in the "Nightmare Before Christmas," here's the back seat for you (and seatback, too, given that it reclines up to 10 degrees). Some of this comes at the expense of trunk capacity, however, which falls 13 percent short of the Azera's and five inches shorter in floor length than the Hyundai's and Volkswagen's.  2006 Toyota Avalon Engine In motion, Toyota's flagship extends the limousine impersonation with, shall we say, noticeable silence and astute absorption of road imperfections. Our accelerometer measurements over a favorite test surface (encompassing railroad tracks and six miles of varying-quality asphalt) showed the Avalon to be a close second in ride to the Azera. However, its expressed vibrations were better spread over the frequency range, rendering them tougher to identify (i.e., its ride quality's version of "white noise"). Surprisingly, at a stop, the idling Avalon is also louder than the Azera, the Toyota registering 43.0 dBA versus the Hyundai's whispering 38.0 and the Volkswagen's 43.5. ... >>next page
|
Toyota Avalon, Lexus SC, here to stay
As the American auto companies make decisions on what models to dropfrom their fleets, rumors persist that other...
07/18/2008 | 22:07 PM
|
|
Hyundai Beats Toyota In Intellichoice's Best Deals
CAMPBELL, CA (September 12, 2007) -- IntelliChoice.com (www.intellichoice.com), the leading source for automotive...
09/11/2007 | 16:09 PM
|
|
Toyota brings lasers for driving control, comfort.
September 19, 2006 – Torrance, CA - Dynamic Laser Cruise Control (DLCC) is offered in select Toyota and Lexus models,...
04/23/2007 | 21:04 PM
|
|
Top 10 Picks for Best Family Car
Consumer Reports recently compiled its picks for the best vehicles for families as the holiday season reaches its peak....
04/23/2007 | 21:04 PM
|
|
New Cars cost over Fifty Cents per Mile to Own, Operate
AAA, the source for all things cars, has come out with its new 2008 edition of “Your Driving Costs.†According to...
04/08/2008 | 18:04 PM
|
|
|
|
| |