ANAHEIM, CA – Research companies IntelliChoice and AutoPacific announced the 2011 Motorist Choice Awards. These awards, in their sixth year, are designed to recognize vehicles that deliver a mix of high vehicle owner satisfaction and lower-than-expected ownership costs over time.

This year, IntelliChoice and AutoPacific continued categorizing the winners into a collection of 15 segments. The category winners covered two market segments – Popular and Premium. Both are designed reflect motorist perceptions of the vehicles and illustrate the results of practical analysis, like total cost of ownership, fuel economy, and resale value.

Ford led the list of winning vehicles with four models, including the Expedition, which AutoPacific and Intellichoice said won in three different Popular categories. Repeat winners included the Dodge Ram HD in the Popular Active Lifestyle category, Hyundai Genesis in the Popular Luxury Lifestyle category, and the Lexus IS in the Premium Youthful category.

AutoPacific’s owner satisfaction survey for 2011 recorded more than 72,000 responses. The study solicits feedback on a recently purchased 2011 vehicle using 48 different attributes. From these data, AutoPacific said it compares overall buyer satisfaction between individual models and vehicle classes and announces its annual Vehicle Satisfaction Awards (VSAs) based on the findings.

IntelliChoice monitors and adjusts cost of ownership metrics for over 1,800 model trim lines. This analysis is the foundation of the IntelliChoice Best Overall Value of the Year (BOVY) awards announced each January, and its interim Best Bets awards which were recently announced for the upcoming 2012 model year.