BINGHAM FARMS, MI - Vincentric announced its 2010 Best Fleet Value in America awards, with Toyota, General Motors and Ford leading the way, earning multiple Vincentric awards in multiple segments. In the premium categories, Volvo showed its strength by outpacing its competitors as it won three of the Best Fleet Value in America awards.

Many of the 2010 award winners were repeat victors. For Toyota, the Camry won for the third year in a row, the Tacoma for the fifth consecutive year, and the five-time winner Prius took top honors in an Advanced Fuel Technology segment.

Consistency was also prevalent at GM, with the fleet-critical ½-ton pickup segment won for the third year in a row by sister vehicles Chevrolet Silverado 1500 and GMC Sierra 1500, while the Chevrolet Express G1500 Cargo Van earned its third Vincentric award. Other repeat winners included the Volvo S40 and Volvo V50, as well as the Volkswagen Jetta Wagon.

New to the winners' circle in 2010 were the re-designed Ford Taurus and the recently launched Ford Transit Connect, showing that Ford's revamped product line is providing value to the fleet industry. A new category for 2010 was the Police Sedan segment, won by the Chevrolet Impala Police Edition.

To determine Vincentric's Best Fleet Value in America awards, Vincentric used a comprehensive analysis of fleet lifecycle costs to identify the best fleet values in the industry. The company measured eight cost factors for over 2,000 vehicle configurations in the 2010 model year, with 20 different mileage/lifecycle timeframe scenarios used in each of the 50 states and the District of Columbia. More than 16 million 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, and repairs.  These costs were integrated with the Vincentric Fleet Price, which estimates the acquisition cost for each vehicle in the study.

"Each year the competition in the fleet industry gets tougher, and this year our data showed close races in almost every segment," commented David Wurster, president of Vincentric. "The results show that buyers and lessees in the commercial and government markets have many quality vehicles to choose from, but the one that provides the best value for a particular buyer is dependent on the user's driving patterns and lifecycle terms."

The vehicle segments and the winners of Vincentric's Best Fleet Value in America awards for the 2010 model year are listed below. More information regarding the study is available at www.vincentric.com.

2010 Winners of Vincentric's Best Fleet Value in America

PASSENGER CARS

-Subcompact: Toyota Yaris Sedan

-Compact, Hatchback: Toyota Matrix Base 

-Compact, Sedan: Nissan Versa Base 

-Compact, Premium: Volvo S40 2.4i 

-Compact, Advanced Fuel Technology: Toyota Prius I 

-Mid-Size Sedan: Toyota Camry Base 

-Mid-Size Sedan, Premium: Audi A4 2.0T FrontTrak

-Sedan, Advanced Fuel Technology: Toyota Camry Hybrid

-Large: Ford Taurus SE FWD

-Large, Premium: Lincoln MKS FWD

-Police Sedan: Chevrolet Impala Police Edition

-Prestige: Mercedes-Benz GL 550 

-Wagon: Volkswagen Jetta S 

-Wagon, Premium: Volvo V50 2.4i 

UTILITY VEHICLES AND CROSSOVERS

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

-Crossover, Compact, Premium: Volvo XC60 3.2 FWD

-Crossover, Mid Size: Toyota Highlander Base 2WD 4cyl

-Crossover, Mid Size, Premium: Cadillac SRX Base FWD

-Crossover, Large: Ford Flex SE FWD

-Crossover, Large, Premium: Lincoln MKT FWD

-Crossover, Advanced Fuel Technology - Volkswagen Touareg TDI

-SUV, Compact: Toyota FJ Cruiser 2WD

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

-SUV, Large: Chevrolet Tahoe Commercial 2WD

-SUV, Large, Premium: GMC Yukon Denali 2WD

-SUV, Premium, Advanced Fuel Technology: Mercedes-Benz ML350 BlueTec

-Sport Utility Truck: Ford Explorer Sport Trac 2WD

PICKUP TRUCKS

-Compact Pickup: Toyota Tacoma Base Reg Cab 2WD

-Full Size Pickup, 1/2 Ton: Chevrolet/GMC Silverado 1500/Sierra 1500 Work Truck Reg Cab 2WD 119

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

-Full Size Heavy Duty Pickup, 1 Ton: Ford F350 XL Reg Cab 2WD SRW

VANS

-Mini Van: Dodge Grand Caravan SE

-Mini Commercial Van: Ford Transit Connect XL 

-Full Size Cargo Van: Chevrolet Express G1500 Cargo SWB

-Full Size Passenger Van: Ford E150 XL Wagon