• by Karl Greenberg , May 13, 2009

When it comes to car shopping, opinions from friends, neighbors, and acquaintances go a long way to predisposing a consumer to this or that brand or nameplate.

But according to automotive consultancy AutoPacific's new analysis, new-car owners who recommend their vehicle have to be a lot more than just pleased with it to talk it up. The firm's new analysis on owner recommendations quantifies owners' level of confidence to see which new car owners will recommend their model most.

"The thing we really see is that if an owner is willing to recommend a vehicle, they are making a real commitment to it," says George Peterson, president of the Tustin, Calif.-based firm.

The new study is based on a survey on recommendation intentions of 25,000 new-vehicle owners who bought or leased new cars or light trucks from September last year to year-end 2008. The first question on the survey, per Peterson, is: "Would you recommend your new vehicle to a friend or relative?," with scores based on responses that ranged from "Yes, definitely" to "Yes, with reservations" to "No."

The most-recommended brand was Porsche, with the highest owner recommendation of 91%. "Porsche owners' feelings for their cars run deep; some might call it devotion," says Peterson. "Clearly, that is still the case as the Porsche lineup all scored well in this survey." After Porsche were Infiniti, Lexus and Cadillac.

The firm says the vehicle with the highest overall satisfaction is the Infiniti G37, recommended by 95% of new owners. The top truck is the Ford F-150 recommended by 89% of its owners. There was a tie in the SUV category, with the GMC Yukon XL and Honda CR-V recommended by 93% of their owners.

The top-ranked manufacturers for having the most vehicles with top recommendation numbers are Toyota -- six for Toyota division and two for Lexus; Ford with six, which includes one for the Lincoln brand; Honda with three and General Motors and Chrysler tied with two each for Chevy and GMC and Dodge and Jeep, respectively.

Toyota grabbed the most-recommended premium car and mid-sized premium car with the Lexus LS and ES, respectively; and large car and "aspirational" mid-sized car, with Toyota Avalon and Camry. By nameplate, the most recommended premium car was the Lexus LS. The VW Jetta won as most recommended mid-sized car. For sports cars, the most recommended premium was the Chevy Corvette. The Nissan 350Z was top sports car and Mustang was top sporty car.

Chrysler Group's Dodge Nitro was the most recommended mid-sized SUV in the survey and the Jeep Wrangler was the most recommended off-road compact SUV. For had the most recommended SUVs, with top spots for Lincoln Navigator, Ford Edge and Flex.

Peterson says this is the first time AutoPacific has published the data, and that next week, the firm will release a vehicle satisfaction study. He says there is some overlap. "The Land Rover LR2, for instance, which won the most recommended for its class, also won vehicle-satisfaction for its class."