ALG's 12th Annual Residual Value Awards Recognize Subaru and Infiniti as Top Brands

SANTA BARBARA, Calif., Nov. 17, 2010 /PRNewswire/ -- ALG, a subsidiary of DealerTrack Holdings, Inc. (Nasdaq: TRAK) and the industry benchmark for residual values and depreciation data, today announced its 12th Annual Residual Value Awards, with Subaru and Infiniti taking the awards for top mainstream and luxury brands, respectively.  Japanese models also continued their overall dominance of the awards, winning 12 of the 19 individual vehicle segments.

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ALG's Residual Value Awards honor the vehicles in each segment that are predicted to retain the highest percentage of their MSRP after a conventional three-year period.

"High residual values are a key indicator of a brand's health and contribute to driving increased profitability," said Raj Sundaram, Senior Vice President, Solutions Group and ALG.  "The movements within our 2011 rankings suggest that more OEMs are committed to improving residuals, and that the awards in the future will be even more competitive based on the strides the Korean and domestic manufacturers are making."

This year's awards are based on 2011 model year vehicles, and winners were chosen after a careful evaluation of vehicle criteria – including segment competition, historical vehicle performance and industry trends.  The complete list of winners can be found at https://www.alg.com/ResidualValueAwards.

Subaru of America won the Mainstream Brand Residual Value Award, edging out runner-up Honda for the second consecutive year.  Three Subaru models also received individual segment awards: the Legacy (in the Midsize Car category), the Forester (Compact Utility Vehicle) and the Outback (Midsize Utility Vehicle).

"The sustained high quality of Subaru's products, as well as its consistent message about the benefits of all-wheel drive, continue to inspire a remarkable loyalty among its customer base," said Mr. Sundaram.  "This has allowed Subaru to achieve strong sales growth without relying on heavy discounting or fleet sales, which is another key to its ranking atop the mainstream brands again this year."  

Infiniti, a division of Nissan North America, Inc., moved up three spots for 2011 to take top honors among luxury brands overall.  The Infiniti QX56 SUV also won the Luxury Fullsize Utility category.  

"Building upon the foundation of its entry-level G sedan, Infiniti has introduced exciting new designs for the M and QX and added technology that is proving very popular with consumers," Mr. Sundaram said.  "The QX56 is a great example, offering a luxurious interior and numerous cutting-edge features at a price significantly below its more established competitors."  

Honda's Acura division was the runner-up among luxury brands, and its TL took home the honors in the Near Luxury Car category.  Honda also was the segment winner in two mainstream categories, for the Fit (Entry Compact Car) and the Odyssey (MPV).

Toyota and its Lexus luxury division received one segment award each, for the Toyota Tacoma (Midsize Pickup) and the Lexus LS 460 (Luxury Car).  Toyota, which ranked second for four consecutive years from 2005 to 2008 among mainstream brands, continued its downward trend and came in at number six this year.

Hyundai earned its first-ever Residual Value Award for the Elantra, which won the Compact Car segment, with the company also registering its best-ever showing in the RVAs with a seventh place finish among mainstream brands.

Nissan won more than one award for the first time, for the Maxima (Fullsize Car) and the GT-R (Luxury Sports Car).

The alternate powertrain categories were swept by diesel cars this year, with the Volkswagen Golf TDI winning the Hybrid/Alternate Powertrain segment and the Mercedes-Benz E350 BlueTEC taking top honors in the Luxury Hybrid/Alternative Powertrain segment.

The Ford F-Series Super Duty (Fullsize Pickup) was the only winner among domestic manufacturers for the second year in a row.

The remaining segment winners were the MINI Cooper Countryman (Sporty Car), the BMW X3 (Luxury Compact Utility), the Mazda CX-9 (Fullsize Utility) and the Land Rover Range Rover Sport (Luxury Midsize Utility).

Summary of 2011 Residual Value Award Winners

Mainstream Brand: Subaru of America

Luxury Brand:  Infiniti, a division of Nissan North America, Inc.

Segment Winners

About ALG (www.alg.com)

Based in Santa Barbara, California, ALG is a leading provider of data and consulting services to the automotive industry.  ALG publishes the "Automotive Lease Guide" – the standard for residual value projections in North America, and has been forecasting automotive residual values for over 40 years in both the U.S. and Canadian markets.  ALG is a company of DealerTrack Holdings, Inc. (Nasdaq: TRAK).

About DealerTrack (www.dealertrack.com)

DealerTrack's intuitive and high-value software solutions enhance efficiency and profitability for all major segments of the automotive retail industry, including dealers, lenders, OEMs, agents and aftermarket providers.  Our solution set for dealers is the industry's most comprehensive.  DealerTrack operates the industry's largest online credit application network, connecting approximately 17,000 dealers with over 900 lenders.  Our Dealer Management System (DMS) provides dealers with easy-to-use tools and real-time data access that will streamline any automotive business.  Dealers using DealerTrack AAX get the inventory management tools and services needed to accelerate turns and increase profits.  Our Sales and F&I solution enables dealers to streamline the entire sales process while structuring all types of deals from a single integrated platform.  DealerTrack's Compliance solution helps dealers meet legal and regulatory requirements and protect their hard-earned assets.  DealerTrack's family of companies also includes data and consulting services providers ALG and Chrome Systems.  For more information, visit www.dealertrack.com.

Safe Harbor for Forward-Looking and Cautionary Statements

Statements in this press release regarding ALG's Annual Residual Value Awards and any conclusions or statements based thereon, and all other statements in this release other than the recitation of historical facts are forward-looking statements (as defined in the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995).  These statements involve a number of risks, uncertainties and other factors that could cause actual results, performance or achievements of DealerTrack to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by these forward-looking statements.

Factors that might cause such a difference include brand perception, the performance of vehicles pricing vs. forecasted residual values and other risks listed in our reports filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), including our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2009. These filings can be found on DealerTrack's website at www.dealertrack.com and the SEC's website at www.sec.gov. Forward-looking statements included herein speak only as of the date hereof and DealerTrack disclaims any obligation to revise or update such statements to reflect events or circumstances after the date hereof or to reflect the occurrence of unanticipated events or circumstances.

TRAK-G

SOURCE ALG

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