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Porsche leads car survey
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September 21, 2000: 3:57 p.m. ET
Kia brings up the rear in 'Click and Clack' online poll; Saturn dealers get high marks
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NEW YORK (CNNfn) - The Porsche was way out in front in a recent online survey of popular cars, while the Kia was left eating dust.
The survey, conducted by National Public Radio's Car Talk hosts Tom and Ray Magliozzi on their Web site, also found Saturn dealers to be the most popular car sellers.
Fifty-five percent of car owners said they would buy the same car if they had to do it all over again, according to the study, which asked 95,000 respondents to consider such factors as buying experience, maintenance costs, comfort and performance. 
Sixty-five percent of Porsche owners said they'd buy the car again, according to the survey, while, on the other side of the road, only 29 percent of the respondents came out for the Kia.
Of the 10 most loved vehicles, five were from Asian manufacturers and four were European. The Saturn, which ranked tenth, was the only American company in the top 10.
"We're supposed to be the greatest industrialized nation in the world, and this is the best we can do? Tenth?" Car Talk co-host Tom Magliozzi said in a statement. "You don't even get a ribbon for tenth. What's next? Will Fiat bump Saturn out of the top 10?"
After Porsche, the other cars in the top 10 were Honda, Lexus, Toyota, Saab, Acura, Volvo, Subaru, Volkswagen and Saturn.
What's the deal?
There was decidedly less enthusiasm when it came to satisfaction with car dealerships. Only 32 percent of respondents said they were happy with their dealer experience. 
Here, Saturn was way out in front, pulling down a score of 59 percent. The top 10 list included four Asian makes, three American and three European. In addition to Saturn, Cadillac and Lincoln were the other American makes in the top 10.
The top favorite dealers were: Saturn, Infiniti, Lexus, Acura, Chrysler, Dodge, Mercury, Geo, Subaru and Honda.
AM General left respondents least satisfied. The company makes the sports utility vehicle the Hummer, a cousin to the U.S. Army's Humvee.
"But that's less of a problem than you might imagine," Magliozzi said. "Just pull into the nearest Army base. Unless we're at war, they'll have plenty of time to fix it for you."
Only six of the roughly 40 manufacturers represented in the database made it to the "Double Ten Best List," appearing on both the overall satisfaction and dealership satisfaction top 10 lists. That roster included Acura, Honda, Infiniti, Lexus, Saab and Saturn.
The brothers warned that the study does not claim to be a reflection of opinions of the U.S. population, "since respondents were visitors to the Car Talk Web site, and thus do not constitute a representative sample of American drivers." 
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