J.D. Power study: consumers prefer new car designs

Consumers like new cars. That's the shocking result of the 2006 J.D. Power and Associates Automotive Performance, Execution and Layout Study, which measures owner "delight" with the design, content, layout and performance of their new vehicles. The 11th annual APEAL (get it?) study found that all-new models or models with an extensive redesign received higher APEAL scores, which are usually linked to better sales and higher profits for carmakers.

Porsche, which is at the top of the list for J.D. Power's 2006 Initial Quality Survey, is also the highest ranking brand in the APEAL survey, courtesy of its curvaceous Cayman.

Models that were unchanged from 2005 tended to get lower than average scores. And the popular industry practice of "freshening" an existing design to give it that new car magic doesn't seem to work - freshened models also scored below average.

Check out the full list of nameplate rankings and individual segment leaders after the jump...

[Source: J.D. Power]

Cars:

Sub-Compact Car
Highest Ranked: Suzuki Aerio
Scion xA
Chevrolet Aveo

Compact Car
Highest Ranked: MINI Cooper
Volkswagen Jetta
Honda Civic

Compact Sporty Car
Highest Ranked: Scion tC
Hyundai Tiburon
Pontiac Solstice

Compact Premium Sporty Car
Highest Ranked: Porsche Cayman
Porsche Boxster
Mercedes-Benz SLK-Class

Entry Premium Car
Highest Ranked:
Lexus IS 250/IS 350
BMW 3 Series
Mercedes-Benz C-Class

Midsize Premium Car
Highest Ranked: Infiniti M-Series
Audi A6 (tie)
BMW 5 Series (tie)
Lexus GS 300/GS 430 (tie)

Large Premium Car
Highest Ranked: BMW 7 Series
Lexus LS 430
Mercedes-Benz S-Class

Premium Sporty Car
Highest Ranked:
Mercedes-Benz SL-Class
Porsche 911
Chevrolet Corvette

Midsize Sporty Car
Highest Ranked: Ford Mustang
Chevrolet Monte Carlo
Pontiac GTO

Midsize Car
Highest Ranked: Ford Fusion
Volkswagen Passat
Mazda6

Large Car
Highest Ranked: Hyundai Azera
Chrysler 300 Series (tie)
Dodge Charger (tie)



Trucks and Vans:

Compact MAV
Highest Ranked: Toyota RAV4
Nissan Xterra (tie)
Suzuki Grand Vitara (tie)

Midsize MAV 
Highest Ranked: Nissan Murano
Buick Rainier
Toyota 4Runner

Large MAV
Highest Ranked: Nissan Armada
GMC Yukon
Ford Expedition

Midsize Premium MAV
Highest Ranked:
Lexus GX 470 (tie)
Porsche Cayenne (tie)
BMW X5

Large Premium MAV
Highest Ranked: Infiniti QX56
Land Rover Range Rover Sport
Lexus LX 470

Large Pickup
Highest Ranked: Nissan Titan
Chevrolet Avalanche
GMC Sierra HD

Midsize Pickup
Highest Ranked: Honda Ridgeline
Toyota Tacoma
Mitsubishi Raider

Van
Highest Ranked: Honda Odyssey
Toyota Sienna
Nissan Quest