No matter how much someone loves their new vehicle, whether it’s a Jaguar or a GMC, there are things they’d like to change about it. AutoPacific, an automotive research firm, knows that.
To ultimately discover which automakers would come home with its 2016 Ideal Vehicle Awards, AutoPacific asked more than 65,000 owners of new 2015 and 2016 vehicles after 90 days of ownership what they’d like to change about their purchases in 15 categories, such as ride and handling, safety features, technology, and power.
After all of the responses came in, AutoPacific determined the GMC Acadia was the top Large Crossover SUV, the Yukon/Yukon XL was the highest-ranked Large SUV, and the GMC Sierra was the #1 Light Duty Pickup – for the second year in a row. GMC was only one of two automakers to have three of its models beat the competitors in their categories; Subaru was the other one.
Overall, GMC won the 2016 Ideal Vehicle Award for Most Satisfying Popular Brand. If that seems like old news, it is. This is the third year in a row GMC has taken home that prize.
Derek Shiekhi's father raised him on cars. As a boy, Derek accompanied his dad as he bought classics such as post-WWII GM trucks and early Ford Mustang convertibles.
After loving cars for years and getting a bachelor's degree in Business Management, Derek decided to get an associate degree in journalism. His networking put him in contact with the editor of the Austin-American Statesman newspaper, who hired him to write freelance about automotive culture and events in Austin, Texas in 2013. One particular story led to him getting a certificate for learning the foundations of road racing.
While watching TV with his parents one fateful evening, he saw a commercial that changed his life. In it, Jeep touted the Wrangler as the Texas Auto Writers Association's "SUV of Texas." Derek knew he had to join the organization if he was going to advance as an automotive writer. He joined the Texas Auto Writers Association (TAWA) in 2014 and was fortunate to meet several nice people who connected him to the representatives of several automakers and the people who could give him access to press vehicles (the first one he ever got the keys to was a Lexus LX 570). He's now a regular at TAWA's two main events: the Texas Auto Roundup in the spring and the Texas Truck Rodeo in the fall.
Over the past several years, Derek has learned how to drive off-road in various four-wheel-drive SUVs (he even camped out for two nights in a Land Rover), and driven around various tracks in hot hatches, muscle cars, and exotics. Several of his pieces, including his article about the 2015 Ford F-150 being crowned TAWA's 2014 "Truck of Texas" and his review of the Alfa Romeo 4C Spider, have won awards in TAWA's annual Excellence in Craft Competition. Last year, his JK Forum profile of Wagonmaster, a business that restores Jeep Wagoneers, won prizes in TAWA’s signature writing contest and its pickup- and SUV-focused Texas Truck Invitational.
