TUSTIN, Calif. — When AutoPacific released its 2010 Ideal Vehicle Awards on Tuesday, one Big 3 automaker dominated the results, as its models took home more than 40 percent of the segment awards.

Ford vehicles were honored in 11 of the 27 segment categories and the next closest OEM, General Motors, took home three awards.

Moreover, the Ford brand won the award for Ideal Popular Brand and Top Brand Overall.

"Ford Motor Co. leads the industry with a total of 11 segment winners. No other manufacturer came even close," said George Peterson, AutoPacific's president. "In addition to these 11 segment wins, the Ford brand scored highest of any brand in the 2010 research, including all premium brands."

Winning the award for Ideal Premium Brand was Porsche. Ford and Porsche have been honored three straight years in the overall categories of Ideal Popular and Ideal Premium.

Additionally, in the individual segment honors, Porsche was represented in the sports car category with the Cayman. The brand also took the Nos. 2 and 3 spots in that category, as well. The Boxter ranked second and the 911 came in at No. 3.

"An ideal vehicle is one that meets the owner's expectations for the product. They do not want it changed. They don't want it bigger. They don't want it faster. They don't want its styling changed," Peterson shared.

"When asked what they would change about their new vehicle, buyers who want the least change are driving their ideal vehicle," he continued. "This means Porsche has created cars that owners essentially say are perfect." 

Continuing on, apparently American are continuing to value large models that are comfortable for suburban driving or longer highway trips. As such, tapped for the Ideal Product Segment was the large crossover SUV, which finished ahead of the large car segment, which was the winner in 2009.

Meanwhile, the Range Rover was the highest rated overall model and the highest rated car was the Suzuki Kizashi.

Finishing second to Ford in the popular category was GMC, while Lincoln and Land Rover were behind Porsche.

The complete list of winners is as follows:

2010 Ideal Popular Brand and Top Brand Overall: Ford

2010 Ideal Product Segment: Large Crossover SUV

2010 Ideal Vehicle Award Winners:

Passenger Cars

Premium Luxury Car: Volvo S80

Aspirational Luxury Car: Volvo V70

Large Car: Ford Taurus SHO*

Luxury Midsize Car: Lincoln MKZ

Premium Midsize Car: Ford Fusion

Midsize Car: Suzuki Kizashi*

Premium Compact Car: Volkswagen GTI*

Compact Car: Volkswagen Golf

Economy Car: Honda Fit*

Sports Car: Porsche Cayman

Sporty Car: Chevrolet Camaro*

Hybrid Car: Ford Fusion Hybrid*

Pickups, SUVs and Minivans

Large Light Duty Pickup: Ford F-150*

Heavy Duty Pickup: Ford F-250

Compact Pickup: Honda Ridgeline*

Luxury SUV: Range Rover

Large SUV: Chevrolet Suburban

Premium Midsize SUV: Ford Explorer

Midsize SUV: Dodge Nitro*

Premium Luxury Crossover SUV: Lincoln MKT EcoBoost*

Luxury Crossover SUV: Lexus RX*

Large Crossover SUV: Ford Flex EcoBoost

Premium Midsize Crossover SUV: Chevrolet Equinox

Midsize Crossover SUV: Ford Escape*

Compact Crossover SUV: Jeep Compass

Minivan: Honda Odyssey*

Hybrid Truck: Ford Escape Hybrid

*These models also received honors in AutoPacific's 2010 Vehicle Satisfaction Awards

AutoPacific also stressed that beyond recognizing segment winners, IVA scores nearly all models in the U.S. via numerical ideal vehicle ratings. It determines these via calculations of how owners have rated these vehicles in 15 categories of attributes.

These include the following: exterior styling, exterior size, passenger roominess, cargo space, driver's seat comfort, driver's seat visibility, interior technology, interior lighting, power and acceleration, ease of getting in and out, interior storage compartments, ride, handling, safety features and tires and wheels.