Question: Finding the Best Car Value When trying to decide what car to buy, real value is not necessarily determined by how much you spend on

Finding the Best Car Value

When trying to decide what car to buy, real value is not necessarily determined by how much you spend on the initial purchase. Instead, cars that are reliable and don't cost much to own often represent the best values. But, no matter how reliable or inexpensive a car may cost to own, it must also perform well.

To measure value,Consumer Reportsdeveloped a statistic referred to as a value score. The value score is based upon five-year owner costs, overall road-test scores, and predicted reliability ratings. Five-year owner costs are based on the expenses incurred in the first five years of ownership, including depreciation, fuel, maintenance and repairs, and so on. Using a national average of 12,000 miles per year, an average cost per mile driven is used as the measure of five-year owner costs. Road-test scores are the results of more than 50 tests and evaluations and are based upon a 100-point scale, with higher scores indicating better performance, comfort, convenience, and fuel economy. The highest road-test score obtained in the tests conducted byConsumer Reportswas a 99 for a Lexus LS 460L. Predicted-reliability ratings (1 = Poor, 2 = Fair, 3 = Good, 4 = Very Good, and 5 = Excellent) are based on data fromConsumer Reports'Annual Auto Survey.

A car with a value score of 1.0 is considered to be "average-value." A car with a value score of 2.0 is considered to be twice as good a value as a car with a value score of 1.0; a car with a value score of 0.5 is considered half as good as average; and so on. The data for 20 family sedans, including the price ($) of each car tested, follow.

Car Price ($) Cost/Mile Road-Test Score Predicted Reliability Value Score
Nissan Altima 2.5 S (4-cyl.) 23,970 0.59 91 4 1.75
Kia Optima LX (2.4) 21,885 0.58 81 4 1.73
Subaru Legacy 2.5i Premium 23,830 0.59 83 4 1.73
Ford Fusion Hybrid 32,360 0.63 84 5 1.70
Honda Accord LX-P (4-cyl.) 23,730 0.56 80 4 1.62
Mazda6 i Sport (4-cyl.) 22,035 0.58 73 4 1.60
Hyundai Sonata GLS (2.4) 21,800 0.56 89 3 1.58
Ford Fusion SE (4-cyl.) 23,625 0.57 76 4 1.55
Chevrolet Malibu LT (4-cyl.) 24,115 0.57 74 3 1.48
Kia Optima SX (2.0T) 29,050 0.72 84 4 1.43
Ford Fusion SEL (V6) 28,400 0.67 80 4 1.42
Nissan Altima 3.5 SR (V6) 30,335 0.69 93 4 1.42
Hyundai Sonata Limited (2.0T) 28,090 0.66 89 3 1.39
Honda Accord EX-L (V6) 28,695 0.67 90 3 1.36
Mazda6 s Grand Touring (V6) 30,790 0.74 81 4 1.34
Ford Fusion SEL (V6, AWD) 30,055 0.71 75 4 1.32
Subaru Legacy 3.6R Limited 30,094 0.71 88 3 1.29
Chevrolet Malibu LTZ (V6) 28,045 0.67 83 3 1.20
Chrysler 200 Limited (V6) 27,825 0.70 52 5 1.20
Chevrolet Impala LT (3.6) 28,995 0.67 63 3 1.05

Data and information to solve the question if required:

Car Size Price ($) Cost/Mile Road-Test Score Predicted Reliability Value Score
Toyota Corolla (base, manual) Small Sedan 16,419 0.44 70 4 1.99
Mazda3 i Touring (manual) Small Sedan 18,895 0.50 74 5 1.94
Toyota Corolla LE Small Sedan 18,404 0.47 71 4 1.89
Mazda3 i Touring Small Sedan 19,745 0.52 70 5 1.82
Hyundai Elantra GLS Small Sedan 18,445 0.53 80 3 1.64
Nissan Sentra 2.0 SL Small Sedan 20,150 0.57 74 4 1.51
Kia Forte Sedan EX Small Sedan 19,040 0.57 71 3 1.32
Ford Focus SE Small Sedan 20,280 0.52 68 2 1.30
Ford Fiesta SE Small Sedan 16,595 0.47 61 2 1.25
Volkswagen Jetta SE (2.5) Small Sedan 20,300 0.54 60 3 1.24
Volkswagen Jetta TDI Small Sedan 25,100 0.50 68 2 1.18
Chevrolet Cruze LS (1.8) Small Sedan 18,375 0.57 67 1 0.96
Chevrolet Cruze 1LT (1.4T) Small Sedan 20,530 0.60 69 1 0.91
Nissan Altima 2.5 S (4-cyl.) Family Sedan 23,970 0.59 91 4 1.75
Kia Optima LX (2.4) Family Sedan 21,885 0.58 81 4 1.73
Subaru Legacy 2.5i Premium Family Sedan 23,830 0.59 83 4 1.73
Ford Fusion Hybrid Family Sedan 32,360 0.63 84 5 1.70
Honda Accord LX-P (4-cyl.) Family Sedan 23,730 0.56 80 4 1.62
Mazda6 i Sport (4-cyl.) Family Sedan 22,035 0.58 73 4 1.60
Hyundai Sonata GLS (2.4) Family Sedan 21,800 0.56 89 3 1.58
Ford Fusion SE (4-cyl.) Family Sedan 23,625 0.57 76 4 1.55
Chevrolet Malibu LT (4-cyl.) Family Sedan 24,115 0.57 74 3 1.48
Kia Optima SX (2.0T) Family Sedan 29,050 0.72 84 4 1.43
Ford Fusion SEL (V6) Family Sedan 28,400 0.67 80 4 1.42
Nissan Altima 3.5 SR (V6) Family Sedan 30,335 0.69 93 4 1.42
Hyundai Sonata Limited (2.0T) Family Sedan 28,090 0.66 89 3 1.39
Honda Accord EX-L (V6) Family Sedan 28,695 0.67 90 3 1.36
Mazda6 s Grand Touring (V6) Family Sedan 30,790 0.74 81 4 1.34
Ford Fusion SEL (V6, AWD) Family Sedan 30,055 0.71 75 4 1.32
Subaru Legacy 3.6R Limited Family Sedan 30,094 0.71 88 3 1.29
Chevrolet Malibu LTZ (V6) Family Sedan 28,045 0.67 83 3 1.20
Chrysler 200 Limited (V6) Family Sedan 27,825 0.70 52 5 1.20
Chevrolet Impala LT (3.6) Family Sedan 28,995 0.67 63 3 1.05
Lexus ES 350 Upscale Sedan 38,615 0.77 91 5 1.45
Acura TL (base) Upscale Sedan 36,465 0.75 82 5 1.41
Lexus IS 250 Upscale Sedan 33,734 0.75 84 5 1.40
Infiniti G25 Journey Upscale Sedan 34,225 0.73 86 4 1.37
Lexus HS 250h Premium Upscale Sedan 38,939 0.75 83 4 1.36
Acura TSX (4-cyl.) Upscale Sedan 29,675 0.67 84 3 1.35
Infiniti G37 Journey Upscale Sedan 37,225 0.79 95 4 1.33
Toyota Avalon Limited Upscale Sedan 35,485 0.73 86 3 1.27
Hyundai Genesis 3.8 Upscale Sedan 39,850 0.78 92 3 1.22
Volvo S60 T5 Upscale Sedan 35,100 0.76 77 4 1.18
Nissan Maxima 3.5 SV Upscale Sedan 33,700 0.78 83 3 1.17
Buick Regal CXL (2.4) Upscale Sedan 28,840 0.65 77 2 1.14
Lincoln MKZ Upscale Sedan 37,160 0.80 77 4 1.12
BMW 328i Upscale Sedan 39,175 0.79 77 3 1.10
Audi A4 Premium Quattro Upscale Sedan 35,895 0.76 76 3 1.08
Ford Taurus Limited Upscale Sedan 34,980 0.78 73 3 1.07
Buick Regal CXL (turbo) Upscale Sedan 32,135 0.71 79 2 1.06
Mercedes-Benz C300 Sport Upscale Sedan 37,325 0.83 77 3 1.04
Volkswagen CC Luxury (2.0T) Upscale Sedan 32,680 0.73 82 2 1.04
Saab 9-3 2.0T Upscale Sedan 31,615 0.70 69 3 1.00
Buick LaCrosse CXS (V6) Upscale Sedan 37,555 0.81 74 2 0.82

Executive Summary

The executive summary is a brief description of your business report, allowing readers to

  1. understand the problem/opportunity that is being analyzed and reported on
  2. see the findings and insights that help you solve the problem/opportunity
  3. learn the strategy you recommend the company follow

The executive summary is very important in a business report - it provides a snapshot of all the details shown in the full business report.

Title

Introduction paragraph

Please give a brief overview of the topic

Question 1

A portion of the Excel output follows.

Regression Statistics
Multiple R 0.8707
R Square 0.7580
Adjusted R Square 0.7485
Standard Error 0.0520
Observations 54
ANOVA
df SS MS F Significance F
Regression 2 0.4325 0.2163 79.8884 1.93001E-16
Residual 51 0.1381 0.0027
Total 53 0.5706
Coefficients Standard Error t Stat p-Value
Intercept 0.5231 0.0144 36.2479 4.48609E-38
Family-Sedan 0.1189 0.0185 6.4157 4.55557E-08
Upscale-Sedan 0.2303 0.0184 12.5400 3.33718E-17

There appears to be a significant relationship between the type of car and the cost/mile. Approximately 75% of the variability in Cost/Mile is explained using the Family-Sedan and Upscale-Sedan variables. Note that for a small sedan, Family-Sedan = 0 and Upscale-Sedan = 0. Thus the estimate of the Cost/Mile for a small sedan is .5231. Note that the Cost/Mile increases by .1189 for a family sedan and .2303 for an upscale sedan. Conclusion: smaller cars have lower five-year owner costs.

Question 2

A portion of the Excel output follows.

Regression Statistics
Multiple R 0.9671
R Square 0.9353
Adjusted R Square 0.9286
Standard Error 0.0720
Observations 54
ANOVA
df SS MS F Significance F
Regression 5 3.5967 0.7193 138.8089 2.4970E-27
Residual 48 0.2487 0.0052
Total 53 3.8454
Coefficients Standard Error t Stat p-Value
Intercept 1.3710 0.1397 9.8163 4.6315E-13
Cost/Mile -2.2659 0.1938 -11.6894 1.2003E-15
Road-Test Score 0.0111 0.0013 8.4774 4.2227E-11
Predicted Reliability 0.1662 0.0104 15.9306 8.5542E-21
Family-Sedan 0.0228 0.0380 0.5996 0.5516
Upscale-Sedan 0.0681 0.0537 1.2682 0.2108

Question 3

Family-Sedan and Upscale-Sedan are both not significant. The Excel regression output corresponding to a model using only Cost/Mile, Road-Test Score, and Predicted Reliability follows.

Question 4

Regression Statistics
Multiple R 0.8667
R Square 0.7512
Adjusted R Square 0.7309
Standard Error 0.1397
Observations 54
ANOVA
df SS MS F Significance F
Regression 4 2.8886 0.7221 36.9806 3.07225E-14
Residual 49 0.9569 0.0195
Total 53 3.8454
Coefficients Standard Error t Stat p-Value
Intercept 0.1719 0.1840 0.9341 0.3548
Family-Sedan -0.2499 0.0582 -4.2948 8.24809E-05
Upscale-Sedan -0.4553 0.0576 -7.9090 2.63274E-10
Road-Test Score 0.0112 0.0025 4.3800 6.23668E-05
Predicted Reliability 0.1701 0.0202 8.4018 4.67372E-11

This regression output shows that the size of the car, as represented by the two dummy variables, is also a significant factor in predicting Value Score. But note that in part (1) the estimated regression equation shows that there is a significant relationship between Cost/Mile and the two dummy variables representing size. So, once the effect of Cost/Mile has been accounted for, any effects that might be due to size have already been incorporated into the model.

Conclusion and Christian Perspective:

Reference:

Andreson, D.R. (2020).Essentials of Modern Business Statistics with Microsoft Excel.Mason: South-Western.

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