SANTA MONICA, Calif. -
Some automakers received an unexpected early holiday present Wednesday in the form of a high grade from TrueCar.com. In releasing scorecards on various automakers and brands today, TrueCar.com reported that some showed strong improvements over October, while for others, it might feel more like receiving a lump of coal.
The company placed several European companies at the top of the class. Meanwhile, the company seemed to believe that some automakers — most of which are Japanese — still have some homework to do to catch up to their counterparts.
In determining each scorecard, TrueCar evaluated OEMs and individual brands based on eight factors. Among them are sales, incentives, customer loyalty, market share and days in inventory.
Leading the OEMs in November’s scorecards was Porsche, which was given an A+. Following it was a trio of European manufacturers, each of which garnered an A, including BMW, Daimler and Jaguar Land Rover.
Conversely, Mazda had the lowest grade of an F, while Saab came in second from the bottom  with a D- and Mitsubishi scored the third-lowest with a D, according to TrueCar.com.
Compared to October’s grades, Daimler (which earned a C+ the prior month) and Suzuki — which earned a B+ after a D+ in October — showed the most improvement.
The heaviest decreases were demonstrated by Mazda (which recorded a D- in October), and Toyota, which was given a B- in October but received a C- in November from TrueCar.com.
Continuing on to look at individual brands, Audi, Porsche and Land Rover tied for the best grade, scoring an A+.
Mazda received the worst brand score with an F, and Nissan, Toyota and Saab all tied for second-lowest  with a D-, TrueCar.com reported.
“Lower incentive spending and strong transaction prices helped Daimler experience one of the greatest gains in November whereas Porsche claimed the top spot based on an all-around strong performance,” stated Jesse Toprak, TrueCar’s vice president of industry trends and insights. 
“Toyota’s grade decline came from their sub-par retail sales performance, which is still being affected by the recalls,” he added.