Luxury brands take particular pains to breed loyalty in their customers, since the cars they sell ostensibly offer something beyond the best value for money, whether that's a style, a feel or a history. Cultivating a sense of belonging ensures buyers will return to the brand when they need to replace their current vehicle, and that's a sure way to grow sales. According to the latest J.D. Power and Associates survey, Lexus has done a very good job of this, as almost half of its owners traded in for another of the brand's offerings in the first quarter of 2008.

Last place Saab saw only 8.8% of its customers return to the brand during the same period, while the traditional powerhouses of the luxury market - BMW and Mercedes - both hovered just above 40% in owner loyalty. Cadillac filled in fourth spot, just 0.4% ahead of Porsche, which retained 36.9% of its owners. From there it's a steep drop to Acura at 29.3%, Lincoln at 28.2%, Audi at 22.7% and Infiniti and Volvo both at about 20%, rounding out the top ten.

The biggest surprise on the list is undoubtedly Hummer, which not only didn't finish last, but outranked SUV-only rival Land Rover by a full percentage point, coming in at 16.8% to the now Tata-owned marque's 15.6%. Land Rover's sister company, Jaguar, filled in the one remaining spot ahead of Saab at 14.2%.

Whether these numbers reflect larger trends in the industry or are merely indicative the state of the market during those three months is tough to tell. Certainly the larger disparities are significant, but rankings separated by only a few percent cannot be taken strictly at face value due to the limited time frame and random chance of buyers choosing to sell or trade vehicles.

Via: NextAutos