Although Toyota maintains a narrow lead as the strongest automobile brand in the United States, Ford leads the way in factors that matter most to consumers, according to Consumer Reports' 2011 Car Brand Perception Survey.
The scores in the survey reflect how consumers perceive each brand in seven categories: safety, quality, value, performance, design/style, technology/innovation, and environmentally friendly/green. Measuring across those categories provides the total brand perception but does not directly represent the actual qualities of any brand's vehicles.
The ten most recognizable brands based on the perception of car owners are:
Toyota (147),
Ford (144),
Honda (121),
Chevrolet (102),
BMW (93),
Mercedes-Benz (90),
Volvo (84),
Lexus (69),
Cadillac (66), and
Subaru (50).
Over the last two years, Ford has gained 35 percentage points while Toyota has plummeted by 46 points after massive model recalls. A year ago, Toyota retained a substantial lead over Ford and Honda. In 2010, however, Toyota finished only slightly ahead of Ford, which widened its advantage over Honda. Chevrolet retained its fourth place position, while BMW leapt over Volvo and Mercedes-Benz to capture fifth place.
Toyota maintained a significant lead in the environmentally friendly/green category with a score of 46, compared to second-place Ford at 18, but the survey found the importance of this category to consumers is declining, with only 28 percent of consumers naming it an important factor, down by 4 percentage points since last year and by 12 points since 2008, probably as a result of an unwillingness to spend more for green technologies in difficult economic times.
Safety (65%), quality (57%), and value (51%) continued to be the most important factors for consumers who are considering the purchase of a new car—categories in which Ford ranked better than Toyota. These categories maintain more weight than performance (47%), environmentally friendly or green (28%), design or style (25%) and technology or innovation (17%).
While Volvo (70%) remains the undeniable leader in the minds of consumers in the safety category, Ford figures in second place, albeit 50 points behind. Toyota lost its lead in the quality category in 2010, with Honda (25%) and Ford (23%) overtaking Toyota (19%) to leave it in third. In terms of value, Ford (25%) edged out Honda (24%) and Toyota (23%), moving up from third place last year.
Consistent with elsewhere in the survey, consumers' overall perception of Toyota has dropped, while their perception of Ford has risen and Honda pulls a respectable second-place finish.
