Automakers spend billions of dollars to promote their vehicles and build brand awareness. Yet, marketing alone does not shape consumer perception without a clear connection to the vehicles in the showroom. In the latest Auto Pulse survey conducted by the Consumer Reports National Research Center, Toyota and Honda brands ranked first and second, respectively, by dominant margins over all others. Likewise, the vehicles from those brands have consistently performed well in our testing, often ranking among the best in their classes, and have been mostly at the top of our reliability ratings over the years.
This survey focused on how consumers perceive and rank car brands in seven crucial areas, including safety, quality, value, performance, environmental friendliness, design, and technological innovation. It also looks at which of those factors are most important to consumers when buying a vehicle.
Top in brand perception by category:
Safety — Volvo (by a huge margin)
Quality — Toyota
Value — Honda
Performance — BMW
Green — Toyota
Design — Mercedes Benz and Lexus tied, Cadillac close third
Technology/Innovation — Toyota and Lexus