TSX69

Ford Dethrones Toyota as 2011 Harris Poll EquiTrend Full Line AutoMotive Brand of the Year

NEW YORK, March 22, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Continuing their steady climb back into the hearts and minds of consumers, domestic brands Ford and Chevrolet nabbed the top 2 spots in the 2011 Harris Poll EquiTrend® study while last year's highest ranked brand, Toyota, fell to 4th in the rankings, behind Honda. The 2011 Harris Poll EquiTrend® Full Line Automotive Brand of the Year is awarded to the highest ranked brand in this category. Overall, awards are given in each of 46 different categories.

To view the multimedia assets associated with this release, please click: http://multivu.prnewswire.com/mnr/ha...ractive/44737/

(Logo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20110322/MM68969 )

Mercedes-Benz ranked highest among Luxury Automotive brands and was named 2011 Harris Poll EquiTrend® Luxury Automotive Brand of the Year with last year's highest ranked company, Lexus, ranked 2nd, followed by BMW and Infiniti.

"Improved product among the domestic automotive manufacturers is clearly having a positive impact on consumers and their perceptions of Ford and Chevrolet," said Carol Gstalder, Senior Vice President of Business and Industrial Research at Harris Interactive. "Both award recipients – Ford and Mercedes-Benz – have faced recent challenges, but both have introduced strong new and redesigned products. The opportunity is sustaining this improvement in the face of increased competition."

Automakers that showed the greatest improvement included Kia, Land Rover, Acura and Audi. Hyundai and Subaru have also shown steady improvement each of the past 4 years.

"Traditionally strong automotive brands are being challenged by up and coming brands, Kia and Hyundai, that are offering strong value propositions with improving product quality," said Gstalder. "If the economy continues to remain stagnant and gas prices continue to rise, these brands will be positioned to increase their market share."

Additional automotive categories measured and awarded "Brand of the Year" include Automotive Service Centers (Goodyear), Automotive Tire Brands (Michelin), Gasoline Retailers (Speedway Gasoline), Motor Oil (Pennzoil Motor Oil) and Motorcycles (Harley Davidson).

Methodology

The EquiTrend® study evaluates measures including: Equity, Consumer Connection, Commitment, Brand Behavior, Brand Advocacy, and Trust. The keystone to the program is Equity, which provides an understanding of a brand's overall strength and is determined by a calculation of Familiarity, Quality, and Purchase Consideration.

This year's Harris Poll EquiTrend® study was conducted online among 25,099 U.S. consumers ages 15 and over between January 11 and 27, 2011. A total of 1,273 brands were rated in 53 separate categories. Each respondent was asked to rate a total of 60 randomly selected brands. Each brand received approximately 1,000 ratings. Data were weighted to be representative of the entire U.S. population of consumers ages 15 and over on the basis of age, sex, education, race/ethnicity, region, and income, and data from respondents ages 18 and over were also weighted for their propensity to be online.

These statements conform to the principles of disclosure of the National Council on Public Polls.

The EquiTrend® study results disclosed in this release may not be used for advertising, marketing or promotional purposes without the prior written consent of Harris Interactive.

Product and brand names are trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective owners.

For a complete listing of all the brands covered in the study, contact Dagney Cassella at 212-539-9600 or dcassella@harrisinteractive.com.

About Harris Interactive

Harris Interactive is one of the world's leading custom market research firms, leveraging research, technology, and business acumen to transform relevant insight into actionable foresight. Known widely for the Harris Poll and for pioneering innovative research methodologies, Harris offers expertise in a wide range of industries including healthcare, technology, public affairs, energy, telecommunications, financial services, insurance, media, retail, restaurant, and consumer package goods. Serving clients in over 215 countries and territories through our North American, European, and Asian offices and a network of independent market research firms, Harris specializes in delivering research solutions that help us – and our clients – stay ahead of what's next. For more information, please visit www.harrisinteractive.com.

Press Contact:
Corporate Communications
Harris Interactive
212-539-9600
press@harrisinteractive.net

DeathMetal

iTrader: (2)

As an American, this makes me very proud.

elsapo

Why would Jeep get such a low score, I love my 2004 Wrangler. Its a great weekend fun car, the dogs love it also.

It sure wastes gas though compared to my TSX.

EL_PIC

Materials are Jeeps Downfall.

mrmako

As a Subaru owner, I am not surprised.

Kwave82

According to Consumer Reports (which I think is the most unbiased and fair view), has only two American cars picked out of every car class category.

http://www.consumerreports.org/cro/c...view/index.htm


For example, lets do head to head comparison of Ford and Hyundai. Compare each cars in the same class,

- for a small car class, Hyundai Elantra is clearly better than any Ford small cars. As stated in consumer reports 2011 top picks.

- for Mid sized class, Hyundai Sonata is better than any Ford mid sized cars. Sonata has better Horsepower, better MPG, better quality and reliability over Ford mid sized cars.

- For Luxury class, Hyundai Genesis is better than any other Ford luxury class. Genesis has more power, better Mpg, better interior quality and reliability over Ford luxury cars (Lincoln).

- Small SUV, Hyundai Tuscon is better than Ford Escape.

- Mid size, Kia Sorento (owned by Hyundai) was picked best SUV on consumer reports.

Based on this comparison, how can a reasonable person can say Ford is better than Hyundai?

TSX69

2012 Harris Poll EquiTrend Automotive ScoreCard:
Mercedes-Benz & Honda Lead

After 3 years of turmoil and consumer skepticism, the automotive industry is beginning to rebound. With new car sales finally on the rise, 2 manufacturers - Mercedes-Benz and Honda - reign supreme in successfully harnessing their equity and leading their industries as Brands of the Year. In fact, Mercedes-Benz is enjoying this achievement for the 2nd year in a row, according to the 2012 Harris Poll EquiTrend® (EQ) study, a yearly brand health assessment from Harris Interactive, one of the world's leading custom and multi-client market research firms.

To view the multimedia assets associated with this release, please click: http://www.multivu.com/mnr/44754-har...tive-scorecard

Mercedes-Benz Retains Title as Lead Luxury Auto Brand In a segment where luxury is synonymous with superb quality and craftsmanship, the Mercedes-Benz brand resonates more strongly with consumers than any other luxury automotive brand included in the Harris Poll EquiTrend study. Mercedes-Benz's strong performance in EQ has earned it the Luxury Automotive Brand of the Year accolade for the 2nd year running.

"Mercedes-Benz and Lexus have been battling over this top ranking for the last 8 years," says Mike Chadsey, Senior Consultant for Harris Interactive's Customer Relationship Consulting team. "Mercedes has ranked at the top for 2 years in a row and 4 of the last 8 years, while Lexus has made it to the top spot 3 times. BMW is also usually within the top 3, with especially strong scores over the last 3 years. Quality and Purchase Consideration both play important roles in these annual rankings," says Chadsey.

Beyond these perennial leaders, Cadillac, Acura, Infiniti, and Audi also rank above the category's average equity score.

Honda: America's Favorite Full Line Automaker The ranking was close and the results are in -- Honda overtakes both Toyota and Ford to become the 2012 Full Line Automotive Brand of the Year. It replaces last year's top-ranked automaker, Ford.

Having overcome some quality concerns and recalls in 2011, Toyota has come back strong. It climbs into 2nd place, which is up 2 notches from its 4th-place position in 2011, and that much closer to the top spot it held only 2 years ago in 2010. Toyota's increase in brand equity is the largest of the brands measured in the category.

Although its equity score has actually increased, Ford has slipped to 3rd place in the 2012 rankings -- a further testament to the highly competitive nature of the automotive market. Chevrolet, Nissan, Subaru, Hyundai, and Volkswagen also rank above average in the full line automotive category.

In addition to measuring the brand equity of the luxury and full line automotive manufacturers, EQ also measures the auto industry's ancillary products and services, including tires, motor oil, and service centers, among others. Here's a look at the top brands in each category and how each of the categories stacks up overall:

Kelley Blue Book's KBB.com Debuts as Online Auto Shopping Brand of the Year Online auto sales sites constitute a new Harris Poll EquiTrend category for 2012, and Kelley Blue Book's KBB.com earns the Online Auto Shopping Brand of the Year accolade, followed by Edmunds.com in 2nd place. KBB.com is the more familiar brand, due largely to its long heritage and strong association as the industry benchmark for used car values. Additionally, KBB.com enjoys high Quality scores, compared to other brands surveyed.

Napa AutoCare Takes Brand of the Year Title in EQ Debut 1st-time EQ brand, Napa AutoCare outranks 19 competitors to earn the Automotive Service Center Brand of the Year accolade in the 2012 Harris Poll EquiTrend study. Discount Tire, also a new brand to the EQ study, places 2nd, surpassing last year's top-ranked brand, Goodyear Tire and Service Network, which fell to 3rd. National Tire and Battery, Valvoline Instant Oil Change, Firestone Automotive Service Centers, Walmart Tire & Lube Express, and Mobil 1 Lube Express all round out the top 8 brands above the category average.

Bose Tops New Car Audio Category Another of Harris Poll EquiTrend's new categories is Car Audio, where Bose debuts as the Brand of the Year. This is an especially important finding for luxury automotive manufacturers, which select branded audio systems that fit their own brand promises and appeal to consumers.

"Bose enjoys very strong Familiarity, Quality, and Purchase Intention scores among the general population, as well as top-ranked Leadership and Brand Momentum scores. Clearly, Americans see Bose as a leader within its category, as well as a brand that has a bright future," says Chadsey.

Well-known by consumers, Harman/Kardon, Boston Acoustics, Infinity, and Alpine all ranked above the category average.

Pennzoil Motor Oil Makes It 3 Years in a Row In a category filled with many well-known brands, Pennzoil takes the Motor Oil Brand of the Year honor for the 3rd consecutive year. Despite a large drop in overall Familiarity, Pennzoil retains its strong Quality and Purchase Intention scores to keep its top ranking. Mobil 1, Valvoline, Rotella, Quaker State, and Castrol motor oils also placed above the category average.

Michelin Enjoys 6 Years as America's Tire Brand Michelin continues to dominate the automotive tire market, achieving the highest-ranked position in the Harris Poll EquiTrend study for 6 consecutive years. As usual, Goodyear and BF Goodrich round out the top 3 brands in the 2012 study. Bridgestone, Pirelli, and Cooper also rank better than the category average.

Garmin Navigates to Top Position Garmin is ranked as the GPS Navigation Brand of the Year for 2012. Garmin leads in key aspects of brand equity, including Familiarity, Quality, and Purchase Intention.

Yamaha Cuts off Harley-Davidson Gains made in Quality and Purchase Consideration by Yamaha pushed the brand ahead of Harley-Davidson to secure the Motorcycle Brand of the Year accolade in the 2012 Harris Poll EquiTrend study. Higher scores in Familiarity, Quality, and Purchase Intention helped move Yamaha ahead of Harley-Davidson.

About Harris Poll EquiTrend® Harris Poll EquiTrend® is a leading Brand Equity tracking study conducted by Harris Interactive that measures and compares brand health for more than 1,500 brands. The study was conducted online from January 31 through February 20, 2012 and analyzes the responses of over 38,500 consumers on key measures of brand health - including how well the public knows a brand, how positively they think of the brand and their consideration to do business with or donate to a brand. Each brand is rated 1,000 times among respondents who are familiar with the brand. Harris Interactive has conducted its EquiTrend study regularly since 1989, and can offer yearly trended data from 2005. The Equity Score, a key take-away from EquiTrend, has been validated against financial performance by Georgetown University.

These statements conform to the principles of disclosure of the National Council on Public Polls.

The Harris Poll EquiTrend® study results disclosed in this release may not be used for advertising, marketing or promotional purposes without the prior written consent of Harris Interactive.

Product and brand names are trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective owners.

For a complete listing of all the brands covered in the study, contact Corporate Communications at 212-539-9600 or press@harrisinteractive.net.

About Harris Interactive Harris Interactive is 1 of the world's leading market research firms, leveraging research, technology, and business acumen to transform relevant insight into actionable foresight. Known widely for the Harris Poll® and for pioneering innovative research methodologies, Harris offers proprietary solutions in the areas of market and customer insight, corporate brand and reputation strategy, and marketing, advertising, public relations and communications research. Harris possesses expertise in a wide range of industries including health care, technology, public affairs, energy, telecommunications, financial services, insurance, media, retail, restaurant, and consumer package goods. Additionally, Harris has a portfolio of multi-client offerings that complement our custom solutions while maximizing our client's research investment. Serving clients in more than 215 countries and territories through our North American and European offices, Harris specializes in delivering research solutions that help us - and our clients - stay ahead of what's next. For more information, please visit www.harrisinteractive.com .