Deception And Cover-ups Forgiven? Toyota Again Most Considered Brand In America

According to the latest Kelley Blue Book www.kbb.com Market Intelligence Brand Watch™ study, embattled automaker Toyota has regained the top spot as the most-considered auto brand among new-car shoppers.  Toyota consistently captured the most-considered auto brand title from Q1 2007 through Q3 2009, but then fell to the number-two spot for Q4 2009 through Q2 2010, during which time the company experienced its high-profile recall crisis and domestic auto manufacturer Ford surged ahead to capture the top spot.  In addition to being the most-considered auto brand overall (regardless of segment), for Q3 2010 Toyota is the most-considered brand in the non-luxury sedan/coupe/hatchback and non-luxury SUV/CUV segments, and consideration of Toyota trucks also considerably rebounded this quarter.

For Q3 2010, Ford and Honda (respectively) are hot on the heels of the once again number-one Toyota, with only one percentage point separating these top three brands in overall consideration (regardless of segment) in the latest Brand Watch study.  Rounding out the top five most-considered among the 37 new-vehicle brands tracked in the Kelley Blue Book Market Intelligence study include Chevrolet and Nissan, respectively.  Consideration for Korean automaker Hyundai, which ousted Nissan for the number-five spot last quarter, slipped to sixth place for Q3 2010 as Nissan's consideration gained three percentage points since Q2 2010.

"The latest Brand Watch data from Kelley Blue Book Market Intelligence indicates that Toyota is slowly recovering from its public-perception crisis and regaining a position of prominence in the minds of new-car shoppers," said James Bell, executive market analyst for Kelley Blue Book's kbb.com.  "However, whether Toyota will ascend as high as it was before the recall crisis remains yet to be seen.  Hot competition from the likes of Ford, Honda, Chevrolet, Nissan and Hyundai could make it very hard for Toyota to keep a strong lead moving forward."

Overall for Q3 2010, new-car shoppers rank durability/reliability, fuel efficiency, driving comfort, driving performance and safety (respectively) as the top five importance factors while shopping for their next new vehicle (regardless of segment).

Specific to the non-luxury sedan/coupe/hatchback segment, Hyundai consideration maintains a slight advantage at fourth place over fifth-place Nissan, following Toyota, Honda and Ford, respectively.  Additionally, for the first time, Mitsubishi was the top-rated brand for the importance factor of 'cool factor/vehicle image' in this category.  

In consideration of the non-luxury SUV/CUV segment, both Nissan and Jeep saw significant increases in consideration over the prior quarter.  In addition, Subaru made its first appearance as the top-ranked brand among the importance factors of safety and versatility/flexibility in this category.

Specific to the luxury sedan/coupe/hatchback segment, BMW has regained the top spot for consideration in Q3 2010, followed by Lexus, Audi, Acura and Mercedes-Benz, respectively.  While Mercedes-Benz places fifth for consideration in this segment, it continues to garner the top rank for most of the factors of importance (driving comfort, safety, interior design/layout, luxuriousness/sophistication, prestige/brand status, family friendliness).

In consideration of the luxury SUV/CUV segment, Lexus remains the most-considered brand for Q3 2010, even though the brand's consideration has been eroding for the last few quarters.  Following Lexus for top consideration of luxury SUV/CUVs are Acura, Cadillac, Lincoln and BMW (respectively).

Ford continues to remain the most-considered truck brand, experiencing a dramatic increase in consideration since Q2 2010.  In addition, the importance factor of safety has edged out driving performance to round out the top factors of importance for trucks (durability/reliability, fuel efficiency, towing/hauling capacity, driving comfort and safety, respectively).

Honda continues to remain the most-considered minivan brand, yet of all minivan brands, only domestic automakers Chrysler and Dodge experienced a slight increase in minivan consideration for Q3 2010 over the previous quarter.

The Q3 2010 Kelley Blue Book Market Intelligence Brand Watch Study was fielded to more than 2,700 in-market new-car shoppers on Kelley Blue Book's kbb.com from July 8 – September 23, 2010.  Kelley Blue Book's Brand Watch is an ongoing study tracking and trending consumer perceptions, detailing strengths and weaknesses of makes within each segment.  Brand Watch primarily tracks brand consideration, segment consideration, important consideration factors for new-car shoppers, and how brands perform on those important factors.  Kelley Blue Book Market Intelligence has been tracking Brand Watch since 2007.



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Agent009 - 12/13/2010 12:33:55 PM

-6 Boost

A conspiracy theory...eh???

uaw_lax - 12/13/2010 12:40:19 PM

-9 Boost

Enough with the stupid government conspiracy ideals. how many "men in black" have you seen making these cars accelerate buy themselves or Toyota "fixing" a problem that was supposedly not a problem in the first place. It all boils down to people liking boring cars from a misleading car company called Toyota.

uaw_lax - 12/13/2010 12:42:18 PM

-13 Boost

again they might be the most considered but actual sales says are a different story with Toyotas declining market share.

enthusiastx11 - 12/13/2010 3:23:18 PM

-3 Boost

there's no conspiracy. toyotas are just really boring cars that sold largely because of reliability. when that reliability proved to be plain old average, there wasn't much reason left to want one.

this is the most open auto market on the planet. if you can't make interesting product, people will take their dollars elsewhere.

enthusiastx11 - 12/13/2010 3:25:59 PM

-4 Boost

you're aware the toyota was the LARGEST beneficiary of US government dollars that propped up the auto market back in 20009 right?

800over - 12/13/2010 3:44:49 PM

+1 Boost

Link or it didn't happen....

enthusiastx11 - 12/13/2010 6:34:05 PM

-1 Boost

800: you need a link? did you read a paper in 2009? did you miss the (misguided) obama stimulus plan for the auto industry? ironically, toyota benefited the most from it. so much for helping the US industry.

here's a primer....

http://www.suite101.com/content/2009-federal-car-tax-rebate-no-sales-tax-states-a126153

85bmw745i - 12/13/2010 8:59:00 PM

+5 Boost

Right on. I'm not Toyota fan by no means but this is a conspiracy to help domestics win back customers quickly rather than them have take all that time earning them back. They don't have that kind of time.

800over - 12/15/2010 10:17:53 AM

+2 Boost

First of all Joe....your link doesn't lead to any numbers about Toyota vs any other company because of the rebate program. But that aside:

Maybe I'm out of my mind...but I seem to remember a multi Billion dollar bankruptcy bailout of GM and Chrysler that Toyota had no part in. Are you saying that that money(and the money they recieved as part of the rebate program) is LESS than what Toyota received in the rebate program?

In your calculations I guess Billions put into those companies don't count.

800over - 12/15/2010 12:15:29 PM

+2 Boost

here are some links for you:

This is the REBATE program (Total cost of whole program $2.877 bilion):

"On August 26 the DoT reported that the program resulted in 690,114 dealer transactions submitted requesting a total of $2.877 billion in rebates.[1][11] At the end of the program Toyota accounted for 19.4 % of sales, followed by General Motors with 17.6 %"

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Car_Allowance_Rebate_System

Now here is the Bankruptcy of just GM:

The cost of “Bailout” part 1 ($17.4 Billion) and “Bailout” part 2 ($21.6 Billion) is $39 Billion Dollars.

If you divide the cost of the “Bailouts” by the number of hourly GM employes ($39,000,000,000 / 54,900 =) you get the figure of $710,000 per employee. (Seven Hundred And Ten Thousand Dollars Per Employee).

http://mcauleysworld.wordpress.com/2009/03/30/the-new-auto-bailout-costs-to-taxpayer-increases-to-710000-per-gm-employee/


So in what world is "Toyota the LARGEST beneficiary of US government dollars that propped up the auto market back in 20009"

You two chuckleheads must have failed grade 2 math.

Teacher: Alright Class which is the larger number $2.8 billion or $54 billion?

Enthusiastic and Joe in unison "Toyota is bad!"

Whelan - 12/13/2010 12:47:25 PM

-10 Boost

and the sheep and cattle return to their pastures.

enthusiastx11 - 12/14/2010 11:05:26 AM

-2 Boost

hahaha! so true.

800over - 12/15/2010 12:20:59 PM

+2 Boost

Whelan a lot of your posts include animal references. Do you have some kind of fetish you'd like to share, or would you prefer to keep your desires to yourself.

mini22 - 12/13/2010 1:00:08 PM

-7 Boost

Of corse the government provided money to many foreign auto makers,including Toyota during the massive debt crisis in 2008 and 2009.
I for one will never buy another Toyota with the possible exception of the FT86. As for a family car there are lots of choices out there that I find more appealing then a "dull" Camry or 4-Runner.In fact I find it difficult to understand why any car enthusiast would by a run of the mill Toyota(forgetting about their recent problems).They are simply "dull" cars to drive and own.I've looked at Toyota's through out the last 10 yrs. I simply do not feel that they are in any way special. They are really for people that do not care much for cars.I have to say now that the US car makers Ford,GM,and soon Chrysler make more interesting cars then Toyota does now.Why would I buy a high end Camry when for similar money I could have the new Dodge Charger RT.

Joe_Limon - 12/13/2010 2:26:39 PM

-10 Boost

I never realized the camry se was so low on the totem pole that it would rank alongside the avenger or chrysler 200. I always thought it was closer to a charger competitor. Thanks for opening my eyes nonofyobus.

Steve - 12/13/2010 1:07:55 PM

+13 Boost

Side A:
Of course Toyota is guilty of deception and a massive cover-up! Everyone knows Toyota has a defect that causes unintended acceleration. It's killed millions of people all over the world. Only a company with Toyota's massive resources could engineer a cover-up on this scale!!!

Side B:
So far, *nobody* has been able to prove that a Toyota defect exists, and that this defect *did* cause unintended acceleration. CSIs, NASA, and a federal government inquiry (findings not yet released) have not been able to find the alleged defect. This does not prove Toyota is innocent, but it gives rational minds reason to continue to assume "innocent until proven guilty."

I return you to your regularly scheduled argument.

Joe_Limon - 12/13/2010 2:37:28 PM

-9 Boost

More like

Side A: Numerous cases have been filed against Toyota, all with their own proof and support. Everyone from people Toyota has tried paying millions of dollars to to keep their mouths shut, to people who even managed to bring the car into a Toyota shop to show the unintended throttling of their vehicles. They may even believe that Toyota actually fixed something with their recall. And everybody knows you can't fix something that aint broken.

Side B: There is a HUGE government conspiracy against Toyota to help out the government supported Detroit companies. There isn't anything wrong with toyota vehicles! The repairs done to them were merely a facade to prevent further government inquiry and rebuild a reputation damaged by that government conspiracy.

I can provide both sides of the argument while still providing a bias too!

Steve - 12/13/2010 3:22:48 PM

+10 Boost

Joe_Limon: There is a wonderful saying that applies well to this: "Do not attribute to mallice that which can more easily be attributed to incompetence."

You don't need a government conspiracy against Toyota. All you need is (a) a number of incidents in which people are "certain" they were standing on the brake, while their car behaved as though they were mashing the gas pedal, (b) media outlets whose primary function is to sell ad space (as opposed to doing investigative research and revealing uncolored facts), and being savvy (experienced?) enough to know that sensationalism sells, while facts, or lack of them, doesn't, (c) emotionally charged masses who are quick to believe what they read or hear, and who make inferences based on beliefs as opposed to facts.

Joe_Limon - 12/13/2010 6:18:04 PM

-8 Boost

What happened to trying to state both sides equally? Did you give up already?

Btw, that mallice/incompetence applies to side B that I listed, not side A.

85bmw745i - 12/13/2010 9:02:05 PM

+9 Boost

+1 Steve! Plus to all those import haters, the so-called defective part causing the acceleration is an American made part.

Joe_Limon - 12/13/2010 9:48:38 PM

-7 Boost

American made *Japanese design*

I think you forgot something ;)

85bmw745i - 12/14/2010 12:06:58 PM

+3 Boost

Actually Joe. It is from an american supplier, they design and build it for Toyota. Thats like saying the headlight bulbs are japanese designed when they are clearly sourced from sylvania or wagner etc. they design and build the part.

mini22 - 12/13/2010 1:57:18 PM

-9 Boost

A Chrysler 200 and Dodge Avenger are more interesting in my eyes then a Camry. I'm not saying Chrysler has Toyota's quality yet but in terms of visual appeal only I would take them over a Camry. But then I'm a car enthusiast.It will be interesting to see a comparison road test.

Whelan - 12/13/2010 3:39:19 PM

-1 Boost

Either way it does not affect me, in less than 12 months I'll be zipping around in my Golf R.

Fijian - 12/13/2010 4:16:32 PM

-12 Boost

I keep hearing about Toyota reliability.What reliability ? They are the most unreliable.Just look at the unintended accelerations,brake problems,tail gate problems,Engine sludge,etc.They bought back cars and did not let anyone do independent testing.There were similar problems with Airbus A330 on their planes (Oct 7 2008 Qantas QF 72) almost crashed due to uncomanded pitch down manoeuvres.They still dont know what is was.On June 1 2009 a similar situation caused the crash of Air France Flight 447 killing all 228 onboard.How do we prove computer malfunction? It is almost impossible to duplicate these problems.There are problems in electronics whether it be Airbus,Toyota or anybody else.Thats why we need backups.

mini22 - 12/13/2010 5:17:06 PM

-5 Boost

Toyota's biggest problem was not the so called unreliability or the law suits. Nope the biggest problem has been "Toyota". First not admitting to a problem or potential problem then continuing to try and cover it up.Finally they have the worst P/R of any car company out there in handling these issues. That has whats hurt them.They have simply done a very poor job of handling this in the public eye. In spite of this there are gobs and gobs of people that still think Toyota is the best thing since sliced bread. So while their sales of been hurt they will end up just fine in the long run.What this has proven though is the misperception that Japanese cars were nothing less then perfect. That perception could be nothing further from the truth.My Mini Cooper S has been far more reliable then my Mazda RX8.

800over - 12/15/2010 4:44:53 PM

+1 Boost

For example: Suzuki