March 25 (Bloomberg) -- Americans are turning against Toyota Motor Corp. after sudden-acceleration complaints forced it to recall more than 8 million vehicles worldwide, while Ford Motor Co. is the most popular automaker.
More than four in 10 Americans say they “would definitely not buy a Toyota,” according to the Bloomberg National Poll. The Japanese company is viewed unfavorably by 36 percent of those interviewed, the highest negative rating in the survey, while fewer than half -- 49 percent -- have a favorable impression.
Ford, the only U.S. automaker that didn’t seek a federal rescue, is seen favorably by 77 percent of those surveyed, topping No. 2 Honda Motor Co. by seven percentage points. General Motors Co., eight months after getting U.S. aid to survive, has a positive rating of 57 percent.
The results show the challenge faced by Toyota, which in 2008 passed GM to become the world’s largest automaker, as it tries to regain consumer confidence, said Rebecca Lindland, an auto analyst at IHS Global Insight in Lexington, Massachusetts.
“In the short term, they need to focus on the people that have recently changed their minds about the company,” Lindland said in an interview. “In the long term, it could be quite different. It depends on how much they’ve alienated the people that are, say, under 40.”
‘Ignored’ Problem
The poll found that the older the respondent, the less likely they were to have a positive opinion of Toyota: 37 percent of people over 65 see the company favorably compared with 51 percent of those under 35.
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