Consumers rate Toyota, Ford, Honda, and Chevrolet high in Consumer Reports 2014 car-survey

Consumers continue to rank Toyota, Ford, Honda, and Chevrolet as the leading brands overall, but several others, including Tesla and Subaru, are moving up the rankings, according to Consumer Reports’ annual Car-Brand Perception Survey. 

Toyota has a 25-point advantage over second-place Ford, reflecting a five-point gain over the year prior for Toyota and a three-point improvement for Ford. It could be that the safety concerns that saw the Toyota score stumble a few years ago have faded, returning the brand to its position as the perceived industry leader.

Consumer Reports brand perception scores reflect how consumers perceive each brand in seven important buying factors, ranked here in order of the importance to consumers: quality, safety, performance, value, fuel economy, design/style, and technology/innovation.

Combining those factors gives the total brand-perception score. While the scores reflect a brand’s image, they don’t reflect the actual qualities of any brand’s vehicles.

“The key word is ‘perception,’ said Jeff Bartlett, Consumer Reports deputy automotive editor. “Consumers are influenced by word of mouth, marketing, and hands-on experience. Often, perception can be a trailing indicator, reflecting years of good or bad performance in a category, and it can also be influenced by headlines in the media,” said. 

See “Toyota, Ford, Honda, and Chevrolet Dominate Consumer Reports 2014 Car-Brand Perception Survey” for details.