Honda wins Kelley Blue Book Best Overall Brand Award

(March 25, 2013) IRVINE, Calif. — Honda has captured the Best Overall Brand award among non-luxury shoppers in the sixth annual Kelley Blue Book Brand Image awards announced today.  Honda also took two of the other 13 categories, named Best Value Brand and Most Trusted Brand. How new-car shoppers view their brands is measured in the awards based on a year's worth of consumer perception data from the company's Kelley's Brand Watch study.

The 2013 Brand Image Awards, presented to the top brands in 13 categories, are based on consumer automotive perception data from Kelley Blue Book Market Intelligence's Brand Watch study. Brand Watch is an online brand and model perception tracking study tapping into 12,000+ in-market new-vehicle shoppers annually on Kelley Blue Book's KBB.com.

The Brand Watch study offers insight into in-market new-vehicle shoppers' perceptions of brands and models, including important factors driving their purchase decisions while they are in the midst of the shopping process. The Kelley Blue Book Brand Image Awards recognize automakers' achievements in creating and maintaining brand attributes that capture the attention and enthusiasm of the new-vehicle buying public.

Award categories are calculated among luxury shoppers, non-luxury shoppers and truck shoppers.

"The Kelley Blue Book Brand Image Awards are unique because they reflect the opinions of actual in-market new-car shoppers, providing automakers with a glimpse into what potential customers really think of their brand and showcasing their perception strengths," said Hwei-Lin Oetken, vice president of market intelligence for Kelley Blue Book.

"While other awards from KBB.com are based on data calculated by Kelley Blue Book experts, the information that comprises the Brand Image Awards comes directly from the opinions of thousands of new-car shoppers over the period of an entire year. The insights gleaned from the Brand Watch study can be an invaluable tool for automaker marketing teams and their agencies."

Meanwhile, among non-luxury shoppers, Mini is a standout for Performance, while Ford leads for Car Styling, and Chrysler wins for Most Refined Brand. According to truck shoppers, Toyota is the Best Overall Truck Brand.

Among luxury shoppers, BMW takes the top spot as Best Overall Luxury Brand, and Porsche brings home two trophies for Performance and Car Styling. Domestic manufacturer Buick excels among luxury shoppers for Value, while Lexus leads for Trust, and Mercedes-Benz is viewed as Most Refined Luxury Brand.

"Some will say that perception is reality, and while we concede that image isn't everything, it is more than enough to get shoppers into the store, and that's half the battle for automakers and their dealers," said Jack R. Nerad, executive editorial director and executive market analyst for Kelley Blue Book's KBB.com.

"With standout vehicle lineups and positive consumer perception confirmed by empirical study, the winners of Kelley Blue Book's 2013 Brand Image Awards have secured enviable positions in the minds of car buyers."

KBB.com Editorial Comments About 2013 Brand Image Award Winners

2013 Porsche - Best Performance Luxury Brand:
 BMW wrested this trophy from Porsche a couple times, but this is essentially Stuttgart's award. Even when Porsche's entry isn't the fastest car in the class, it's always the winner in driving feel. And feel equals fun, which is the purest point of performance.

2013 Mercedes-Benz - Most Refined Luxury Brand
: KBB.com visitors who identify themselves as luxury-car shoppers -- the group who determined all our Luxury Brand awards -- have voted Mercedes-Benz as this year's Most Refined Luxury Brand. Refinement is harder to measure than performance or value, but you know it when you see it. And you really know it when you drive it.

2013 Porsche - Best Car Styling Luxury Brand
: This is a fitting award for the maker of arguably the most iconic and enduring car design of all time, the 911. Even the newest Porsche, the Panamera, sports a unique but recognizable design that at once reinforces and expands Porsche's legendary mystique.

2013 Buick - Best Value Luxury Brand
: With a brand and lineup that transcend mainstream without reaching all the way into the traditional luxury stratosphere, Buick is a nice way to step up in comfort and refinement while remaining mindful of the family budget.

2013 Lexus - Most Trusted Luxury Brand
: With the most proven and celebrated record of dependability and reliability in the entire industry, it would only be a surprise if Lexus didn't win the award for Most Trusted Luxury Brand.

2013 BMW – Best Overall Luxury Brand
: BMW didn't win any of the individual Luxury Brand awards, but it takes home the title of Best Overall Luxury Brand on the strength of a well-rounded image that appeals to young and old, sporty and showy alike.

2013 Toyota - Best Overall Truck Brand: 
KBB.com visitors who identify themselves as truck shoppers have named Toyota this year's Best Overall Truck Brand. Cars can get you to work, but people depend on trucks to actually do the work. When livelihood is on the line, any brand synonymous with dependability and reliability has a real advantage.

2013 Mini - Best Performance Brand
: When every car you make can be described as small and sporty, you have the inside track to our Best Performance Brand award. MiniI keeps pumping out new variations on a theme, but never wavers one degree from its laser-like focus on fun.

2013 Chrysler - Most Refined Brand
: The traditional luxury brand of non-luxury brands, Chrysler combines an air of confidence with a sense of flair. The result is a lineup and a brand that feels a class above their competitors.

2013 Ford - Best Car Styling Brand: 
Ford's new design language seems to work on every new vehicle that gets the treatment, and if anyone wants to call the Fiesta, Focus, Fusion and Escape the best-looking vehicles in their respective categories, we wouldn't argue. The gorgeous new Fusion, in fact, is our Best Redesigned Vehicle of 2013.

2013 Honda - Best Value Brand
: Affordability, reliability and good resale value are key facets of new-car value, and Honda scores at or near the top in all three, earning from KBB.com visitors another Best Value Brand award.

2013 Honda - Most Trusted Brand
: This is the second year we've asked visitors to name their Most Trusted Brand, and it's the second year in a row they've named Honda. With a reputation that precedes it and vehicles that seemingly never fail to deliver on the promise, Honda is like the perpetual motion machine of brand trust.

2013 Honda – Best Overall Brand
: After its wins in the Best Value Brand and Most Trusted Brand categories, Honda's win as Best Overall Brand among non-luxury shoppers hardly comes as a surprise. We admire the refined and reliable vehicles, but also the manner in which Honda promotes itself. You do too, apparently.