(April 12, 2017) IRVINE, Calif. — The 2017 Brand Image Award winners, based on annual new-car buyer perception data, have been announced by Kelley Blue Book, kbb.com. The Kelley Blue Book Brand Image Awards recognize automakers' outstanding 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, non-luxury and truck shoppers. Capturing the attention of car shoppers has never been more important to automakers. According to a recent Harris Poll study, companies with excellent reputations are more likely to earn behaviors from the public that are critical to growth and success.

Subaru retained its Best Overall Brand crown for the second consecutive year, in addition to winning Most Trusted Brand and Best Performance Brand. As the Best Overall Brand, Subaru captured the highest average scores among all 12 Brand Watch factors, including affordability, driving comfort, driving performance, durability/reliability, exterior styling, fuel efficiency, interior layout, prestige/sophistication, reputation, ruggedness, safety and technology (factors listed in alphabetical order).

The Forester, Crosstrek and Outback contributed to Subaru's overall success. Subaru has earned Most Trusted Brand and Best Performance Brand titles since 2015.  

Lexus remained the Best Overall Luxury Brand for 2017, taking the title for the second consecutive year, earning the top average Brand Watch factor scores among all luxury automakers. The brand is highly regarded for its strong lineup among consumers, with, the RX, ES, NX Hybrid, IS, GS and LS as the primary drivers of Lexus' success. In addition to its top luxury award, Lexus takes home the Most Trusted Luxury Brand win for the second consecutive year. Lexus previously won Most Trusted Luxury Brand in 2013 and 2014.

For the fourth year in a row, Ford claimed the top spot among truck shoppers, winning the Best Overall Truck Brand category. Ford has won eight out of the nine times Kelley Blue Book has announced this award (with only Toyota outranking them in 2013), giving truck buyers what they want in its F-150, including best-in-class towing and payload capacity, a cabin filled with luxury and tech amenities, and more.  

"Superior product lineups and compelling marketing communications from automakers continue to influence consumer opinion, driving interest in particular brands, and, most importantly, positively affecting vehicle consideration," said Rick Wainschel, vice president of customer analytics and insights for Kelley Blue Book.

"Many of this year's winners continue to attract car shoppers based on a variety of brand attributes, and these standouts reinforce familiarity and loyalty among new-car buyers."

The 2017 Brand Image Awards are based on consumer automotive perception data from Kelley Blue Book Strategic Insights' 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 highly comprehensive study offers insight into how shoppers perceive important factors driving their purchase decisions, and captures brand/model familiarity and loyalty among new-car shoppers.

Other noteworthy winners for 2017 include Porsche, Buick, Honda and Mazda. Porsche is a seven-time repeat winner in the Best Performance Luxury Brand category. Porsche earned its unprecedented Best Performance Luxury Brand win on the strength of the 911, Cayenne, Panamera and Macan models. Buick, this year's Best Value Luxury Brand, benefitted from the Verano, Encore, Regal and Enclave, all scoring within the top 20 models for value and ranking high in perceived affordability and fuel efficiency.

On the non-luxury side, Honda repeated the Best Value Brand category for the third consecutive year with help from many of its popular models, including Civic, Fit, Accord and CR-V. Mazda regained its Best Car Styling Brand title, (after losing it to Chrysler in 2016), thanks to the MAZDA6, MAZDA3 and MX-5 Miata. Mercedes-Benz, GMC and Jaguar also are repeat winners for 2017.