(January 13, 2010) Toyota and Honda took top honors in R. L. Polk & Co.’s 14th Annual Automotive Loyalty Awards, which were presented at the 2010 Automotive News World Congress in Detroit on Tuesday. The awards measure consumer loyalty to a brand.

Four new awards were presented including the Most Improved Loyalty to Make, which was won by Audi. In addition, three new ethnic loyalty awards were presented.

Edging out General Motors for the first time in nine years, Toyota ranked number one in Overall Loyalty to Manufacturer, indicative of the manufacturer’s ability to retain previous customers. Toyota also won top honors in the Mid/Full-Size Car and Mid/Full-Size SUV categories for the Toyota Prius and Lexus RX respectively, and received the new award for brand loyalty among Asian American consumers.

"After an extremely difficult year for the auto market, winning four Polk Loyalty Awards is a real boost for us," said Jim Lentz, president and chief operating officer of

Honda also was a big winner, taking top honors in the Overall Loyalty to Make category and winning the newly introduced African American and Hispanic Loyalty to Make Awards, which recognize customer loyalty among these ethnic groups.

Ford garnered two awards: The F-Series earned the Mid/Full-Size Pickup nod and Mustang repeated in the Sports Car category. Other repeat winners included Subaru Forester in the Compact SUV segment, Land Rover Range Rover in the Luxury SUV category, and Chrysler Town & Country which has won the Minivan segment for the past eight years.