Consumer Reports Releases Perception Survey

In their latest survey of more than 1,700 adults with at least one car in the household, Consumer Reports found that the usual brands—Toyota, Ford, Honda, Chevy—are still at the top, but by a smaller margin.

What difference do perceptions make? On one level, you could say that they are totally worthless in terms of telling what the actual reliability or value of a car is, since perception can be very different from reality. But then again, consumers buy cars based on their perceptions of the brands, so from that point of view perceptions are perhaps the most important factor for any carmaker that wants to sell cars and stay in business.

The survey asked questions in seven categories:
• Safety
• Quality
• Value
• Performance
• Environmentally friendly
• Design
• Technology

Results were then tabulated and combined to give an overall score for each brand, with results for the top five spots as follows:
• Toyota, 131 points
• Ford, 121 points
• Honda, 94 points
• Chevrolet, 92 points
• Mercedes-Benz, 84 points

The top three qualities consumers look for when purchasing a new vehicle remained the same from 2011: safety, quality, and value.

Consumer Reports deputy editor Jeff Bartlett feels that the results indicate it may be tougher for any given brand to distinguish itself in the coming years. Volvo, for example, has long been the industry leader in safety ratings. This year, however, a record number of new cars earned top marks in crash-test ratings, taking some of the shine off of Volvo's crown.

By: Treat Newman

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