Honda's John Mendel (left) & KBB's Jared Rowe at the 2012 Kelley Blue Book Brand Image Awards
Events like the New York Auto Show are a perfect time for automakers to show off their latest, greatest technology to journalists, car fans, and curious onlookers. They're also an opportunity to dole out trophies, and that's exactly what the folks at Kelley Blue Book did yesterday at the 2012 Brand Image Awards.
In all, KBB gave out 12 awards, and Detroit fans will be happy to know that more of those dust-catchers went to American brands than to their Asian or European rivals.
To determine its 12 winners, Kelley collected data from over 12,000 new-car shoppers as part of its own in-house Brand Watch study. Those consumers provided insight on the way shoppers view brands, ranking them on factors like family-friendliness, value, design, and prestige.
In choosing its categories for the Brand Image Awards, Kelley naturally stays away from more "objective" categories like "most reliable", "highest resale value", and so on -- data that's more commonly turned up by outfits like J.D. Power. Instead, Kelley's awards are meant to give us an idea of what the public's general consensus may be in these 12 areas.
And so, without further ado, the 2012 Brand Image Award-winners are...
BMW: Best Exterior Design Brand, Luxury
Cadillac: Best Interior Design Brand, Luxury
Cadillac: Best Comfort Brand
Ford: Best Exterior Design Brand, Non-Luxury
Ford: Best Interior Design Brand, Non-Luxury
Ford: Most Family-Friendly Brand
Ford: Most Rugged Truck Brand
Honda: Best Value Brand
Honda: Most Trusted Brand
Porsche: Best Performance Brand
Porsche: Coolest Brand
Mercedes-Benz: Most Prestigious Brand
For everyone else: better luck next year. We'll see you at the 2013 New York Auto Show.
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