Awards Honor Top New-Auto Brands Based on Consumer Perception Data from KBB Marketing Research
Kelley Blue Book,
the leading provider of new- and used-vehicle information, today
announces the winners of the 2008 Kelley Blue Book Brand Image
Awards. 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.
The 2008 Brand Image Awards are based on consumer automotive perception
data from Kelley Blue Book Marketing Research’s Brand Watch study.
Brand Watch is an online brand perception tracking study tapping into
12,000 in-market new-vehicle shoppers annually on kbb.com. The highly
comprehensive Brand Watch report provides a detailed look at in-market
new-vehicle shoppers’ perceptions of brands, and important factors
driving their purchase decisions while they are in the midst of the
shopping process. The results of an entire year of Brand Watch
research and consumer opinions determine the 2008 Kelley Blue Book
Brand Image Award winners.
Kelley Blue Book handed out 17 awards to automotive brands in the
following categories during a gala event this evening amidst the
festivities of the New York International Auto Show Media Preview Week
in New York City:
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KELLEY BLUE BOOK’S 2008 BRAND IMAGE AWARDS |
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Best Interior Design – Non-Luxury Sedan/Coupe/Hatchback:
Toyota |
Best Exterior Design – Non-Luxury Sedan/Coupe/Hatchback:
Chrysler |
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Best Interior Design – Luxury Sedan/Coupe/Hatchback:
Lexus |
Best Exterior Design – Luxury Sedan/Coupe/Hatchback:
BMW
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Best Interior Design – Sports Car/Convertible:
Mercedes-Benz |
Best Exterior Design – Sports Car/Convertible:
Porsche
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Best Interior Design – Truck:
Chevrolet |
Best Exterior Design – Truck:
Chevrolet
|
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Best Interior Design – Non-Luxury SUV:
Toyota |
Best Exterior Design – Non-Luxury SUV:
Ford
|
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Best Interior Design – Luxury SUV:
Lexus |
Best Exterior Design – Luxury SUV:
Mercedes-Benz
|
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Best Interior Design – Minivan:
Honda |
Best Exterior Design – Minivan:
Toyota
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Best Overall Interior Design: Toyota
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Best Overall Exterior Design: BMW
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Best Overall Prestige Brand: Mercedes-Benz |
“The
Kelley Blue Book Brand Image Awards honor the automakers that stand out
in the ongoing heated battle for consumer perception,” said Rick
Wainschel, vice president of marketing research and brand
communications for Kelley Blue Book and kbb.com. “While specific
vehicle models may come and go over the years, the power of the brand
is lasting in the minds of consumers.”
The
most prestigious honors from Brand Watch include Best Interior and
Exterior Styling, as well as Best Overall Prestige Brand. Based on the
results of the Brand Watch study, consumers rated Mercedes-Benz as Best
Overall Prestige Brand. With the company’s long history of combining
rich interiors with distinguished exterior styling, the brand is known
not only as a preeminent luxury automaker, but also one of the foremost
luxury brands in the world.
BMW
captured the award for having Best Overall Exterior Design. Its
once-controversial new designs are now winning legions of fans, and the
company has maintained a family resemblance across the board while
allowing each model to take the design theme in a slightly different
direction. Toyota garnered Best Overall Interior Design with its
vehicles’ simple, familiar and consistently gratifying fit, finish and
materials used across its vehicle line-up.
“Understanding
brand perception is important to gauging vehicle value,” said Jack R.
Nerad, executive editorial director and executive market analyst of
Kelley Blue Book and kbb.com. “Because brand is so important to
consumers as they decide which vehicles they are considering and,
ultimately, what vehicles they will buy, it is important to study their
perceptions of various brands, the attributes that contribute to those
perceptions, and how those perceptions shift over time.”
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