April 15, 2013 t 3
USED CAR NEWS
Younger Buyers Eye Wider Array of Manufacturers Japanese brands like Honda remain among the most popular among consumers, but brands from other countries and even domestics are gaining ground with younger buyers. Automakers learn how inmarket new-car shoppers view their brands as the 2013 Brand Image Award winners are announced by Kelley Blue Book. These awards, based on an entire year’s worth of consumer perception data from the company’s Brand Watch study, honor the automotive brands that have most successfully captured positive consumer attention. The 2013 Brand Image Awards, presented to the top brands in 13 categories, are based on consumer automotive perception data from Kelley Blue Book Market Intelligence’s Brand Watch study. Brand Watch is an online brand and model perception tracking study tapping into more than 12,000 in-market new-vehicle shoppers annually on Kelley Blue Book’s KBB.com. The highly comprehensive Brand Watch study offers insight into inmarket new-vehicle shoppers’ perceptions of brands and models, including important factors driving their purchase decisions while they are in the midst of the shopping process. The Kelley Blue Book Brand Image Awards recog-
nize 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 shoppers, non-luxury shoppers and truck shoppers. This marks the sixth consecutive year that Kelley Blue Book has presented auto manufacturers with the Brand Image Awards. This year, Honda takes home the most trophies. Honda is named Best Overall Brand by non-luxury shoppers, which speaks to Honda’s stellar reputation and brand leadership in the minds of consumers. Furthermore, Honda is awarded Most Trusted Brand for the second year in a row, and Best Value Brand for the third year running. Receiving consecutive awards in key categories like Trust and Value underscores that the positive attributes of the Honda brand continue to resonate with the new-car buying public. Meanwhile, among nonluxury shoppers, MINI is a standout for Performance, while Ford leads for Car Styling, and Chrysler wins for Most Refined Brand. According to truck shoppers, Toyota is the Best Overall Truck Brand. Among luxury shoppers, BMW takes the top spot as Best Overall Luxury Brand, and Porsche brings
STILL THE ONE: Consumers continue to hold Japanese manufacturers like Honda in high regard, but younger buyers are taking a look at vehicles from around the world.
home two trophies for Performance and Car Styling. Domestic manufacturer Buick excels among luxury shoppers for Value, while Lexus leads for Trust, and Mercedes-Benz is viewed as Most Refined Luxury Brand. Most of these results are typical of these surveys. But other data shows a change in popular tastes could be coming. American auto brands are gaining strength with younger buyers in the U.S., while their Japanese rivals have taken a big step back, reports Edmunds.com. According to an analysis of new car retail registrations from R. L. Polk & Co., American brands accounted for 36.8 percent of cars bought
by Americans age 25 to 34 in 2012, up from a share of 35.4 percent in 2008. Meanwhile the share of Japanese brands for the same age group plummeted from 50.6 percent to 42.9 percent during that period. But even with the incremental success of American brands, Edmunds.com found that the exodus from Japanese cars by young buyers is turning mostly toward South Korean brands. About 10 percent of new cars purchased by 25-to-34 year olds in 2012 carried South Korean nameplates, more than doubling the rate for this age group since 2008. The South Koreans’ progress with young buyers re-
flects their overall growth in the U.S. market. Korean brands represented 9.5 percent of all new retail registrations in the U.S. in 2012, almost twice as much as their share of 5.0 percent in 2008. European car labels are flexing their own muscles in the U.S. market as well, accounting for 9.9 percent of new car registrations in the U.S. last year, up from 8.5 percent in 2008. Like the South Koreans, European carmakers have delivered consistent growth among all age groups since 2008, with the biggest successes among older car buyers, thanks to Baby Boomers choosing European luxury cars postretirement.
Toyota Settles County’s Unintended Acceleration Lawsuit LOS ANGELES (AP) – A $16 million settlement over the safety recall of Toyota vehicles that were at risk for unintended acceleration and braking issues was announced by Orange County prosecutors and Toyota Motor Corp. The suit was one of a flood of cases brought against the automaker after more than 14 million vehicles were recalled in 2009 and 2010 — many of them still waiting to be heard or settled. In the lawsuit, Orange County District Attorney Tony Rackauckas claimed deceptive business practices, alleging Toyota had concealed safety issues related to its floor mats and ``sticky’’ gas pedal issues. The suit sought $2,500 per
UCN_03.indd 1
violation under California’s consumer protection laws Under the settlement, Toyota continues to deny all the claims made in the suit. ``Having addressed floor mat and `sticky pedal’ issues with effective and durable solutions, we are gratified that Toyota vehicles are once again widely recognized as among the safest and most reliable on the road,’’ Christopher P Reynolds, an attorney and vice president for Toyota, said in a statement. In the past, the carmaker blamed driver error, faulty floor mats and stuck accelerator pedals for the problems. A highway tragedy in suburban San Diego sparked the recalls and numerous
lawsuits against the Japanese carmaker. An off-duty California Highway Patrol officer and three family members were killed after he lost control of the car, a Toyota-built Lexus, in a grisly accident. The car reached speeds of more than 120 miles per hour before it hit an SUV, launched off an embankment, rolled several times and burst into flames. That case was settled for $10 million before similar cases were consolidated in federal court. At the end of 2012, Toyota agreed to pay a $1 billion payout to settle claims from owners who said the value of their vehicles dropped after the recall. In the Orange County
case, half the $16 million will go to a gang reduction program and the other half will be used to pay the costs of the case and the pursuit of future economic crime
cases. According to press reports, Bob Barker Lexus, the dealership that lent the Lexus, is seeking protection for itself in court.
4/8/13 5:39 PM