2012 Brand Image Award Winners Announced by Kelley Blue Book

How a car company is perceived by the general public is a massive part of selling cars, and holds the key to success or failure. Kelly Blue Book, the company which exists to measure all statistics relating to cars, released their study today on how each automaker is viewed in the marketplace.

There are 12 categories tested in the study, each one pertaining to how the companies are perceived by customers, with categories ranging from coolest brand to most prestigious brand. The information comes from over 12,000 new car buyers who report back to KBB on what they think about all the manufacturers.

For 2012, Ford takes the most wins with four awards. The American automaker walks away with the most family friendly award, most rugged truck brand and best exterior and interior design for a non-luxury brand.

The second most wins is a three way tie between Porsche, Honda and Cadillac. Honda walks away with the best value brand and the most trusted brand awards. Porsche takes the coolest brand award and the best performance car award, and Cadillac wins the best interior design for a luxury brand and the best comfort brand award.

The last two awards both go to the two major German rivals, BMW and Mercedes-Benz. BMW takes home the best exterior design for a luxury brand award, while Mercedes was rated the most prestigious brand.

Whether or not these companies live up to the awards they have been given is irrelevant, as consumer perception is truly the most important factor when it comes to selling cars.

Check the list below to see which of your favorite brands took home awards.

2012 Best Value Brand: Honda

2012 Most Trusted Brand: Honda

2012 Most Family-Friendly Brand: Ford

2012 Most Rugged Truck Brand: Ford

2012 Best Exterior Design Brand – Non-Luxury: Ford

2012 Best Interior Design Brand – Non-Luxury: Ford

2012 Best Exterior Design Brand – Luxury: BMW

2012 Best Interior Design Brand – Luxury: Cadillac

2012 Best Comfort Brand: Cadillac

2012 Best Performance Brand: Porsche

2012 Coolest Brand: Porsche

2012 Most Prestigious Brand: Mercedes-Benz

[Source: KBB]