2012 Brand Image Awards

Without surprising anyone, our inaugural Most Trusted Brand award goes to a name that’s practically synonymous with reliability and dependability. Honda‘s vehicles enjoy a decades-deep reputation as the smart choice in so many of the categories in which it competes.

Many car buyers assume a vehicle’s sticker price is the most significant monetary factor when choosing a car. While it’s certainly an important consideration, Honda’s reputation for superb resale value, exceptional quality and legendary dependability continues to raise the bar in respect to automotive value.

Ford‘s revamped people-shuttling vehicles have struck a chord with those looking to haul growing families and their gear in safety and comfort. The re-invented Explorer has helped lead this effort thanks to its more car-like ride and seating for up to seven, while good looks and roomy interiors have attracted others to the Taurus sedan and Flex crossover.

Ford’s upscale interior styling seemingly blurs the line between luxury and non-luxury interior design. Overflowing with high-quality materials and the latest high-tech gadgets, Ford interiors break the perceptions of what can be achieved in a mainstream vehicle.

In 1925, Ford produced its first ever pickup truck. 87 years later, Ford’s F-150 has become the quintessential American truck and the country’s best-selling vehicle for three decades. From ranchers to boaters to the everyday Joe, the Ford F-Series offers something for anyone seeking a durable pickup with everyday versatility.

A bold, dynamic exterior design is one of the key ingredients in Ford’s recent recipe for success. While Ford’s current ”Kinetic” design language is well received by the American public, the Blue Oval refuses to rest on its laurels. Ford is aiming to shake-up the industry once again with its next-generation global design platform set to debut on the 2013 Fusion.

From the athletic stance of the entry-level 1 Series to the long – and long-on-elegance – 7 Series executive class, BMW has a knack for expressing its cars’ inner power and prestige to their exterior sheet metal. Vehicles such as the revamped X3 and hulking X6 crossovers helped this brand and its rounded design philosophy to take the top spot from Cadillac and its more aggressive, angular approach.

Kelley Blue Book’s kbb.com visitors still can’t take their eyes off the plush and progressive cabins of Cadillac vehicles, voting them the Best Interior Design among luxury cars for a second year in a row. Boasting features such as suede steering wheels and LCD screens that majestically rise from the dash, Cadillac’s interiors adeptly match everyday functionality with visually pleasing form.

Cadillac has forever been equated with comfort, and that fact still resonates with kbb.com visitors, who voted it the best in class for a second year in a row. While the brand continues to make significant strides in creating more sport-oriented cars, Cadillac hasn’t forgotten the plush ride quality that many still equate with its very name.

This is Porsche‘s year to own the award it’s traded back and forth with BMW every year since 2009. Uniquely styled and built with an uncompromising focus on driving excitement and enjoyment, Porsche’s performance image is rooted strongly in the cars themselves.

As soon as you say you’re cool, you’re not. But it always counts when someone else says it, and in the past year a lot of in-market shoppers have cited Porsche as the coolest car brand around. Like a humble world-class athlete, Porsche does its thing better than any other car in the world but never gets loud about it.

Its fifth win in a row, so let’s just recap what we’ve said the past four years: "Mercedes-Benz remains the luxury brand of luxury brands," "it is still impossible to find an automotive brand regarded as more prestigious than Mercedes-Benz" and "there’s just something about the three-pointed star and the rich history of sophistication behind it."