, On Wednesday January 5, 2011, 4:22 pm ESTFord is rising fast in a survey of consumers' feelings toward car brands. In fact, Ford is now virtually tied for first place with fast-falling Toyota in the most recent Consumer Reports Car Brand Perception Survey.
Over the last two years, Ford's score in the survey has risen by 35 points while Toyota's score has fallen by 46 points.
In 2010, Toyota was the only major automaker to suffer a decline in sales compared to 2009. Toyota's image has been battered by a spate of recalls and safety scares that started about 18 months ago.
The big drop in consumers' perceptions of Toyota happened during the past year, said Jeff Bartlett, an editor with Consumer Reports. When the same survey was done early last year, news of Toyota recalls hadn't really shifted consumers' views of the automaker yet and it was the best liked brand in the survey -- by a long shot.
This year, views of Toyota began to plummet, he said.
"By Spring, it had really started to show some weakness," Bartlett said.
"2010 was very challenging for Toyota; we expect that some public perception of Toyota's long-standing reputation for quality and reliability might be influenced in the short term, " Toyota spokesman John Hanson said.
Other indicators, including other surveys, warranty claims and owner loyalty, show that Toyota is turning things around, Hanson said.
But Ford's ascent is not simply because it took advantage of Toyota's downfall. Ford made big strides in 2009, particularly in perceptions of environmental friendliness, quality and style, and maintained those gains in 2010 while Toyota slipped.
Consistency is important, Bartlett said, but it helps build on those gains year over year and leads to predictable consumer behavior.
Ford rises, Toyota plummets in best-loved car brand
