NISSAN,


The "perception" is horrible for Infiniti in consumer reports.

The "thought of the woman (who used to be called a "skirt") I too had reliablilty issues with the "M" ...I never knew when I would be locked out of the building and wondered how'd I'd get the key.  Did  the good ole boys  care about the customer service of their "highest level executive" NO!!!.  That "attitude" and philosophy of not "respecting ALL people" was also given to the paying customer.  Now NISSAN  is suffering.. 

How???  Many people worked long hours to make the 2010 M a new sensation.  A car that deserve LOTS of respect but becuase of past customer service  and other failures , it's going to mean hard work to restore YOUR reputation.  It can be done with everyone on the same team. 

Funny "thought"  many of those executives  succeeding today at NISSAN were not people that were on Stouts "list to succeed".   Your outstanding sales figures the last few months "overwelming" prove that  the board in Tokyo made a fantastic decision.   The changes that were made in North America by the executive leadership could have ultimatly saved the company.  wow!!!   

Did you see how many successful EV partnership happened the last quarter???  That team did an amazing job.

The Good News is with the "Good Ole Boys" Gone, America will believe you when you say your starting the decade driven to satisfy the customer.   Satisfy them with Style, Value, and Customer Care.    

Most Important at Infiniti "at its heart, luxury"   

Show America that when it comes to making Change. 
Nissan Succeeded!!!!!    Congratulations on a Great Quarter!!!!!

One more comment!!!!!   

Way to Go Maxima......Thank You light brown haired British man at Starbucks (july) in a red tie, 
You shifted_  the direction fo this battle of human decency.

Have A Great Day!!!!      Sharyn
Love Cars~Love People~Love the Planet

Chevrolet, Ford, and Subaru jump in brand perception

Toyota is tops, according to new Consumer Reports survey

ConsumerReports.org
Last reviewed: January 2010

Toyota again earned the highest score in the annual brand perception survey.

Despite experiencing one of the most turbulent years ever in the automotive market, Chevrolet, Ford, and Subaru have benefited from a dramatic increase in overall brand perception among car owners. According to Consumer Reports 2010 Car Brand Perception Survey, all three saw at least a 30-point increase in their overall perception scores over last year's scores. The scores reflect how consumers perceive each brand in seven categories: Safety, quality, value, performance, design/style, technology/innovation, and environmentally friendly/green.

The scores reflect consumers' total perception level of a brand across those categories, and not the actual qualities of the brand's individual vehicles.

Toyota maintained its Number one spot. But overall score improvements helped Ford to slip past Honda into second place and allowed Chevrolet to rise to fourth place, from ninth. Subaru's 39-point increase, which was the largest of any brand and almost double its 2009 score, boosted the brand to ninth place, from last year's 18th position. (See the 2009 Consumer Reports Car Brand Perceptions Survey.)

At the other end of the spectrum, the two lowest-scoring brands were Hummer and Saab—divisions that General Motors has struggled to sell. Luxury brands saw the greatest decreases in overall scores, with Porsche (-13 points), Lexus (-15), Cadillac (-15), Infiniti (-21), and Lincoln (-25) moving in the wrong direction.

Clearly, several brands emerged from the 2009 auto crisis stronger than others, and the way consumers perceive the brands is in constant change.

Best and worst in brand perception

The chart below shows the overall scores for the top and bottom 10 brands, according to Consumer Reports' 2010 Car Brand Perception Survey. Overall scores are an aggregate, reflecting a brand's total perception level across seven areas. They are rounded to the nearest whole number. The top five brands in each area are listed on the Brand perception by category pages.

Overall brand perception
Best		Worst
Brand	Score	Brand	Score
Toyota	196	Hummer	11
Ford	141	Saab	13
Honda	135	Mercury	13
Chevrolet	124	Mazda	13
Volvo	92	Suzuki	19
Mercedes-Benz	92	Infiniti	19
BMW	90	Jeep	22
Cadillac	87	Lincoln	26
Subaru	81	Kia	27
Lexus	80	Mitsubishi	28

As we analyzed the results from this year's survey, we have found that marketing and news coverage can be important influences, shaping brand perception over time. Conversely, the brands that can clearly deliver on core purchase factors will make lasting impressions.

In contrast to brands that have a strong image in only one area, such as Volvo with safety, the brands that see the greatest success are those that excel in multiple areas, such as Toyota, Ford, Honda, and Chevrolet.

For consumers, it's important to remember that brand perception often reflects distortions of reality, as is discussed in the following sections. It pays to look beyond your impressions and do your homework, especially in the areas that are most important to you.

ConsumerReports.org has a variety of tools that can help you to quickly and efficiently narrow down a wish list, based on real-world test results, reliability data, owner costs, and other ratings. In addition, we have recently expanded our premium offerings to include Cars Best Deals Plus, which provides the Bottom Line Price to help you get the best deal, full test-track reports from our engineers, and detailed reliability findings, so you can see what types of specific problems owners are experiencing.

How the scores were calculated

The Consumer Reports National Research Center conducted a random, nationwide telephone survey Dec. 3-7, 2009, contacting 2,017 adults. The Center collected the survey data from 1,752 adults in households that had at least one car.

Overall brand perception is an index calculated as the total number of times that a particular make was mentioned as exemplar across all seven categories, divided by the total unaided mentions. (Interview subjects were asked what brands exemplified the traits instead of read a list of brands.) That approach compensates for awareness level, ensuring that every brand has an equal chance of leading a category, not just the best-selling or most well-known brands.

Category scores reflect the number of times that the particular make was mentioned as an exemplar of the particular attribute, again corrected for awareness.

Most important factors in buying a new car

Last reviewed: January 2010

This list shows the factors that car owners consider the most important when buying a new car. The percentage is based on the number of respondents who said the factor was among their top three priorities. We've included last year's figures to show changes.

Factor	2010	2009
Safety	64%	63%
Quality	58	57
Value	51	49
Performance	45	44
Environmentally friendly/green	32	40
Design/style	26	22
Technology/innovation	15	17

The only significant change over last year is that people who listed "environmentally friendly/green" as one of their top three priorities is down eight percentage points. In a troubled economy, with gas prices relatively low, green in the wallet trumps environmental concerns for many.

In addition to asking for the top three factors, we also asked respondents to name their single most important factor in car buying. The only notable difference in those responses is that quality tops safety by a slim margin, and is up five percentage points over last year. In a down economy, this speaks to increasing consumer concern for well-made, reliable vehicles that promise lower operating costs and fewer headaches. (Learn more about vehicle reliability and owner costs.)

Safety

Brand	Percent
Volvo	73
Ford	22
Subaru	21
Toyota	18
Honda	17

These are the top five brands that car owners consider the best in this category. The accompanying percentage reflects those respondents who are aware of the brand and named the brand as their number one choice.

Safety continues to be a top consideration for consumers. But women deem it far more important than men, with 31 percent rating it as the top factor compared with 19 percent of men. (Quality was the primary factor for men.)

Volvo dominates this category. With almost three-quarters of respondents considering Volvo a leader in safety, it is clear that decades of engineering and marketing have resonated with consumers. Last year, Volvo introduced the XC60 crossover, claiming it is the safest Volvo ever.

Ford saw a slight increase in its safety-factor percentage, perhaps buoyed by its increasingly favorable overall reputation and possibly the integration of some Volvo technologies, such as blind-spot detection.

Subaru made a leap to third place, with 21 percent considering it to be a safety leader, compared with 11 percent last year. This has been a record sales year for Subaru, fueled by the impressive new Legacy and Outback, and the recently redesigned Forester. Every Subaru model provides all-wheel drive as standard equipment. And every current model has earned the coveted Top Safety Pick designation from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, despite a stringent new roof-crush test added to its frontal, side-impact, and rear-crash tests. No other automaker can make that claim.

Automakers in general have been making improvements to vehicle structures and safety systems over time, but not all cars provide comparable protection. It is important for shoppers to look beyond a list of features to see how they perform. Consumer Reports' safety ratings combine our own accident-avoidance tests and crash-test results from the government and insurance industry. (See the individual model pages for safety ratings.)

Quality

Brand	Percent
Toyota	30
Honda	25
Ford	22
Chevrolet	18
Mercedes-Benz	16

These are the top five brands that car owners consider the best in this category. The accompanying percentage reflects those respondents who are aware of the brand and named the brand as their number one choice.

Toyota again secured the top spot for quality, and Honda repeated in second place. While quality can have broad-range interpretations, these two brands do routinely excel in our reliability ratings, according to the Consumer Reports Annual Autos Survey, with fewer repairs reported from our subscribers than most other makes.

Still, Toyota has had several high-profile recalls this year, including rusting pickup truck frames and a huge 3.8-million vehicle recall for potential floor-mat entrapment, which can lead to unintended acceleration.

Again, Ford showed marked gains, rising five percentage points for quality. Of the 51 Ford, Mercury, and Lincoln products in our Annual Autos Survey, 46 were rated average or better for predicted reliability. And some Ford models are among the most reliable in their class.

On the other hand, Mercedes-Benz slid from third place in the '09 Brand Perception survey with 23 percent down to fifth with 16 percent. This is out of synch with our latest reliability data, which shows that Mercedes has made much-needed improvements in reliability. Most Mercedes models are average or above, though there are some that trail the median.

A recurring theme through the perception factors is that reputations, good and bad, leave a lasting impression. This further underscores the need to research major purchases, rather than rely on assumptions.

Value

Brand	Percent
Honda	26
Toyota	26
Ford	22
Chevrolet	21
Hyundai	20

These are the top five brands that car owners consider the best in this category. The accompanying percentage reflects those respondents who are aware of the brand and named the brand as their number one choice.

Honda and Toyota are in a statistical tie for the brands perceived to deliver the most value. The data shows that the virtues of quality and value are not considered mutually exclusive in automobiles, as they can be with other products.

The real story is how the brands beneath Honda and Toyota were shuffled for 2010. Again Ford is on the rise, moving from fifth place last year to third place. And Chevrolet rose past Hyundai and Kia into fourth place.

Kia stood tall last year with a Value factor score of 27 percent. It slid down in this latest survey to 18 percent. Meanwhile, Subaru cracked the Top 10 with 12 percent. While Ford made the most dramatic gains, Subaru is clearly on the move. The latest Subaru models have performed well in our tests, are notably larger than those they replace, deliver much-improved fuel economy in some cases, and have essentially held the line on retail pricing. Bigger, better, and no more expensive is a winning formula.

While the term "value" can be open to personal interpretation, it is clear that car buyers are looking to get the most for their money, including a good car at a good price. Value-conscious car shoppers can find significant savings on Consumer Reports-recommended vehicles. (See the Best New Car Deals.)

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Performance

Last reviewed: January 2010

Brand	Percent
BMW	29
Porsche	26
Toyota	22
Chevrolet	21
Ford	19

These are the top five brands that car owners consider the best in this category. The accompanying percentage reflects those respondents who are aware of the brand and named the brand as their number one choice.

BMW and Porsche again top the performance category. We have found these brands offer products with a consistent, performance-oriented character, true to their heritage and messaging. The cars typically deliver 0-60 mph acceleration times of a quick seven seconds or less, produce among the best results in our accident-avoidance maneuver tests, and are generally fun to drive. While entertaining to drive, several models from these brands are not recommended, due to subpar reliability.

Toyota again ranked third. While the Toyota may not currently offer high-performance models, the automaker has consistently increased the power output of its engines while emphasizing fuel economy. In particular, the Prius hybrid has helped to change the way consumers look at vehicle performance, and its effect can be seen in Toyota's leadership as a "green" brand.

Chevrolet and Ford round out the top five. Those brands most likely benefit from the halo effect of their performance cars, including the Chevy Corvette and new revitalized Camaro, and the Ford Mustang. They also offer strong V6 and V8 engines in a number of mainstream models and popular lines of pickup trucks. Further, they foster a performance image in high-profile motorsports, such as NASCAR and NHRA drag racing.

Environmentally friendly/green

Brand	Percent
Toyota	51
Honda	23
Ford	19
Chevrolet	13
Subaru	8

These are the top five brands that car owners consider the best in this category. The accompanying percentage reflects those respondents who are aware of the brand and named the brand as their number one choice.

Toyota saw its percentage climb slightly this year, most likely driven by the redesigned Prius hybrid. In our testing, we found that the new Prius brings several incremental improvements over the laudable second-generation car, and it has the best fuel economy of any current vehicle we have tested.

In contrast, Honda's percentage score dropped eight points, from last year's 31 to this year's 23, despite introducing its Prius competitor, the Insight hybrid. Although the Insight scored too low in our tests to be recommended, Honda's line of cars does include a number of models, such as the Civic and Fit, that are very fuel efficient for their class.

Ford and Subaru each advanced in this factor, with Ford possibly fueled by its new Fusion and Mercury Milan hybrids, and the sales that the Cash for Clunkers program brought for its Focus, Escape hybrid, and Fusion Hybrid models.

Chevrolet heavily marketed the fuel-economy rating of its new, larger Equinox crossover and the promise of coming models, such as the Cruze, Spark, and Volt plug-in hybrid. The Chevrolet messages clearly resonated with consumers, despite the fact that its current line up was largely unchanged and unremarkable in the green arena during 2009.

Subaru earned its advancement with mileage improvements in its latest vehicles, aided by a continuously variable transmission. Despite being larger this year, the Legacy and Outback deliver notably improved fuel economy.

Design/style

Brand	Percent
Lexus	23
Cadillac	23
Mercedes-Benz	23
Chevrolet	19
BMW	19

These are the top five brands that car owners consider the best in this category. The accompanying percentage reflects those respondents who are aware of the brand and named the brand as their number one choice.

Luxury brands continue to dominate consumer perceptions for design and style, with Lexus, Cadillac, and Mercedes-Benz again claiming the top spots. But Lexus and Cadillac have lost percentage points compared with the previous year, when they earned 32 percent and 26 percent, respectively.

Jaguar slid from the top five, falling 13 percentage points to a score of only 10 despite fresh products. Now owned by Tata Motors, Jaguar has retired its dated models and with them, some classic profiles. Today's line up includes the XK coupe and convertible, all-new XF sedan, and coming redesigned XJ sedan—all modern, sophisticated machines. The change in its score this year may have more to do with brand visibility than a design critique.

Chevrolet joins the top-five ranks for 2010, making a five percentage point increase over last year. On the design front, the sharp-edged Equinox gives the brand a much more competitive crossover than before, but it may be more the reborn Camaro muscle car that has raised the brand's design perception. The new Camaro updates the three-box design from the 1967-1969 version, then wraps it in a brash body that looks much like the concept car seen on the show circuit and in the "Transformers" movies.

Technology/innovation

Brand	Percent
Toyota	32
Mercedes-Benz	21
Lexus	19
Ford	18
Honda	17

These are the top five brands that car owners consider the best in this category. The accompanying percentage reflects those respondents who are aware of the brand and named the brand as their number one choice.

Toyota again leads in technology/innovation, with the redesigned Prius and other hybrid models probably solidifying its place in this category. But, except for Toyota, there is not a lot of range in the scores for this category.

Benefiting from a three-point increase, Mercedes-Benz jumped from sixth place last year to second this year. The company has aggressively sought to put leading-edge technology in its premium automobiles.

Lexus declined slightly, from 22 percent last year to 19 this year. The brand also offers advanced technology in its vehicles, with sophisticated entertainment and safety systems, several hybrid powertrains, and, introduced last year, the first self-parking car.

Fueling its overall rise in brand perception, Ford gained a notable six percentage points this year. Ford has been developing and promoting its Sync information and entertainment system, which provides an increasing array of music playback, voice recognition, and connectivity features. In addition, Ford introduced the Fusion hybrid last year, with an innovative, driver-configurable LCD dashboard. On the truck side, the Works Solutions option provides handy features for commercial users, including an RFID tool inventory tracker and GPS-enabled fleet management.

Honda again made the cut, probably spurred by its continued emphasis on fuel-efficient, low-emissions powertrains and its new Insight hybrid.