European cars took five of the top spots – including first place – in a study of the most popular car brands in the USA, according to Automotive News Europe.
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The Japanese were close behind with three brands in the top 10 in the survey by the consulting firm Strategic Vision Inc.
The Mini, a newcomer to the US market, was No. 1. In second place was Lexus, dropping from the top position last year.
Audi rose five spots to finish third, BMW was fourth and Mercedes-Benz was fifth. Infiniti and Hyundai tied for sixth, followed by Honda, Volvo and Cadillac to round out the top 10.
Strategic Vision of San Diego, California, compiles the list each year, basing its results on a formula for measuring what owners think of their new vehicles.
The company surveyed more than 63,000 US consumers who bought 2003 model vehicles. European manufacturers achieved the high rankings despite competing against big customer incentives offered by the Big 3 US car makers.
Daniel Gorrel, Strategic Vision vice president, said whether consumers trust a brand has a lot to do with their perception of value. That’s why, for example, import car makers can sell vehicles in the USA with fewer incentives than those from domestic manufacturers.
He said US manufacturers were competitive with European and Japanese car makers on economic issues like price and warranty.
“But they fall behind import manufacturers on expectations of reliability, durability and resale value. This tends to undermine buyers’ sense of trust in the domestics and forces them to offer more incentives to sell their vehicles.”
Cadillac was the highest placed US brand at No. 9 – the first time in two years that the brand has been in the top 10, Automotive News Europe said.
