Ford leaps in owner loyalty,
takes top spot from GM
By Chris Woodyard, USA TODAY
By Carlos Osorio, AP
Ford saw a whopping increase in
owners who say they will be loyal to the brand last year compared with 2009, a
new analysis shows.
The R.L.Polk study shows that
Toyota owners were shaken a little by the automaker's safety and quality
troubles last year, but largely remained steadfastly loyal
to the brand. It remains near the top. The Ford brand increased its owner
loyalty rate by 4.5 percentage points and led all brands with an owner loyalty
rate of 60.3%. It overtook the position that General
Motors had held previously. The increase came as Ford products generally got
higher marks in quality surveys and as the brand
dodged the bankruptcy proceedings that dogged fellow Detroit brands General
Motors and Chrysler during the depths of the
recession.
GM and Toyota rounded out the top
three manufacturers for 2010, with 59.9% and 58.8% loyalty, respectively.
Chevrolet was up 1.4 percentage points and Toyota sunk
only 0.4%. Toyota was subjected to an onslaught of terrible publicity last year
over runaway cars and myriad other issues that
resulted in recalls. It paid millions in federal fines for not reporting the
problems promptly.
Results reflect choices among 5.2
million new vehicle buying households during the 2010 calendar year, a 13%
increase over 2009, based on Polk's analysis.
