• by Karl Greenberg , March 13, 2009

Toyota is No. 1 in value and family-friendliness; BMW in performance, exterior design and coolness; and Ford in truck ruggedness, according to research and sales Web site Kelley Blue Book.

The firm's Brand Image Awards, which rates brands in 10 categories based on its yearly Brand Watch study, also found that consumers tap Cadillac as No. 1 for comfort and interior design; Nissan for exterior design among non-luxury vehicles, and Mercedes-Benz for prestige.

The data, culled from an online survey of more than 12,000 shoppers at kbb.com, is a yearly study. Rick Wainschel, SVP of marketing and analytics for Kelley Blue Book, said Toyota won for its sensible sticker prices, perception of reliability and strong resale performance. Toyota has excelled in "all three facets of automotive value--buying, owning and selling," he said, in a release. The company also says that Toyota's standing is not surprising, since it was also voted as top family-friendly brand: Family-friendly brands "are usually strong scorers in the value department."

BMW has succeeded in offering products that are cool to consumers of all ages, which might seem like an impossible hat trick because "what's cool to those elders is usually treated as toxic by the kids," said the firm.

Although Cadillac underwent a complete resurrection as a BMW-fighting performance brand in 2003, consumers still carry a perception of the company as a comfort brand, per Kelley Blue Book. The firm says Cadillac is "more athletic than ever ... the brand has been linked with plush ride and whisper quiet so closely and for so long that people continue to equate it first and foremost with comfort." The good news, per the firm, is that Cadillac vehicles are still comfortable, not by land-yacht standards--"but by more modern means like effortless power and quiet, high-quality interiors that are rich and contemporary."

The firm also notes that Cadillac's garnering the top vote for interior design is a major accomplishment for a brand that had been hampered, even after the introduction of the paradigm-changing CTS sedan, for somewhat underperforming interiors. "With the introduction of the second-generation CTS, Cadillac jumped right back into the game it dominated a few decades ago," says the firm.

Given Mercedes-Benz' efforts, post-Chrysler, to stake a claim to performance-luxury in order to woo younger buyers, it may be a bit of a backhanded compliment for the company to have taken the No. 1 spot in prestige in the Kelley Blue Book survey. "It is still impossible to find an automotive brand regarded as more prestigious than Mercedes-Benz," says the firm.