2014 Kelley Blue Book Brand Image Award Winners

The Kelley Blue Book (KBB) Brand Image Awards are awarded to automakers that are leaders in specific categories such as best performance, most refined and most trusted. These awards are not to be taken lightly or simply the result of an opinion poll but rather the result of extensive year-long research and feedback freely given by over 12,000 vehicle shoppers who were not shy at all about sharing their thoughts and opinions.

Best Overall Brand

The best overall brand award went to Honda and Mercedes-Benz. Honda won for its continue success in building vehicles that offer a great deal of reliability as well as becoming more refined. Honda has now won this award three years in a row with no sign of wanting to give the title over to someone else. Mercedes-Benz took the award for its continued offering of appealing, performance laden, technology packed luxury vehicles that have become seriously sought after for a very long time. Mercedes-Benz was also complimented for their continued quality and reliability that has become a staple of the automaker.

Most Trusted

For the third year in a row Honda receives this award as well, reliability and efficiency both goes a long way with consumers to make Honda receive this award so many years in a row. For Lexus the dependability, craftsmanship and comfort have earned this award. Lexus now enjoys being awarded the Most Trusted Luxury Brand two years in a row with its stable of very popular and seemingly much more affordable luxury cars.

Best Value

The Best Value award for an automaker doesn’t just mean lower prices or cheap, but it means the cars actually hold resale value and offer some nice equipment without breaking the bank. Kia earned Best Value for its style and resale values while Buick won for its quiet interiors, premium leather trim and reasonable prices when compared to other luxury car makers

Most Refined Brands

As the brands that added or offered the most luxury or comfort for the money GMC might be a surprising choice. GMC earned the award because of its upscale amenities and styling that add a much greater level of comfort to the trucks than any other automaker. Mercedes-Benz might not be as much of a surprise, earning the award for its precision in craftsmanship, refined attributes and elegant cabins making it a fantastic luxury car maker.

Best Performance Brand

With fun, engaging and affordable cars as well as what many would call “cute” MINI won out for the Best Performance Brand in the lower price segments. At the other end of the spectrum, the continued iconic designs and awesome dynamics of the sports cars such as the 911, Cayman and Boxster help Porsche to earn the award for Best Performance Brand from KBB.

Best Styling Brand

Chevrolet takes the mainstream honors for Best Styling Brand by offering an entirely reinvented lineup that includes the Cruze as a great compact car, the throwback stylings of the Camaro and the continued success of the ever popular and rugged Silverado. For the luxury segment Jaguar takes the cake with a very rich design heritage that offers its vehicles with bold, beautiful and timeless designs that are now filled with luxury equipment and features to enjoy and enhance the driving experience.

Best Overall Truck Brand

This award goes to the Blue Oval of Ford. As the best-selling pickup truck for 37 years running and a lineup of F-150s that always is so extensive anyone at all can find one they love Ford has built a fantastic reputation for reliability, dependability and loyalty. To add to these achievements Ford has added a focus on efficiency and improved technology without sacrificing capability or power.

With so many great automakers out there this look into the KBB Brand Image Awards gives anyone looking for a great new or used vehicle an idea what brands they should start with. Finding a vehicle in one of these brands that is easy to fall in love with will not be hard at all, the hard part will be deciding which one to fall in love with.