Posted on Wednesday 2 May 2007
Kelley Blue Book (KBB) and its marketing research team have listed the brands that car buyers find to have the most exceptional ‘exterior styling’ in each vehicle segment. The results come from a study conducted by Brand Watch, KBB’s newest automotive research study. Though styling is a subjective matter, it still plays a major role in most car buying decisions and can easily persuade a buyer towards a particular vehicle.
Nissan was voted to have the most stylish non-luxury sedans in the market, beating out more popular makes Toyota and Honda. Ford managed to win two top spots, taking honors in the truck and non-luxury SUV segments, while BMW also had two top places with wins in the luxury SUV and luxury sedan segments. The category that we’re all interested in, convertibles and sports cars, was taken by Porsche, followed closely by Mercedes-Benz and Jaguar.
“As vehicle reliability reaches near-parity in the market, we predict that exterior styling will play an even bigger role in building new-vehicle sales and brand equity,” said Jack R. Nerad, executive editorial director and executive market analyst at KBB. “The results of the Brand Watch study demonstrate that the industry is, and should be, placing great emphasis on what their vehicles look like.” Follow the jump to see the top three makes in each segment.
Convertibles/Sports Cars
1. Porsche
2. Mercedes-Benz
3. Jaguar
Trucks
1. Ford
2. GMC
3. Chevrolet
Minivans
1. Dodge
2. Toyota
3. Honda
Luxury SUVs
1. BMW
2. Lexus
3. Mercedes-Benz
Non-Luxury SUVs
1. Ford
2. Toyota
3. GMC
Luxury Sedan
1. BMW
2. Mercedes-Benz
3. Infiniti
Non-Luxury Sedan
1. Nissan
2. Honda
3. Toyota
1st Porsche and 2nd Mercedes ??
Porsche has a 30 years old design and their models are never changing, year after year.
Style? They are too cute, too round, too feminine for a sports car.
Mercedes?? Name one serious sports car from their current lineup.
Clue: putting a 600 HP in a 2000 kg monster does not make it a sports car.
It is just the SLK55 AMG that can be named, but the styling won’t cut it for the 2nd rank worldwide.
biturbo, you’re forgetting that the results were voted in by Americans. Recently, Porsche also topped a list of the most desirable or prestigious brand or something along the same lines… Common, Porsche makes good cars but the brand is STERILE now.
Apart from the Corvette, name one American car in recent times that looks good and isn’t based on a retro design. Americans don’t know about good design..
I bet most of the people who voted didn’t even know half the cars they voted for..
Why not post who you think deserves to be on top?
For me, it would be:
Normal - Mazda
Luxury - BMW or Audi
Super-luxury - Aston Martin
Exactly, how in the hell is Porsche and Mercedes beating Aston Martin and Ferrari in the styling dept?
hahaha sooo true Damien…..
for me, it would have been something like this:
Convertible/Sports cars: Aston Martin
Luxury Sedans: Audi/Mercedes-Benz
Non-Luxury: Nissan/Mazda..
But then yea, they ARE voted for my Americans………..