Brand Loyalty, Polk Award - Prius

Would loyalty to GM be caused by [ame="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stockholm_syndrome"]Stockholm Syndrome[/ame]? :madgrin:

 

Congratulations Toyota.

One thing I'm not 100% clear about reading that release is what is the difference between Manufacturer and Make?

Toyota wins for manufacturer...which I would assume is an all encompassing award. Honda wins for "Make". What's the difference?

I'm only guessing but does manufacturer include all "Makes" IE: Scion, Lexus and Toyota, where "Make" would only be exclusive to Honda, and not include Acura?

I guess it's not a big deal, but I always used Manufacturer and Make as almost interchangeable terms, and thought it most proper to say, Lexus is Toyota's Luxury "Brand".

Sorry, nevermind....this is the type of thing that only bothers me....

 

I just saw your explanation of your little :madgrin: ( on another thread) but do tend to wonder why GM has had such owner loyalty with what they have put out in the last 15+ years.

Our family have had Toyota cars for most of the last 30 years and have had no major issues. I am a two timer with Prius now and would replace this one with another if/when I need to.

 

The same reason some people would rather die than desert MOPAR.
Most of the rational people have left GM etc years ago, and do not show up in this survey.

 

I once briefly talked to a guy who started telling me about his Oldsmobile and how he was going to buy a new one because the transmission was failing for the second time within 80k miles. He readily admitted that the car had all kinds of problems but for some reason he still wanted to buy another.

I also had a coworker many years ago who bought a Chevy S10 pickup with the 4.3L V6. He was on his third engine within ~60k miles because the rear main seal had failed catastrophically on the first two engines. He traded it in for another S10 pickup.

 

Much of my family has bought GM throughout their life. It's the Michigan way. They have blinders on and simply look at nothing else when it comes to vehicle purchase decisions. They kept on buying all of the junk produced for much of the 70s and 80s. Fortunately for them the quality of GM has improved and I believe that is largely attributed to the competition from Honda & Toyota. GM management and the UAW did NOT wake up one day and decide they should build better vehicles but competition forced them to do it.

 

Corvette & pickup owners tend to be very loyal. I have no problem saying I was a loyal Olds owner as I bought a 1983 & 1989 and experienced a minimal number of problems. The 2000 Intrigue was a different story. I went looking for something better & found it in the 2006 Prius. When I needed a replacement there wasn't a question.