Mar 17th, 2010 by Ross Edwards
Toyota and Lexus have both been bumped from their top spots in ALG’s quarterly Perceived Quality Score. The score rates consumer opinions of car brands. Last fall, Toyota and Lexus were each rated number one by consumers in their respective categories. In the latest report, Toyota has fallen to sixth place and Lexus to third.
Toyota’s fall from grace with the American car buyer is a result of the recent debacle with recalls. The company is on its third attempt to fix the unintended acceleration that has happened on several cars and resulted in deaths. Toyota sales have been hurt by the unintended acceleration issues, and the company has brought out strong incentives this month to bring customers back. The catch is that these incentives may weaken the brand’s image even more, and result in lower residual values in the future.
Lexus fell from first place in the luxury segment to third, behind Mercedes-Benz and BMW. Buyers don’t seem to mind though. Lexus sales haven’t suffered like Toyota’s, according to USA Today. This is probably because Lexus hasn’t had as much media exposure in the unintended acceleration stories, even though some of its cars have been included in recalls alongside the Toyotas.
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