For those who live by Consumer Reports here is a snipit of the 2010 Brand Perception Survey.

“Despite experiencing one of the most turbulent years ever in the automotive market, Chevrolet, Ford, and Subaru have benefited from a dramatic increase in overall brand perception among car owners. According to Consumer Reports 2010 Car Brand Perception Survey, all three saw at least a 30-point increase in their overall perception scores over last year’s scores.  

The scores reflect how consumers perceive each brand in seven categories: Safety, quality, value, performance, design/style, technology/innovation, and environmentally friendly/green.

 The scores reflect consumers’ total perception level of a brand across those categories, and not the actual qualities of the brand’s individual vehicles. Toyota maintained its Number one spot. But overall score improvements helped Ford to slip past Honda into second place and allowed Chevrolet to rise to fourth place, from ninth. Subaru’s 39-point increase, which was the largest of any brand and almost double its 2009 score, boosted the brand to ninth place, from last year’s 18th position.

At the other end of the spectrum, the two lowest-scoring brands were Hummer and Saab—divisions that General Motors has struggled to sell. Luxury brands saw the greatest decreases in overall scores, with Porsche (-13 points), Lexus (-15), Cadillac (-15), Infiniti (-21), and Lincoln (-25) moving in the wrong direction. “

Overall brand perception