DEARBORN - Ford Motor Company dethroned Toyota as the 2011 Harris Poll EquiTrend® Full Line Automotive Brand of the Year earlier this year, and the crystal trophy was presented to the company Monday at the Product Development Center in Dearborn. 

“This award is a huge acknowledgement of the way we’ve gone to market in the last couple of years and of how our employees, suppliers, dealers and customers feel about the brand,” said Jim Farley, group vice president, Ford Global Marketing, Sales and Service, who accepted the award on Ford’s behalf.  “It’s also a great acknowledgement of all the work that all the people at Ford have been doing in the toughest of times, and I think it gets us excited to do even more.” 

The Harris Poll EquiTrend study evaluates measures including Equity, Consumer Connection, Commitment, Brand Behavior, Brand Advocacy and Trust.  The 2011 study was conducted online among 25,099 U.S. consumers ages 15 and over between January 11 and 27, 2011.