Here's How Much Jalopnik Readers Care About A Car's Branding

How much does a car's branding affect whether you are interested in it? Last Saturday I asked the Jalopnik commentariat to weigh in on this issue and let us know if they're deeply brand loyal, they don't care at all, or if they're somewhere in between. Needless to say, the answers ran the gamut and didn't disappoint. 

Do you care if your favorite car comes from an upstart outfit you've never heard of before? Are you going to be in line to buy a new car that's exactly what you want, even if it's from a brand you traditionally have not liked? Let's say Kia were to launch a new supercar as good as a 911 Turbo, or maybe even better, for half the price. You would have to be mad not to even try one out, right? Or maybe that scenario is absurd to you, because you have only ever bought BMWs and you'll always buy BMWs, even if they change what a BMW is. 

I have very little brand loyalty. My fleet currently includes vehicles from Porsche, Audi, Cadillac, Dodge, Mazda, Ducati, BMW, Yamaha, and Harley-Davidson. I have also owned Pontiacs, Oldsmobiles, a Buick, a Honda, and a handful of Fords in my day. I am not really loyal to any of the brands, but I am deathly loyal to my Porsche 912E and 911 Turbo. It's the experiences, connections, and memories created by the individual cars that makes me love them, not whatever badge is on the hood. While I don't really care which company makes my cars, I do care that they are good and fun to drive. 

I don't care about branding if the car is good, 100%! I prove that already because I own a Corvette. I didn't grow up caring about corvette, I grew up in the 80's, had posters ofthe Testarossa and the Countach, parents had Hondas, had an Uncle with cool BMW's and a Porsche so those were the brands I cared about. I buy the corvette specifically because it's a good value, or at least the closest I can afford to the exotic car experience but not a brand I really care about or have any loyalty to. If a new car came that looked and performed better for a better price I would take, in my mind at least Corvette is not a premium brand but I do really enjoy driving the car so that what I own.

Suggested by Korey Konopasek

Corvette is a pretty good parallel, because it does 90% of what the European supercars manage, but for half the money, or less. I'd choose a C8 over anything Ferrari makes these days, and it's not even close. 

I usually go for the best car for the money, regardless of brand. Then i maintain that vehicle, more or less, by the book. This approach has led me to having a great experience with all my vehicles whether it's a Nissan, Dodge, Chevy, or Cadillac. On one hand, i feel that I'd have great luck with a new brand. On the other hand i question whether the new brand has the same amount of research and development as the other large auto manufacturers. Ultimately the price and the warranty could win over my business but I wouldn't go into it with high expectations.

Suggested by Mikey

You seem like a pretty level-headed character. What are you doing in the comments section of a blog in 2026? It's supposed to be only the bonkers ones here with wild opinions!

Pretty much 0. I was ready to buy a Kia Stinger in 2019. Friends were like "eww why a kia?" but i didn't care. I ended up not getting one because the dealer experience was garbage and in the time it took the sales rep to come back from... whatever the hell it was he was doing for so long while I was waiting in his office, I reconsidered the whole thing and got a used EV. 0 ragrets.

Flash forward to 2026 and kia has some of the best EVs out there and I have an ev6 in my garage.

Suggested by Atomic

I've definitely had some pretty bad dealership experiences turn me away from a new car purchase before, so I totally understand. I'd hate to be so loyal to a brand that I would be forced to deal with that kind of customer service regularly. 

Would like to hear from Rivian people on this topic and even early Tesla Model S buyers. Both those brands had zero reputation in the beginning and it didn't stop a large number of people (with means) from jumping on the Model S and R1S bandwagon.

For me personally, I'm a car lover. If it looks great and has the performance I'm looking for I'll take a chance on something new like Slate or TELO.

Suggested by uphillputt

I think you're on to something. By all accounts, the early Tesla and Rivian people were quite happy with their cars, though they were not without their faults. It seems pretty standard that anything launching today has to be at least on par with Rivian's launch, if not better. Slate certainly shows promise, but they haven't delivered anything yet, so time will tell. 

People that have zero loyalty sends up red flags to me and makes me not want to be anywhere near them! A person that jumps from one product or manufacturer to another can't be trusted! People that jump from one job to another again can't be trusted! I have a great deal of respect for people that pick a manufacturer and spend the rest of their lives loyal to that manufacturer! It shows integrity! So that being said, nothing could ever influence me to buy a different car or truck thats not from GM! In my 53 years on this earth I've only owned Chevy cars and trucks except one Cadillac! A CT6!!! If you buy a car from a different manufacturer everytime then I have zero respect for you!

Suggested by 24C8Zo6

Do you get a Christmas card from General Motors every year or something? 

I think I would wait several years to see how the company itself does. I wouldn't want my Great Wall GT3 RS to get Fisker Oceaned.

Suggested by Fireonthehorizon

A good rule of thumb is to avoid any project Henrik Fisker is involved with for the foreseeable future. 

Reputations are based in some truth.

Suggested by Steve Maurice

True, but variety is the spice of life. 

While visiting China for Porsche work events, I saw Porsches rebadged with Louis Vuitton and other luxury logos. Never saw a BYD rebadged as a Porsche. I think that answers the branding question.

Suggested by Ted Lasso

I drive a 2003 Hermes Birkin. 

I will give China automakers 15 years before I buy one, it takes time to eliminate the problems.

Suggested by Robert Rio

BYD was founded in 2003, so you're already 8 years too late!

It would take a lot more effort to convince me that a car from the Big Three (Ford, GM or Tesla) is genuinely excellent than it would for a completely unknown brand.

Brand loyalty is silly, but the opposite falls under Buyer Beware.

Suggested by AimToMisbehave

It's pretty brutal that Tesla has replaced Dodge in the Big Three here, but you're not wrong. 

I have zero brand loyalty, except where the cost of switching to something else is excessive. From one camera system to another, for example. Or from Windows to Mac (or vice versa). But cars? There is essentially no cost to switch.

Suggested by Bobm

If you're switching from a Corvette to a Porsche 911, you have to throw away your New Balances and buy a Porsche Design watch. It's pretty expensive to convert. 

It doesn't matter, society won't last long enough to determine if the Chinese brands are reliable or not.

Suggested by Jackpot

Say, you're not the old Nihilist Arby's guy, are you?