IRVINE, Calif. -

Kelley Blue Book revealed the winners of its 2012 Brand Image Awards on Wednesday, and highlighting the list of honorees was a quartet of repeat winners.

Honda took the Best Value Brand category for the second straight year, and Cadillac earned its second straight honor as Best Comfort Brand. Meanwhile, Mercedes-Benz celebrated its fifth straight year of taking Most Prestigious Brand honors, and Ford pulled Most Rugged Truck Brand honors for the fourth straight time.

Overall, Ford won the most categories, claiming four (Most Family-Friendly Brand, Most Rugged Truck Brand, Best Exterior Design Brand — Non-Luxury, Best Interior Design Brand — Non-Luxury).

Honda took two (Best Value Brand, Most Trusted Brand), as did Cadillac (Best Interior Design Brand — Luxury, Best Comfort Brand) and Porsche (Best Performance Brand, Coolest Brand).

Mercedes-Benz (Most Prestigious Brand) and BMW (Best Exterior Design — Luxury) were each honored in one category.

Sharing a bit of background on the awards, the firm uses consumer perception data from KBB Intelligence’s Brand Watch study. The Brand Image Awards are in their fifth year of recognizing automakers.

“Image isn’t everything but it is more than enough to get shoppers into the store, and that’s half the battle for automakers and their dealers,” stated Jack  Nerad, executive editorial director and executive market analyst for Kelley Blue Book’s Kbb.com.

“With standout vehicles, memorable marketing and positive word of mouth, the winners of Kelley Blue Book’s 2012 Brand Image Awards have secured enviable positions in the minds of in-market shoppers,” he added.

Kbb.com editors then went on to list and provide commentary about each winner, as follows:

2012 Most Trusted Brand: Honda
“Without surprising anyone, our inaugural Most Trusted Brand award goes to a name that’s practically synonymous with reliability and dependability,” they said. “Honda’s vehicles enjoy a decades-deep reputation as the smart choice in so many of the categories in which it competes.”

2012 Best Value Brand: Honda
“Many car buyers assume a vehicle’s sticker price is the most significant monetary factor when choosing a car,” editors shared. “While it’s certainly an important consideration, Honda’s reputation for superb resale value, exceptional quality and legendary dependability continues to raise the bar in respect to automotive value.”

2012 Most Family-Friendly Brand: Ford
“Ford’s revamped people-shuttling vehicles have struck a chord with those looking to haul growing families and their gear in safety and comfort,” analysts pointed out. “The re-invented Explorer has helped lead this effort thanks to its more car-like ride and seating for up to seven, while good looks and roomy interiors have attracted others to the Taurus sedan and Flex crossover.”

2012 Best Interior Design Brand — Non-Luxury: Ford
“Ford’s upscale interior styling seemingly blurs the line between luxury and non-luxury interior design. Overflowing with high-quality materials and the latest high-tech gadgets, Ford interiors break the perceptions of what can be achieved in a mainstream vehicle,” editors commented.

2012 Most Rugged Truck Brand: Ford
“In 1925, Ford produced its first ever pickup truck. Now 87 years later, Ford’s F-150 has become the quintessential American truck and the country’s best-selling vehicle for three decades,” they noted. “From ranchers to boaters to the everyday Joe, the Ford F-Series offers something for anyone seeking a durable pickup with everyday versatility.”

2012 Best Exterior Design Brand — Non-Luxury: Ford
“A bold, dynamic exterior design is one of the key ingredients in Ford’s recent recipe for success. While Ford’s current ‘Kinetic’ design language is well received by the American public, the Blue Oval refuses to rest on its laurels,” analysts pointed out. “Ford is aiming to shake-up the industry once again with its next-generation global design platform set to debut on the 2013 Fusion.”

2012 Best Exterior Design Brand — Luxury: BMW
“From the athletic stance of the entry-level 1 Series to the long — and long-on-elegance — 7 Series executive class, BMW has a knack for expressing its cars’ inner power and prestige to their exterior sheet metal,” officials highlighted. “Vehicles such as the revamped X3 and hulking X6 crossovers helped this brand and its rounded design philosophy to take the top spot from last year’s winner Cadillac and its more aggressive, angular approach.”

2012 Best Interior Design Brand — Luxury: Cadillac
“Kelley Blue Book’s kbb.com visitors still can’t take their eyes off the plush and progressive cabins of Cadillac vehicles, voting them the Best Interior Design among luxury cars for a second year in a row,” editors shared. “Boasting features such as suede steering wheels and LCD screens that majestically rise from the dash, Cadillac’s interiors adeptly match everyday functionality with visually pleasing form.”

2012 Best Comfort Brand: Cadillac
"Cadillac has forever been equated with comfort, and that fact still resonates with Kbb.com visitors, who voted it the best in class for a second year in a row,” they noted. “While the brand continues to make significant strides in creating more sport-oriented cars, Cadillac hasn’t forgotten the plush ride quality that many still equate with its very name.”

2012 Best Performance Brand: Porsche
“This is Porsche’s year to own the award it has traded back and forth with BMW every year since 2009. Uniquely styled and built with an uncompromising focus on driving excitement and enjoyment, Porsche’s performance image is rooted strongly in the cars themselves,” editors noted.

2012 Coolest Brand: Porsche
“As soon as you say you’re cool, you’re not. But it always counts when someone else says it, and in the past year a lot of in-market shoppers have cited Porsche as the coolest car brand around. Like a humble world-class athlete, Porsche does its thing better than any other car in the world but never gets loud about it,” they added.

2012 Most Prestigious Brand: Mercedes-Benz
“This is its fifth win in a row, so let’s just recap what we’ve said the past four years: ‘Mercedes-Benz remains the luxury brand of luxury brands;’ ‘it is still impossible to find an automotive brand regarded as more prestigious than Mercedes-Benz;’ and ‘there’s just something about the three-pointed star and the rich history of sophistication behind it.’”