SOUTHFIELD, Mich. -

The 16th annual Polk Automotive Loyalty Awards were released Tuesday night, and a familiar automaker dominated. A repeat winner in four categories and celebrating its second straight year of claiming top honors was Ford.

The Big 3 company won the awards for Overall Loyalty to Manufacturer, Overall Loyalty to Make and African-American Market Loyalty to Make, while the Ford F-Series won the Mid/Full-Size Pickup category for the 14th time in the last 16 years.

Additionally, Ford’s Escape won Compact SUV honors (that vehicle’s first-ever win), and the Lincoln MKZ was tops in the Luxury Car segment.

“We are honored that our customers continue to choose our products. Each day, Ford endeavors to gain their loyalty and advocacy by providing choices, fuel economy, smart technology and safety,” said Ken Czubay, vice president of sales and service for Ford.

Sharing some other winners, Honda won the category for Hispanic Market Loyalty to Make, while Toyota was a repeat winner in the Asian Market Loyalty to Make.

Jeep won in the Most Improved Loyalty to Make category, as its loyalty percentage climbed 7.4 percentage points. Polk attributed a great deal of this victory to the successful revamped Jeep Grand Cherokee. 

This was just one of Chrysler’s successes in the awards program. In fact, other than Ford, Chrysler claimed the most honors, having picked up three. The Chrysler Town & Country’s win in the minivan segment represents the 11th straight time it has won this award.

“We’re very happy to accept these Loyalty Awards from Polk, especially considering that they’re a direct reflection of customer satisfaction,” stated Doug Betts, Chrysler’s senior vice president of quality. “We have gone to great lengths in recent years to improve our lineup with better performing, higher quality vehicles — and to take better care of our customers after the sale. These awards help validate those efforts,” he added.

Sharing more details of the awards, Polk says it defines loyalty as a household going into the market and buying or leasing a vehicle of the same model or make as its current vehicle. The complete list of winners in the overall awards and vehicle category awards is as follows, with loyalty percentage in parenthesis:

Overall Loyalty to Manufacturer: *Ford Motor Co. (62.9 percent)
Overall Loyalty to Make: *Ford (61.7 percent)
Hispanic Market Loyalty to Make: Honda (55.4 percent)
Asian Market Loyalty to Make: *Toyota (50.6 percent)
African American Market Loyalty to Make: *Ford (61.4 percent)
Most Improved Loyalty to Make: Jeep (improved 7.4 percentage points)

Vehicle Category Awards
Compact Car: Hyundai Elantra (27.0 percent)
Mid/Full-size Car: Subaru Outback (35.8 percent)
Luxury Car: Lincoln MKZ (44.2 percent)
Sports Car: *Dodge Challenger (19.3 percent)
Luxury Sports Car: Porsche 911 (21.2 percent)
Minivan: *Chrysler Town & Country (31.5 percent)
Mid/Full-size Pickup: *Ford F-Series (39.2 percent)
Compact SUV: Ford Escape (31.6 percent)
Mid/Full-size SUV: *Lexus RX (39.5 percent)
Luxury SUV: *Land Rover Range Rover (38.4 percent)
* Denotes repeat winner.

“The awards represent an OEM’s success in bringing consumers back into their showrooms when they return to market for a new vehicle,” said Brad Smith, director of Polk’s loyalty management practice. “OEMs are more focused than ever before on customer loyalty programs, and those that place high priority on these initiatives are reaping the rewards.”

Among other automakers, Hyundai’s win in the Compact Car category marks the first time it has been honored in Polk’s loyalty awards.

“Hyundai owners truly love their cars, so it’s no surprise that Elantra is being recognized in Polk’s loyalty awards this year,” said Scott Margason, director of product planning at Hyundai Motor America. “With 40 MPG highway, class-above interior roominess and a modern design, the Elantra offers compact sedan shoppers many reasons to remain loyal to our vehicles and the Hyundai brand.”

Smith added: “This is a true testament to Hyundai’s product success and confirmation that it has become an exciting brand in the U.S. market.”

Honda, meanwhile, celebrated winning the Hispanic Market Loyalty to Make award for the second time, as it also won in 2009.

“Honda is thrilled to accept this award from Polk, which demonstrates how strong our products and brand resonate with buyers in the important Hispanic market,” said David Hendley, assistant vice president of sales at American Honda Motor Co. “The quality and value of our products continues to generate strong loyalty from consumers.”

Offering some more commentary, Polk chairman, president and chief executive officer Stephen Polk had this to say: “OEMs are paying increasingly close attention to loyalty as the industry begins to rebound. Together with some of the retention programs manufacturers have put in place, and several new product launches in the past few years, there are a lot of exciting options in showrooms for consumers who are in the market for new vehicles.”