U.S. Students Hazy on Auto Brand Origins - Duh?

Originally Published On The Auto Channel 5/29/2007

Snide's Remarks; Confused about the origin of cars?...many of today's American students are confused about a lot more than that... maybe like the name of the Vice President or the Capital of South Dakota...(please eggcuse the spelink my spell checa jes broked...) I thought dat dis edidictorial from USA Today was woit seein once d'again; what do you tink? msnide@theautochannel.com: "For Once, Blame the Student"

Washington DC May 28, 2007; The AIADA newsletter reported that a new survey reveals that many American college students think Lexus is an American car company and most of them think Hyundai is a Japanese company.

According to the Detroit Free Press, the survey on brand identification of tech products and auto companies of 1,000 students was conducted by Anderson Analytics.

While 37% correctly answered that Lexus, the upscale brand of Toyota, was Japanese, 33% thought it was an American brand. More than half -- 55% -- thought Hyundai was a Japanese company. Only a quarter correctly identified it as a Korean automaker.

College students had the same ignorance about three Europe-based automakers. Most thought Britain-based Land Rover was American, though that could be excused because it has an American parent in Ford. Sweden-based Saab and Volvo also have American parents, but that doesn't explain why most students thought they were based in Germany.