People continually buy the worst cars on sale and ignore the best deals on the market. The problem is mismatched reputations, and Jalopnik readers have found the ten car brands with the most mismatched reputations of all.
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Photo Credit: Chicago Fire Department Media
10.) Smart
Suggested By: Neon™-C>Stig
Why it's undeservedly hated: The ForTwo doesn't get great mileage, but Americans unfairly judged it as an economy car. The whole point or the car was to help you park, not to help you at the pump, although it's far far from a gas guzzler.
Photo Credit: Dave Pinter
9.) Suzuki
Suggested By: For Sweden
Why it's undeservedly hated: Suzuki has such a bad reputation that it doesn't have a reputation at all. No one even considers The Kizashi or the SX4, which are both genuinely fine cars.
Photo Credit: Matt Hardigree/Jalopnik
8.) Ssangyong
Suggested By: Baber K. Khan
Why it's undeservedly hated: While Americans are unfamiliar with Korea's big name in SUVs and offroaders, Europe and the rest of the world largely know them as the producers of the ugliest automobiles made by mankind.
The cars themselves are actually quite durable, and their newer models are built in partnership with Mercedes. They're not even ugly anymore, either.
Photo Credit: Ssangyong
7.) Fiat
Suggested By: Brian, The Life of
Why it's undeservedly hated: Every time you hear Fiat, all you can think of is "Fix It Again, Tony." This bad reputation in the US has a lot to do with a terrible dealer network and American drivers not having the slightest clue how to even change their own oil.
If the build quality of their European cars are anything to go on, the 500 will be pretty durable, though many Americans will never consider buying one.
Photo Credit: Anthony M
6.) Jaguar
Suggested By: Frost
Why it's undeservedly hated: In spite of having nothing to do with Lucas electronics or drunk and striking British union workers, people assume that every new Jaguar is a lemon. They're not perfect, but they're not that bad.
Photo Credit: Donald Macleod
5.) Aston Martin
Suggested By: magman007
Why it's undeservedly loved: People think that Aston Martin has made more than one car in the past decade. They are wrong. It's just been the same sausage in slightly different sizes with slightly different toppings. Even the Rapide is based on the same DB9 platform.
That being said, what a great platform it is. If anyone deserves the benefit of the doubt, it's Aston.
Photo Credit: Eddy Clio
4.) BMW
Suggested By: Smoak on the water
Why it's undeservedly hated: BMW can and does build some of the best cars on the market. And some people we know would never buy one, because they assume that every BMW driver is a complete asshat.
Photo Credit: Stephen/Jalopnik
3.) Volkswagen
Suggested By: BigHarv
Why it's undeservedly loved: VW has made a very smart move to use their reputation of building desirable, fully-loaded cars to sell a bunch of plain, de-contented Camry competitors. It's working out fantastically for VW's sales charts, but buyers aren't getting the "quality German engineering" they dreamed of.
Photo Credit: Chris Bartow
2.) Honda
Suggested By: SennaMP4
Why it's undeservedly loved: Honda made its name by building cars leaps and bounds ahead of the competition. Early Accords and Civics of the ‘70s, ‘80s, and ‘90s were miles ahead of Detroit's status quo.
Now, however, Honda sells cars that aren't any better than the models they replace, and yet many buyers wouldn't consider buying anything without an "H" badge on the front.
Photo Credit: Honda
1.) Lexus
Suggested By: dubhov
Why it's undeservedly loved: You wanted a prestige car to show off your new middle management raise, but what you bought was a Camry with a lot of sound deadening. Lexus builds functionally good cars, but that's about it.
Photo Credit: Lexus