Honda has earned the Best Value Brand and Most Trusted Brand categories in the 2012 Kelley Blue Book Brand Image Awards. Based on consumer perception data from the company's Brand WatchTM study, the Kelley Blue Book Brand Image Awards honor the automotive brands that have most successfully captured positive consumer attention.

American Honda's Executive Vice President of Sales John Mendel accepted both awards yesterday at the New York Auto Show from Kelley Blue Book President Jared Rowe. "We are honored to accept two awards that point so directly to Honda's core tenets," Mendel said. "With Honda constantly striving to earn trust by providing the finest overall ownership value, it's inspiring to see those efforts resonating with consumers."

"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," said Jack R. Nerad, executive editorial director and executive market analyst for Kelley Blue Book's kbb.com.

In commenting about Honda's 2012 Most Trusted Brand award, Kelley Blue Book's kbb.com noted "Without surprising anyone, our inaugural Most Trusted Brand award goes to a name that's practically synonymous with reliability and dependability. Honda's vehicles enjoy a decades-deep reputation as the smart choice in so many of the categories in which it competes."

The editors of Kelley Blue Book's kbb.com had an equally savvy comment on Honda's 2012 Best Value Brand award. "Many car buyers assume a vehicle's sticker price is the most significant monetary factor when choosing a car. 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."

This marks the fifth year Kelley Blue Book has awarded auto manufacturers the Brand Image Awards, and the second consecutive year Honda has been awarded the Best Value Brand. For more information about the 2012 Kelley Blue Book Brand Image Awards, please visit http://www.kbb.com/car-reviews-and-news/top-10/2012-brand-image-awards/.

Connect with Honda:
Media Newsroom (for journalists): www.hondanews.com
For consumers: http://www.automobiles.honda.com/
YouTube: www.youtube.com/honda
Flickr: www.flickr.com/hondanews
Twitter: www.twitter.com/honda
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/Honda
On Google+

Honda will voluntarily recall 1,316 model-year 2006 CR-V vehicles in the United States to inspect and, if necessary, replace the right front lower control arm. Over time and with extended use, an improper welding process used when manufacturing the control arm may allow the right front lower control arm to break at the weld. If the lower control arm breaks, vehicle handling could be affected, increasing the risk of a crash. No crashes or injuries have been reported related to this issue.

Honda is announcing this recall to encourage owners of all affected vehicles to take their vehicles to an authorized dealer as soon as they receive notification of this recall from Honda. Mailed notification to customers will begin in mid-April 2012. In addition to contacting customers by mail, in mid-April, owners of these vehicles will be able to determine if their vehicles require repair by going on-line to www.recalls.honda.com or by calling (800) 999-1009, and selecting option 4.

The 2012 Honda Fit has won the Cars.com/USA TODAY/MotorWeek $16,000 Subcompact Shootout. Honda's versatile and fuel-efficient Fit took the top spot in a competition among seven popular subcompact cars that seat at least four, have four doors, get at least 35 mpg on the highway, and can be purchased for less than $16,000. Experts from Cars.com, USA Today and "MotorWeek" tested these subcompacts to measure all of the needs of the average car-buyer including gas mileage, practicality, user features and comfort.

"We are thrilled to have the exceptional package that is the Honda Fit recognized by such a well-respected group of automotive media," said Michael Accavitti, vice president of marketing operations, American Honda Motor Co., Inc. "To have topped such a wide group of competition in such a thorough, real-world evaluation demonstrates that Honda versatility, value and fun are standard even in our most affordable model."

"As gas prices and used-car prices continue to rise, a shootout like this acts as a guide for consumers looking to purchase a new subcompact as an alternative to a used vehicle," said Patrick Olsen, editor-in-chief of Cars.com. "In addition to confident handling, a solid transmission, great visibility and unmatched practicality, the Honda Fit is just fun to drive and emerged as our clear winner."

Beyond this latest Cars.com/USA TODAY/MotorWeek shootout win, the 2012 Honda Fit is also an Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) TOP SAFETY PICK and received the 2012 Residual Value Award from ALG. The Fit topped the J.D. Power and Associates' Initial Quality StudySM (IQS) for 2011 in its segment, and is a six-time winner of Car and Driver magazine's "10Best Cars" award, having garnered this accolade every year it has been on sale in the U.S.

Cars.com is an award-winning online destination for car shoppers that offers information from consumers and experts to help buyers formulate opinions on what to buy, where to buy and how much to pay for a car. Launched in June 1998, Cars.com is a division of Classified Ventures LLC, which is owned by leading media companies.

Connect with Honda:
Media Newsroom (for journalists): www.hondanews.com
Honda Fit (for consumers): http://automobiles.honda.com/fit/
YouTube: www.youtube.com/honda
Flickr: www.flickr.com/hondanews
Twitter: www.twitter.com/honda
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/hondafit
Google+