Toyota Is Dead to 44% of U.S. Buyers

A sizeable number of Americans say that they would definitely not buy a Toyota, according to a recent poll.

By Andrea Tse , Mar 26, 2010 9:57 AM EDT

NEW YORK (

) -- More than 4 of 10 Americans say that they "would definitely not buy a

," according to a recent Bloomberg National Poll.

According to the poll, a full 44% of U.S. consumers say they are fully shunning Toyota, amid the automaker's massive vehicle recalls and public relations debacle. Of those 44%, 39% cited the recent recall as the reason for why they would not buy Toyota. The poll shows that 36% of the polltakers view Toyota unfavorably, while 49% or less than half of polltakers view the company favorably.

Ford

(F) - Get Report

, on the other hand, has generated significant goodwill among the public, as Toyota continues to its efforts to regain public trust. Ford was viewed favorably by 77% of polltakers, exceeding

Honda

(HMC) - Get Report

-- in second place -- by seven percentage points, according to

Bloomberg.

General Motors

achieved a positive rating in the poll of 57%, eight months after needing government help to stay afloat. Ford was the sole U.S. automaker not to take government aid during the recent economic downturn.

The poll, taken of 1,002 adults in the U.S. between Mar. 19 to 22, also found that the perception of Toyota correlated inversely to the respondent's age; the older the respondent, the less they liked Toyota.

Toyota's share of vehicle sales in the U.S. shrunk from 15.9% the year before to 12.8% in February, according to

Bloomberg,

-- Reported by Andrea Tse in New York

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