Mercedes-Benz was named the Best Overall Prestige Brand at the Kelley Blue Book Brand Image Awards on Wednesday night at the New York International Auto Show. The award was one of 17 awards handed out during the auto show's media preview week.

The 2008 Brand Image Awards are based on consumer automotive perception data from Kelley Blue Book Marketing Research’s Brand Watch study. Brand Watch is an online brand perception tracking study that surveys more than 12,000 in-market, new-vehicle shoppers annually on kbb.com.

"The Kelley Blue Book Brand Image Awards honor the automakers that stand out in the ongoing heated battle for consumer perception," said Rick Wainschel, vice president of marketing research and brand communications for Kelley Blue Book and kbb.com. "While specific vehicle models may come and go over the years, the power of the brand is lasting in the minds of consumers."

The Brand Watch report provides a detailed look at in-market new-vehicle shoppers’ perceptions of brands, and important factors driving their purchase decisions while they are in the midst of the shopping process.

The results of an entire year of Brand Watch research and consumer opinions determine the 2008 Kelley Blue Book Brand Image Award winners.

The most prestigious honors from Brand Watch include Best Interior and Exterior Styling, as well as Best Overall Prestige Brand. Based on the results of the Brand Watch study, consumers rated Mercedes-Benz as Best Overall Prestige Brand. With the company’s long history of combining rich interiors with distinguished exterior styling, the brand is known not only as a preeminent luxury automaker, but also one of the foremost luxury brands in the world.

BMW captured the award for having Best Overall Exterior Design. The automaker's designs are winning legions of fans, and the company has maintained a family resemblance across the board while allowing each model to take the design theme in a different direction. Toyota garnered Best Overall Interior Design with its vehicles’ familiar and consistent fit, finish and materials used across its vehicle line-up.

"Understanding brand perception is important to gauging vehicle value," said Jack R. Nerad, executive editorial director and executive market analyst of Kelley Blue Book and kbb.com. "Because brand is so important to consumers as they decide which vehicles they are considering and, ultimately, what vehicles they will buy, it is important to study their perceptions of various brands, the attributes that contribute to those perceptions, and how those perceptions shift over time."

This year's Kelley Blue Book Brand Image Award winners:

• Best Overall Prestige Brand: Mercedes-Benz
• Best Overall Interior Design: Toyota
• Best Overall Exterior Design: BMW
• Best Interior Design, Non-Luxury Sedan/Coupe/Hatchback: Toyota
• Best Exterior Design, Non-Luxury Sedan/Coupe/Hatchback: Chrysler
• Best Interior Design, Luxury Sedan/Coupe/Hatchback: Lexus
• Best Exterior Design, Luxury Sedan/Coupe/Hatchback: BMW
• Best Interior Design, Sports Car/Convertible: Mercedes-Benz
• Best Exterior Design, Sports Car/Convertible: Porsche
• Best Interior Design, Truck: Chevrolet
• Best Exterior Design, Truck: Chevrolet
• Best Interior Design, Non-Luxury SUV: Toyota
• Best Exterior Design, Non-Luxury SUV: Ford
• Best Interior Design, Luxury SUV: Lexus
• Best Exterior Design, Luxury SUV: Mercedes-Benz
• Best Interior Design, Minivan: Honda
• Best Exterior Design, Minivan: Toyota