AP-GfK Poll: Honk if you prefer US cars: Americans see US autos topping Asian competitors

AP-GfK Poll: Americans say US cars top Asian autos

WASHINGTON — Could the U.S. love affair with foreign autos be cooling?

An Associated Press-GfK Poll shows that more Americans now say U.S.-made automobiles are better than cars made by Asian countries.

People give American autos an edge over their Asian competitors 38 percent to 33 percent. That’s a modest advantage, but a big turnabout from a 2006 AP-AOL poll in which Americans picked Asian-made autos over U.S. autos for quality, 46 percent to 29 percent.

The change reflects Toyota’s fading reputation as well as growing respect for Ford.

Fifteen percent of those polled in March said Toyota makes the best cars, down from 25 percent in 2006.