Toyota may be the third largest selling car brand in America, behind Ford and GM. However, when it comes to what brand shoppers consider when they look for a new car, Toyota ranks first.

Through the first 10 months of 2014, General Motors Co. (NYSE: GM) sold 2,434,707 cars and light trucks. Ford Motor Co. (NYSE: F) sold 2,065,612, and Toyota Motor Corp. (NYSE: TM) sold 1,975,368. At growth rates for January through October, Toyota could pass Ford in total sales by the end of the year.

According to data from auto research firm Edmunds.com, in “Consumer Vehicle Consideration by Make” for October, Toyota held the top rank at 14.6%, followed by Honda Motor Co. Ltd. (NYSE: HMC) at 11.8%. Ford was third at 11.4%, followed by Nissan at 8.1%.

It is not clear why the makes rank as they do. Customer satisfaction could be one element. According to the American Customer Satisfaction Index report on automobiles and light trucks, Toyota and Honda each rate in the top six. Ford and Nissan also rate above average.

Another reason is that the research firm’s measurement stick is not traditional:

Edmunds.com’s “Consumer Vehicle Consideration by Make” for a specified period is the percentage of visitors to www.edmunds.com who viewed vehicle content (pricing, reviews, specs, photos, etc.) about a specific new vehicle, as a share of visitors who viewed similar content about any new vehicle within the same make segment. Totals will always exceed 100% since many visitors view content about multiple vehicles.

Edmunds.com believes that when tracked over time, “consideration” is a metric for measuring marketing effectiveness. While consideration is the first step toward purchase intent, not every visitor who views new vehicle content is currently in the market to buy a new vehicle.

Despite the quirks, there are several reasons that Toyota ranks first.

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