According to a recent study put out by Forbes, Goodyear was rated the most reputable company in the American auto sector. While most people would associate the auto sector with carmakers and body shops, numerous firms are included in the discussion. Goodyear’s tires are a vital component of numerous vehicles on the road. Drivers depend on quality tires to ensure a safe and comfortable ride. Fixing a flat tire isn’t something that car owners look forward to.

Tire manufacturers have occasionally come under fire for quality control issues. Several high profile news stories focused on this issue. However, this report would suggest that Goodyear is relatively free from such criticism. This is remarkable, especially when one considers the age of the company. Goodyear has certainly been around long enough to develop an excellent brand image, but it could have also collected a substantial number of angry customers in that time.

Goodyear seems to have collected compliments instead of insults. This might spur on sales in many fields. As well as automotive tires, Goodyear’s name is known in countless business circles. Airships were once a major industry, and the Goodyear blimp is still quite famous around the world. Their international business connections are equally as famous.

For instance, Goodyear has had a presence in India for almost nine decades. Some of these international business ventures might involve the rubber industry directly, while others have more to do with the distribution of tires. Goodyear cultivates lasting relationships, and these projects illustrate that fact.

The rubber company moved from 38th on the Forbes list to 26th. They’re actually the only tire maker on the list. The list itself is based on the Reputation Institute’s US Reputation Pulse consumer survey. That study was completed in the first quarter of 2012.

Scores were based on seven individual metrics. Information about workplace conditions, citizenship, leadership, financial performance, innovation, governance, products and services in 150 of the country’s biggest companies were collected. Over 10,000 consumers were surveyed about their general feelings of trust toward these firms.

This ranking is clearly a major accomplishment for the Goodyear organization, and it shows that customers truly have positive feelings towards the brand image. Few companies actually have this sort of research backing up their claims. Trust usually translates into sales. People have a tendency to buy from companies that they have heard good things about. While this study doesn’t make any direct claims about word of mouth advertising, it’s a safe bet that customers are saying good things about Goodyear tires.