If Barack Obama were a car, he'd be a BMW (even through he drives a Ford). John McCain would be a Ford (even through he drives a Cadillac). So says a survey of Americans that sought to link perceptions of the presidential candidates with the kinds of consumer goods they'd use or represent. It was conducted earlier this month by Landor Associates, a brand and design consultancy. Respondents were asked to rate the presidential and vice-presidential candidates as to what brands they seemed most like in 14 categories. The results of what Landor calls the 2008 Presidential ImagePower Brands List:

Product, Obama's perceived brand, McCain's perceived brand
Coffee: Obama, Starbucks. McCain, Starbucks.
Car: Obama, BMW. McCain, Ford.
Computer: Obama, Mac/PC. McCain, PC.
Retailer: Obama, Target. McCain, Wal-mart.
Search engine: Obama, Google. McCain, AOL
Magazine: Obama, People. McCain, Business Week.
Beer: Obama, Samuel Adams. McCain, Budweiser. Not a hard one to call when your wife distributes Budweiser.
Snack food: Obama, Pringles/Terra Chips. McCain, Cheetos. With Bill Clinton, it probably would have been "all of the above."
Hotel: Obama, Marriott. McCain, Marriott.
Smartphone: Obama, iPhone. McCain, Blackberry.
MP3 player: Obama, iPod. McCain, "what's an MP3 player?" (Actually, iPod also.)
Social networking site: Obama, Myspace. McCain, Myspace.
Fictional character: Obama, James Bond. McCain, Jack Bauer.

What they really drive
In real life, Obama drives a 2008 Ford Escape Hybrid, replaced after presidential aspirant Obama took flack for driving a Chrysler 300C hemi, which had something of a reputation as a gas guzzler and wasn't even built in the U.S. (It's built in Canada, which is still the Americas.) McCain drives a 2004 Cadillac CTS, although between McCain and spouse, they have 13 vehicles at their disposal across their seven homes. Others are said to include a 2005 Volkswagen convertible; a 2001 Honda sedan; a 2007 Ford pickup; a 1960 Willys Jeep; a 2008 Jeep Wrangler; a 2000 Lincoln; a 2001 GMC SUV; and three GEM electric vehicles that are popular in golf course and retirement communities but not, as I found out, in hilly areas. Cindy McCain's personal ride is a Lexus registered to the family's beer-distribution business. The license plate: MS BUD.

VP candidates Joe Biden and Sarah Palin were also identified as being Ford people. That's either a good sign since Ford is doing well on recent quality and reliability surveys, or not so good since Ford's finances aren't in much better or worse shape than America's.

Check out an early-summer slide show by David Kiley of Business Week on what the presidential aspirants were driving back then. Also see a Car and Driver rant, What Would Barack Obama Drive? written in his hemi Chrysler days. Also see the complete Landor survey results.