The only cars I will buy these days are “new to me”, not necessarily “new”
In cars what I look for is reliability and good gas mileage at a decent price. In the past I have mostly owned Toyotas and been extremely happy with them on both counts. I tend to drive my vehicles until they no longer run; not sell them every two years for the newest and latest gadgets so I need one that stays together.
Last time we looked for a car (2009/2010) the SmartCar was getting about the same in-town mileage as the Corolla and slightly better highway miles but the Corolla was much roomier. Since most of the driving would be in town we saw no advantage to paying the extra bucks for the SmartCar and when we went out of town we would be better off with the extra space the Toyota offered and thus willing to forgo the few extra MPG.
Safety has never been something I was overly concerned with figuring most had passed the safety ratings tests.
Style has never been in the forefront of my mind when looking at vehicles (although it does play a factor) and so many of the cars look so similar. Sometimes I feel you are looking for which one has the chrome in the places you want it.
And I have tried not be be brand specific although, in the end, it seems like even if we have not ended up with a Toyota they are always in the running.