It seems that Ford made a good move in the eyes of consumers by choosing to not accept the government bailout money. A new survey by Rasmussen Reports found that Americans hold a higher opinion of Ford, over Chrysler or GM, who received the government bailout and went through bankruptcy proceedings.

The national survey of 1,000 adults conducted at the end of July shows that 66% of Americans have a somewhat favorable view of Ford, while GM is viewed favorably by 38% and Chrysler 34%. Both GM and Chrysler’s scores went down 6 points from May and Ford’s numbers are generally unchanged. In contrast, 26% of respondents view Ford unfavorably compared to 56% for GM and 55% for Chrysler. Those numbers are up eight points for GM and three points for Chrysler.

The views may translate into what car brands consumers are buying as 46% say they are more likely to buy a car from Ford, who didn’t receive government assistance compared to only 17% for the post-bankruptcy GM.

The survey shows that the bankruptcies did take a toll on the public opinions of Chrysler and GM, but even with all the press, 82% say the Detroit 3 are somewhat important to the economy and 40% say they are very important.

For more information about the government bailout, see our Auto Crisis hub.

—Liza Barth