In much of the United States, automobile is autocrat (i.e. car is king). And while there are certainly advocates for greater mass transportation, cars are unlikely to lose their place on America’s roads too quickly. But, it should be noted, the cars on America’s roads are not always America’s cars.

Cars found in the United States come from a range of countries, including Germany and South Korea, but the two stand-out foreign participants in America’s automotive scene are Toyota and Honda. Both based in Japan, the two companies combine to produce nearly 25% of American cars. And with the companies putting in so much legwork, it feels only proper to pay some attention to them and to monitor the public sentiment of these two powerhouses.

Looking at Google search volume from 2004 to the present, one can immediately see that Honda (blue) has a fairly consistent lead over Toyota. While Toyota has eked out a search advantage in a few months over the years, those are clearly the exceptions.

Of course, we should not necessarily assume that instances in which Toyota led in search were good for the company. For example, we can be pretty confident that Toyota’s search spike in 2010 was a consequence of the recalls that garnered countless negative headlines.

While examining a macro view of the entire country is important, it is sometimes even more interesting to look at these trends state by state. With the above breakdown, we can see that Honda has the lead in 38 states, while Toyota leads in 12. Interestingly, these 12 are…well, they are largely clustered in the west, but all three Pacific Coast states (Washington, Oregon and California) actually favor Hondas. A fairly brief dive into the weeds of these searches yields no further insights on why, for example, New York favors Hondas but Vermont favors Toyotas.

Which brings us to the past 12 months…

Whereas Honda had a clear lead over the 16-year period, now the search terms are approaching parity. The map is filled with much more Toyota red; in addition to firming up its victory out west — creating about as clear a geographic division as one could hope for — Toyota also grabbed several more states in the east. Now, it actually leads in the three most populous states — California, Texas and Florida — although it claims victory in just 18 states overall.

What changed? It’s hard to say. But next time you look at a Toyota (or a Honda), just remember that if you were in a different region you might be looking at a Honda (or a Toyota).