UK: Editorial - Reputation means more than image.

A good corporate reputation takes ages to earn and a second to lose.

What, for example, will happen to Mercedes, whose reputation for quality engineering has been built up over many decades, but has been dealt a severe blow with the publication last month of just one picture - the now-infamous two-wheel-lurch shot of its new A-class car?

However, there is a lot more to a company's reputation than merely PR-generated imagery. Almost invariably, companies with good reputations are also companies with good practices - in other words where the image is underpinned by real substance. Seen in this light, the underlying strength of Mercedes' engineering heritage will, one suspects, right the damage before too long.