Survey Says: Young People Prefer Imports
November 29, 2007
Whether you prefer a domestic vehicle or an import depends largely on your age, a new study finds. The younger you are, the more likely you are to buy an import and avoid a domestic.
That’s the primary finding of the J.D. Power and Associates 2007 Avoider Study released Thursday. The survey looks at why consumers don’t consider particular models when car shopping.
Other interesting tidbits suggest the domestic automakers have a lot more work to do in the perception of their vehicles.
Geographic Preferences
Not surprisingly, the study finds that the North Central region of the United States has the highest proportion (41%) of domestic vehicle buyers who do not consider import brands during the shopping process.
That stands to reason since places like Michigan, Ohio and Indiana, especially, are strongholds for domestic vehicle making and parts-making for those vehicles. The two most frequently reported reasons that consumers give for avoiding import brands: vehicle styling and cost.
Conversely, the Northeast and the West have the highest proportions of buyers of import vehicles who say they avoid specific models because they are domestic in origin.
And here’s where the changing perception job for the domestics come in. The most frequently cited reasons given for avoiding a domestic brand are: concerns about reliability, poor quality and depreciation. A greater proportion of these import buyers also mention poor gas mileage as a reason for avoiding domestic models.
Perception Not Always Reality
Interestingly, the consumer’s perception doesn’t always gel with reality.
“Many buyers continue to have unfavorable impressions of domestic models due to concerns about quality, reliability and depreciation issues, even though the quality of many of these domestic products is on par with or exceeds that of their import counterparts,” said Jon Osborn, research director at J.D. Power and Associates. “Domestic manufacturers need to get this message out in front of younger buyers and convince them to put their models on their shopping list.”
Gas Mileage High in Consideration
The study finds that gas mileage is the most frequently mentioned reason for purchasing a vehicle, while it remains the seventh most frequently cited reason for avoiding a particular vehicle model. Buyers tend to avoid non-premium brands more often due to poor gas mileage, compared with premium makes.
But once again, perception is not necessarily reality. Customer perceptions of poor gas mileage, rather than actual data regarding fuel economy performance, may influence these avoidance decisions.
“As an example, the Hummer H3 is the most-avoided model in its segment, with 21 percent of buyers saying that they would not consider buying this model and many citing poor gas mileage as a reason,” said Osborn. “However, EPA fuel economy estimates for the Hummer H3 are very similar to those of other midsize utility vehicles, such as the Jeep Commander and Chrysler Aspen, which have much lower rates of avoidance. The perception that the Hummer model gets worse gas mileage than other comparable models may be strongly influencing consumer decisions to exclude it from consideration—especially since gas prices have remained high.
“Changing customer perceptions by educating buyers about this model’s fuel efficiency performance may help to lower its avoidance rates,” he added.
Misc. Findings
The study results include the following key findings:
Buyers are making avoidance decisions based on consumer-generated information found on the Internet, with consumer reviews most often cited as a source leading to avoidance, followed by expert reviews and manufacturer site information.
While gas mileage is a prominent reason for vehicle purchase decisions, wanting an environmentally friendly vehicle is one of the least-cited reasons for purchasing.
Younger buyers are more apt to indicate gas mileage as a reason for purchasing, compared with their older counterparts.
The 2007 Avoider Study is based on responses from more than 35,000 owners who registered a new vehicle in May 2007.
Posted by Michelle Krebs at 8:42 AM under Analysis | Comments (5) | digg this | Seed Newsvine
"Younger buyers are more apt to indicate gas mileage as a reason for purchasing, compared with their older counterparts."
I don't know about that generalization made by the study. I think a lot of that depends on the people who responded to the study. Were the 35,000 owners who responded spread throughout the country? Did they represent ownership of a broad range of vehicles?
At 26 years old, I (currently) don't care about the fuel economy of my car. My 2004 Subaru Impreza WRX Sedan (not a STi) averages 20-22 mpg (about 8 mpg when being driven on a race track) depending on how heavy my right foot is.
Posted by: Loren | November 29, 2007 at 11:32 AM
It's too bad I can't edit my comment above.
I see the study was conducted throughout the country. I guess it's safe to assume the vehicles registered by these 35,000 people cover a broad spectrum.
Posted by: Loren | November 29, 2007 at 11:34 AM
I am a baby boomer who grew up driving GM muscle cars. I got married in 1977 and due to economic parameters I was forced to buy my 1st import (Honda). I continued to buy Hondas and Nissans until 2001 when my job (realtor) required me to buy a larger auto. I purchased a Dodge Intrepid,the worst mistake of my auto purchasing experience. After 2 blown engines and countless other problems I literally gave this 4 year old auto away and bought a Honda Accord. When I decided to buy a sports car and recently a pickup I went 350z instead of Corvette and Tacoma TRD instead of Silverado. By the way,my Tacoma was made in Fremont Ca.less then an hour from my home. I've wanted to go back,but back to what ??? The reason I buy Hondas, Nissans and Toyotas is because of quality,dependability,resale value and most of all peace of mind. By the way,I'me 55 years old and have fond memories of my 69 Olds 442 and other like cars but my mouth waters when I think about the Nissan GT-R.
Posted by: Manuel Negrete | November 29, 2007 at 7:41 PM
I cannot agree with all of the assumptions made by the JD Powers survey but in general a lot of young people & seasoned car buyers like myself (56) want style, performance, reliability, & resale value. I recently (june 07) bought the 2007 Chevy Silverado Crew Cab 4x4 6.0L shortbed. Its a nice truck that I enjoy driving very much and I am proud to own. However, if I had to do it over I would have waited until GM put a 5 or 6 speed transmission in all of their pickups with V-8 engines. My powerful 6.0L is held back by a 4 speed transmission. This is an example of what I call technological half-stepping at the customer's expense. GM should have come out with their "BEST" effort in the new Silverados & Sierras. Then a company like Toyota wouldn't have won so much praise for performance 0 to 60 and the like about the new Tundra V-8. But instead, they didn't want to be upstaged an rushed out with a handsome truck tied to a wimpy 4 speed. I say to "ALL" Domestic Auto MANUFACTURERS" don't short change your customers..if you don't have the needed components..wait until you do & come out with your BEST EFFORT. Customers appreciate style & performance at a reasonanable price. But this customer does not appreciate a dynamite V-8 truck with a puny 4 speed transmission. And they wonder why younger people avoid Domestic brands..duh Keep selling products like this & continue to lose younger people & their seasoned counterparts (ME).
Posted by: chaney | November 29, 2007 at 10:22 PM
I'm 35 and I have always owned GM products with very good success. I had a '79 Impala with over 226,000 miles and ran great until it was stolen and never recovered. I had a '96 Chevy Cavalier with over 116,000 miles until it was severely damaged in a car accident. I currently have a 2000 Olds Alero with 146,000 miles and never been in the shop for anything major and a 2007 Saturn Aura that runs circles over any import. And little features such a remote start and Onstar are great in my opinion - something Honda and Toyota does not have. Onstar alone is one of the best safety features for any car to have.
So I don't buy into that notion that young buyers whether have imports, and I live in the south. I also doesn't help that the media tend to favor the imports and don't report their mishaps. For example, Toyota is involved in two major lawsuits over faulty seatbelts that killed a man, but the media buried the news in small paragraphs tucked away. If this was a lawsuit against GM or Ford, the headlines would the large and bold and mentioned for days.
It is all about PERCEPTION, and I will always HAVE a GM product in my garage.
Posted by: Antonio | December 02, 2007 at 7:15 AM