No Surprise: Mileage More Important

J.D. Power and Associates released a new Escaped Shopper Study that found that 17% of shoppers changed their mind about what new car to buy because of mileage. That's up from 13% last year. As gas prices stabilize well below the $3 mark, this ratio could change, but with the recent attention mileage has gotten in the media and even car commercials, we doubt the trend will reverse.

Of course, the top two reasons buyers choose one vehicle over the other is total price — 36% — and the amount of the monthly payment — 31%.

[Consumers Tell J.D. Power Mileage Matters More Now, Detroit Free Press]

Comments

Talk about fuel mileage being important
I OWNED A 1991 V W RABBIT AND A 1984 V W JETTA ON THE INTESTATE THE RABBIT WOULD GET 49 mpg
THE JETTA WOULD GET 52 MPG WITH AIRCONDITIONER.
YOU COULD RIDE A LONG WAY OFF A FEW DOLLARS OF GAS AND KEEP UP WITH THE GAS HOGS ON THE ROAD. YOU COULD NOT GET UP TO SPEED AS FAST , BUT ONCE YOU GOT UP TO SPEED YOU COULD GET TO YOUR DESTINATION AS QUICK AS ANYONE ELSE , JUST A WHOLE LOT CHEAPER.
EVEN AFTER THIS MANY YEARS HAVE PASSED BY , EVEN THE HYBRIDS DON'T DO MUUCH BETTER AND IN SOME CASES NOT AS GOOD.
WONDER WHAT HAS HAPPENED TO ENGINEERING, FOR IN SOME CASE THE MPG HAS DROPPED IN SOME OF THESE MODELS , NOT IMPROVED
WHY CAN'T THE ENGINEERS IMPROVE ON WHAT THEY ALREADY HAD INSTEAD OF BRINGING OUT THESE EXPENSIVE HYBRIDS ? I THINK WE ARE BEING DUPED BY THE AUTO COMPANIES AND TEH OIL COMPANIES.

UH OH.
on my article about the V W JETTA AND The V W RABBIT> I was wrong, you could not go very far on a few dollars of gas, but you could go about 500 miles on a few dollars of diesel. One tank full.

I think it's funny how many people legitimately believe that the automakers are conspiring with big oil to produce inefficient cars. There seems to be an inverse relationship between fleet fuel economy and profits. Ford and GM are losing billions making vehicles that get bad mileage while Toyota made something like thirty one billion dollars last year selling Camrys and Corallas. I don't believe either Ford or GM has any major stake in oil production; they're just trying to give people what they want. Unfortunately they don't have the slightest idea of what people actually want, but they try. That's pretty much all there is to it: buyers wanting larger more powerful cars, and increased safety regulation making them heavier.

Is anyone else alarmed that nearly one third of car buyers focus on monthly payments? Isn't that a great way to get ripped off?