Providence Journal
August 9, 2006
How quickly we move on.
Despite all the hoopla over $3 a gallon gas prices, it seems Americans’ attention spans are somewhat limited when it comes to fuel efficiency as a major factor when buying a vehicle, according to figures from Cars.com, an Internet-based forum for buying and selling new and used cars.
That is not to say that fuel efficiency is not a continuing concern; indeed, a recent survey found more than 50 percent of adults surveyed said it had become an important factor in recent years. But based on the number of searches on Cars.com in May and June, interest in fuel efficient cars such as the Toyota Prius and Toyota Yaris were down 27 percent and 33 percent, respectively. In the used car market, searches for the Geo Metro were down 29 percent and the Prius and Yaris were both off 25 percent. The bloom also seems to be off the Honda Fit: searches for new ones fell 27 percent and for old ones fell 14 percent.
“The funny thing is that while people complain a lot about high gas prices, there’s been no shift toward mileage,” said Anthony Pratt, senior manager of global powertrain at J.D. Power and Associates in Troy, Mich. A recent J.D. Power study found only 34 percent of new car buyers surveyed said gas mileage was a factor they considered before selecting a vehicle, ranking it eighth in a list of various factors that he said changes little year to year.
This may be explained by the finding that gas makes up only a small part of most American household budgets. Based on 2004 data, the Bureau of Labor Statistics found that purchases of gasoline accounted for about 3.5 percent of the average household’s expenditures. Obviously that percentage has increased in the last two years, but it still represents a comparatively low figure compared to family budgets in Europe, where gas costs the equivalent of over $6.50 a gallon.
“It seems to be more of a knee-jerk reaction,” said Steve Nolan, spokesman for Cars.com. “We noticed this summer and last summer that any time gas prices go up, there’s an increase in searches for fuel efficient vehicles and a decrease in searches for truck-based SUVs.”
He added that while the interest has fallen off as people seemed to get used to new price thresholds — $2 a gallon last summer, $3 a gallon this summer — the reaction has translated into increased sales of small cars and decreased sales of full-size SUVs.
Pratt agreed, noting what he called a general shift away from trucks and full-size SUVs. “They’re out of fashion,” he said.
In fact, four out of the five cars with the most searches performed on Cars.com were perennial bestsellers: Honda Civic, Toyota Camry, Honda Accord and Toyota Corolla in the new-car category; and the Honda Civic, Honda Accord, Toyota Camry and Toyota Corolla in the used-car category.
Pratt noted the success of both Honda and Toyota was partly due to their focus on the top three categories — reliability/durability (61 percent), interior comfort (51 percent), quality of workmanship (49 percent). “They’re playing by numbers, if you will,” he said, noting that Toyota had only recently given its Camry a stylish look.
“Another thing that helps the Japanese manufacturers is not offering rebates,” he said, noting that some in and out of the industry believe the practice cheapens the brand name and negatively impacts the resale value.
Other factors deemed important in the J.D. Power study included exterior styling ( fourth with 48 percent), positive relationship with dealer (fifth with 41 percent), performance (sixth with 40 percent) and the image of the vehicle (seventh with 37 percent).
Meanwhile, practical considerations such as gas mileage, safety (ninth with 33 percent) and low maintenance costs (12th with 26 percent) all ranked comparatively low, according to J.D. Power. And as for concern about the environment, forget about it. Only 7 percent of the new car buyers surveyed said it influenced their decision.
At the same time, Detroit could be facing an increasingly potent challenge from another Asian manufacturer – Hyundai. Nolan noted the new vehicles with the largest number of searches were the Hyundai Tucson (up 20 percent), the Hyundai Santa Fe (up 17 percent), the Pontiac G6 (up 10 percent) and the Hyundai Sonata (up 7 percent).
“It’s one of the things we’ve noticed,” he said of the interest in Hyundai. While he cited a boost in marketing and incentive packages, he said it appeared the company was also “coming into its own” in terms of gaining the serious attention of American consumers.
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