Progress Pond

American Cars, American Consumers

Americans are not interested in fuel economy or small, efficient cars.  Americans want power, size, and styling.  Says who?  Says GM.  Says Ford.  Says Daimler-Chrysler.  Says the analysts at JD Powers.

Though the larger Hemi will likely get lower gas mileage than its predecessor, it may not be enough to deter interested buyers, Pratt said.

“All things said and done, I think power is more important to the typical American car buyer than fuel efficiency,” he said.

That’s the message we’ve been getting for years.  Even as GM disintegrates, Ford finds no takers for their most monsterous SUVs, and Daimler-Chrysler declares that their 60mpg Smart vehicles are “too small” to interest the American consumer.  Even as the market share of the “Big Three” heads toward the Big Zero, Conservative law makers (I’m looking at you, Kit Bond) continue to make fun of smaller cars at every opportunity.

Then GM finally did something that maybe they might have thought of years ago… they asked the American consumer what they thought was important in cars and energy policy.

Want to guess what real Americans answered?

Start the drum roll.  Here’s the number one thing that interests American consumers:

The poll, conducted by Peter D. Hart Research Associates and released Wednesday, found that 43 percent of Americans believe the reduction of the nation’s dependence on foreign oil should be its top energy policy priority.

 See, they told you it was power.  Now… Oh, wait.

Dependence from foreign oil?  How did that make the top of the list?  Let’s look at #2 and #3.

It was followed by 20 percent who felt the nation should improve fuel efficiency of vehicles and 19 percent who want to reduce pollution and harmful emissions.

 

Reduced use of oil, better fuel efficiency, and fewer reductions.  It almost sounds like they’re looking for plug-in hybrids, doesn’t it?  Haven’t the American consumers been listening to the billions of dollars in marketing that the car companies have expended to tell them to want more power?  Haven’t they been listening to Bond and others who say that only SUVs can satisfy our cravings?

American consumers have been listening.  They’ve been listening to the ads, and looking at the products, and they have a very good ides of what kinds of vehicles the different car manufacturers are putting in their showrooms.  

When asked which automakers did the best job developing the efficient vehicles, 40 percent named Toyota Motor Co., and 37 percent named Honda Motor Co. Fourteen percent named GM.

 Ouch.
Maybe it would have been better if GM spent less time telling us what we want, and more time listening.

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