A new survey, released by Yahoo! Autos found that a majority of Americans are ready for a smaller vehicle, a sign of how much concern over gas prices has reshaped our tastes. However they’re sharply divided on whether a hybrid car or truck will be worth the extra costs. When asked if they would pay more for a hybrid vehicle, a majority, 55%, say they would be willing to pay $1,000 more for a hybrid and 42% said they would pay between $500 – $2,000 extra, but 38% said hybrids are not worth an extra penny.
The survey of 1,000 men and women age 18-64 explored purchasing decisions around car buying. Other key highlights include:
How much would gas have to cost before you would consider buying a smaller car?
| • Already bought a smaller car | 28% | |
| • Currently considering buying a smaller car | 21% | |
| • $4/gallon | 9% | |
| • $5/gallon | 15% | |
| • $6/gallon | 10% | |
| • $7/gallon | 3% | |
| • $8/gallon | 1% | |
| • $9/gallon | 3% | |
| • $10/gallon | 1% | |
| • Never consider buying a small car | 4% |
Top Five Quality Brands: Three years after a blitz of recalls and quality crises, Toyota has regained its image among Americans as the automaker with the highest quality vehicles. When asked which brand of vehicle builds the highest quality cars or trucks, our panel ranked these as their top five:
- Toyota
- Ford
- Chevrolet
- Honda
- BMW
Made in…: A majority of respondents, 61%, said where the car is manufactured factors into the purchasing decision. When asked if the country of the car manufacturer influences purchase decision, 27% said “a lot” and 34% said “a little.”
GM & Government Bailout: Respondents were unaffected by the federal government bailout when considering the purchase of GM vehicles. A majority, 66%, said the $70 billion rescue wouldn’t make them more or less likely to shop a GM brand. Only 15% said they would be less likely and 13% said they’d never consider a GM model at all.
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About the Survey:
Yahoo! Autos survey of consumers was conducted in March 2012. We interviewed n=1,000 Americans ages 18 to 64 representative of the U.S. online population via an online quantitative survey.