Posted by
BLOGASSAULT on Tuesday, June 09, 2009 6:54:48 PM
The trouble is, right now a lot of American consumers just aren't that into any of this wizardry, based on results from a recent survey conducted by market-research firm J.D. Power & Associates, a unit of McGraw-Hill Cos.
Fuel-saving hybrid-electric technology, priced at $5,000, ranked eighth in the Power study after the price was revealed. That's a respectable showing for such an expensive feature. But the share of consumers who said they are "definitely interested" in a hybrid car dropped to 15% in 2009 from 23% a year ago. After Power told respondents that a hybrid system would add $5,000 to the price of the car, the "definitely interested" share fell to 4.2%.
This is probably the most telling aspect of our current economy...
The loudest message from Power's sample of U.S. consumers is that the economic shock has damped enthusiasm for bells and whistles across the board, says Mike Marshall, director of automotive emerging technologies for J.D. Power. He characterizes the drop in interest in technology features this year as "startling."
As an element of the survey, Power researchers tell respondents to consider what features they would buy on their next car if they had $3,500 to spend. In 2008, about 4% of the respondents said they wouldn't spend any of that money. In 2009, about 7% said they would keep the $3,500 in their pocket.
We are not on a spending spree any longer.