AutoSmarts

Winter 2010

*Drivers in the Slow Lane
Some 41 million drivers, or 20.1 percent of licensed drivers, would not be able to pass their written driver's test if they took it today. I can identify with this because I often wonder if I could pass the driving portion of the test,myself. Somehow we seem to develop habits when driving over the years, and not all of them good ones, or safe ones. Such as, what do certain lines, yellow or white, mean, etc. Well, apparently, I'm not alone according to the fifth annual GMAC Insurance National Drivers Test. According to gmacinsurance.com/SafeDriving, about 76.6 percent of drivers know just the basic road rules (a grade of 70 percent is failing). The best drivers, the survey found, are in Wisconsin and Idaho (tying for first), with an average test score of 80.6 percent. New York drivers ranked last (70.5 percent), and Illinois had an average score of 76.7 percent (ranking 29th). The states that did not fare as well included Florida (74.1 percent), Maryland (74.8 percet) and California (72.4 percent). Men were more likely to pass than women, found GMAC, but not by much. Men older than 45 years earned the highest average score. Participants (5,183) were given a 20-question test compiled from state Motor Vehicles tests.

Youth Not as Interested in Driving
According to J.D. Power & Associates, there are shifts in perception regarding the necessity and desire to have a car. Part of the reason could be economic, sites Power, but Gen Y youth seem to be more interested in social media and computers than getting their hands on Dad's car keys. Analyzing hundreds of youth online in conversations on auto-related sites such as Autoblog, personal blogs and Twitter and Facebook, J.D. Power encountered more negative perceptions among youth than in years past. This is bad news for auto manufacturers, mostly because Gen Yers could have the greatest spending power of any generation. The automotive brands that receive the most online discussion among "early careerists" (ages 22-29) are Dodge, Chevrolet, Toyota, Land Rover, Mazda, Jeep, Lexus, Honda, Ford and Buick. Among teens ages 12-18) are Toyota, Honda, Audi, Cadillac, Chevrolet, Jeep, Mercedes, VW, Nissan and BMW, according to J.D.Power & Associates.

*General Motors surveys why people might return a car. Some of the reasons people site for returning a vehicle within a specified time frame include divorce/breakup. death, health, relocation, family growth. These reasons make up 65 percent. The remaining 35 percent include deployed to military, lost income/job, gas prices, dissatisfaction, disability, new company-issued car, child went off to college, retirement, car safety, environmental, parking too expensive, public transportation, weather, social pressure and feature upgrade. Do you believe it?

*LeaseTrader.com reports increased growth by women users of secondary lease market. According to LeaseTrader.com, an online lease swap marketplace for car leases, women make up a growing number who use the company's peer-to-peer marketplace as a way to shop for a vehicle lease. LeaseTrader's feedback indicates a large portion of female customers prefer to shop for a vehicle by working directly with another consumer becauswe the peer-to-peer method removes the dealer and sales person from the encounter. Avoiding the dealer sales environment, they found, was the leading reason women gave for using the online marketplace. Although dealerships have made improvements over the years, says Delia Passi, CEO of WomenCertified.com in adjusting their sales environment to be more in tune to women's interests and preferences for car buying, they still have a long way to go.

*Are Their Male and Female Cars? According to Peter Deusterman, InsureMe's in-house statistician, he can predict which gender will purchase which make of automobile. According to Deusterman, 86 percent of people looking for insurance quotes on a Ferrari, Maserati or Lamborghini are men. And although he's less confident when predicting who the VW Beetle appeals to, he's pretty confident it's women. According to InsureMe's data, 12,825 women selected the GM-made car, compared to 7,526 men. He believes the data shows Hummer is more of a "guy" car> However, we're likely to guess many young women opt for a Hummer H3, as well.

*The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety has named the following Top Safety Picks: Toyota Tundra (first pickup to earn this award), Audi A3, Honda Odyssey, Subaru Impreza with ESP (only small car)Honda Accord, Honda Element, Hyundai Veracruz, BMW X5, Saturn Vue, 2008 Volvo, BMW X3, Acura RDX, Ford Edge, Lincoln MKX, Honda Pilot, Hyundai Santa Fe, Mercedes M-Class, Volvo XC90, Volvo C70, Saab 9-3 Convertible and Kia Sedona, Subaru Forester with ESP, Honda CRV and Toyota Highlander.

*The most stolen vehicles for 2006: 1. 1995 Honda Civic, 2. 1991 Honda Accord, 3. 1989 Toyota Camry, 4. 1997 Ford F-150 Series, 5. 2005 Dodge Ram, 6. 1994 Chevy C/K1500, 7. 1994 Nissan Sentra, 8. 1994 Dodge Caravan, 9. 1994 Saturn SL, 10. 1990 Acura Integra (“Hot Wheels,” National Insurance Crime Bureau, www. Nicb.org). According to NCIC (National Crime Information Center) for 2006, the total number of vehicles reported stolen in the US were nearly 1.2 million for an estimated value of nearly $8 billion.

*Kelley Blue Book lists five brands for 2008 with the best overall predicted resale values: Volkswagen, BMW, Honda/Acura and Porsche. Rounding out the top 10 are Subaru, Lexus, Infiniti, Audi and Toyota. On the other hand, Detroit-made vehicles made up eight of KBB’s 10 worst resale picks for 2008 models.
*Damage to luxury vehicles carries the highest repair bills; even just for a fender-bender. According to the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, many bumpers do not absorb the energy of a crash, leading to damage to a grille, hood or headlights. The Institute conducted four low-speed crashes on 11 2007 luxury vehicles and found that Infiniti G35 (nearly $14,000) had the highest repair bill. The Acura TL, Mercedes C-class also were high (at more than $11,000), and Lexus IS cost more than $9,500. Only three vehicles sustained less than $6,000 in damage: Saab 9-3, Audi A4 and Lincoln MKZ.

*Tracking color statistics for more than 55 years, DuPont covers trends in color preference in automobiles. After seven years in first place, silver is butting heads this year with white/white pearl. White overcame silver in Japan and is the leader in Mexico, more than doubling the popularity of gray. DuPont anticipates the new black metallic and other color effects will show an increase in popularity over time. Red also continues to gain ground. Customers are looking for “niche” colors and effects, including matte finishes and warm neutrals, says Karen Surcina, color marketing and technology manager at DuPont Automotive Systems. Following the trend of home furnishings and fashion, automobile colors make a fashion statement. In China, the race between silver and black is close; South Korea prefers silver, with white/white pearl close behind. In Europe, black is still the most popular color, with silver close behind. In Brazil, silver is in the lead, with black a close second.

*In 1962 when the first Baby Boomers turned 16, there were 78 million cars and trucks on the road. Today there are 237 million, a three-fold increase, according to the U.S. Highway6 Administration. Cars now outnumber licensed drivers in American households. One in five houses today is built with a 3-car garage.

*Back in the picture for troubled times is the Peace sign. A new product to bring back a popular sign of pop culture, the peace sign is now available from PEACEMAGZ Magnets. Aiming to “Give Peace a Hand,” the magnets are 7-inchs in size, have a hand displaying the two-fingered peace sign. ‘Putting peace back to work,” say the creators, the peace magnets can be found at www.peacemagz.com and sell for $5.

*J.D. Power & Associates announced the results of its most recent Customer Service Index Study and Jaguar came out on top. Based on a 1,000 point scale, Jaguar pulled in 925 points, followed by Buick (918), Cadillac (913), Lexus (913), Mercury (912), Saturn (908), MINI (902), Lincoln (901), Pontiac (900) and Infiniti (899. Industry average was 876.

*The redesigned Cadillac CTS beat out the BMW 328i and Mercedes-Benz C300 in Consumer Reports’ test of upscale sports sedans. Receiving an “Excellent” overall score, CTS now competes with the best German and Japanese sport sedans.

*Toyota Camry wins Autobytel/MyRide.com’s 2008 Consumer Choice Award for the most requested vehicle. Joining Camry in the winning circle are Toyota’s Corolla, Prius and RAV4. Announced at this year’s NADA Convention in San Francisco, Camry pushes Honda Accord and Civic out of first place where they have taken the honors for four years in a row. Autobytel/MyRide.com’s 2007 Consumer Choice Awards Winners included Honda Civic, Honda Accord, Mini Cooper, Nissan Altima, Toyota Corolla, Toyota Prius, Toyota RAV4, Honda CR-V, and BMW 3-Series.

*The results of Consumer Reports’ Annual Car Owner Satisfaction Survey has rated the following cars the most satisfying:

Small Cars: Honda Fit, VW Rabbit
Family Cars: Toyota Prius, Toyota Camry Hybrid, Ford Fusion V6 (AWD), Saturn Aura
Large Cars: Hyundai Azera, Toyota Avalon
Upscale/Luxury Cars: Lexus LS 460, Acura TL Type-S, BMW 330i/335i sedan, Infiniti M35 RWD, Lincoln MKZ (AWD)
Sports Cars/Roadsters: Porsche Boxster, Porsche Cayman, Chevrolet Corvette, Mini Cooper S (hatchback), Honda S2000, Porsche 911 Carrera, Mazda MX5 Miata, Audi S4, Mini Cooper (Convertible), Ford Mustang (V8), VW GTI, Mini Cooper (hatchback)
Coupes/Convertibles: BMW 335i (RWD), VW EOS
Wagons/Hatchbacks: Mazdaspeed3
Minivans: Toyota Sienna, Honda Odyssey
SUV’s: Lexus RX350, Ford Edge, Toyota Land Cruiser, Chrysler Aspen (4WD), Hyundai Santa Fe, Toyota RAV4 (V6), Toyota 4Runner (V6)
Pickup Trucks: Honda Ridgeline, Toyota Tundra (V8)

Least Satisfying:

Small Cars: Chevrolet Cobalt (coupe, non turbo), Saturn Ion (sedan), Chevrolet Cobalt Sedan, Chevrolet Aveo sedan
Minivans: Ford Freestar, Buick Terraza, Chevrolet Uplander, Saturn Relay
SUV’s: Chevrolet Trail Blazer (V6 RWD), GMC Envoy (V6 RWD), Suzuki Grand Vitara, Jeep Commander (V6), Chevrolet Equinox, Jeep Grand Cherokee (V6, gas)
Pickup Trucks: Dodge Dakota, Chevrolet Colorado (5 cyl), GMC Envoy (5-cyl), GMC Canyon (4-cyl), Ford Ranger, Mazda B-Series, Chevrolet Colorado (4-cyl), GMC Canyon (4-cyl)