How Screwed Up Is This? NADAguides.com Survey Ranks Fuel Economy As Top Criteria of New Car and Truck Buyers

Editor's Note: What a sorry state of affairs this is! With all of the delicious new car choices American consumer’s are offered; for them to rank "fuel economy" as their number one purchase criteria is sad beyond measure. It proves just how powerful and subversive the oil masters have become.

When every vehicle on America's roads uses domestic, sustainable and green fuels, Fuel Economy (MPG) will become just what it was, and should be again, a personal practical or economic choice, not a national security issue.

SEE ALSO: Survey Finds Majority of Americans Are Confused About Alternative Fuel Options
SEE ALSO: Compare Total Operating Costs (Cost Per Mile)

MCLEAN, Va., May 1, 2013 -- New-car and -truck buyers ranked Fuel Economy, Ownership Costs, Brand Perception, Safety and Vehicle Design as the five most important attributes considered when shopping for a vehicle, according to a recent survey by NADAguides.com. Factors were scored on a scale from 0 to 100, with a higher score indicating greater importance. 

Passenger Car Survey Results

Both new-car and -truck shoppers ranked Fuel Economy as the most important factor. Car buyers placed a greater emphasis on Fuel Economy compared to truck buyers with scores of 89 and 84, respectively.

Car buyers gave Vehicle Design a score of 76 making it the second most important factor considered behind Fuel Economy. 

"The fact that car shoppers ranked Vehicle Design so highly is a reflection of the ongoing parity we've seen in the areas of quality, dependability and efficiency among the brands," said Jonathan Banks, executive automotive analyst for the NADA Used Car Guide. "As we've seen from the success of Hyundai and Kia over the past few years, inspirational design can change how consumers view a brand and act as a catalyst to increase new-vehicle sales."

Banks added that the restyles of the 2013 Honda Civic and 2014 Chevrolet Malibu, just one year after major revisions, were examples of how "manufacturers are keenly aware of the pronounced role of design in shaping the sales success of a brand."

With scores ranging from 67 to 72, Brand Perception, Safety and Ownership Costs rounded out the top five most important factors considered by new-car shoppers.

Performance Capabilities received a moderate score of 56, a second place ranking for luxury car respondents, just behind Vehicle Design.

Car respondents ranked Versatility/Utility, Incentive Availability and Advanced Technologies as the three least important factors. 

SUV/Truck Survey Results

For SUV and truck buyers, Ownership Cost was the second most important purchase attribute with a score of 83, just one point behind Fuel Economy.

"The close proximity of these two factors resulted from the broad composition of SUV and truck respondents, which was comprised of consumers shopping for pickup trucks and SUVs of all sizes," said Banks. 

"Shoppers of small SUVs ranked Fuel Economy as their top concern and Ownership Costs as third, while shoppers for mid-size and large trucks ranked Ownership costs as their top concern and Fuel Economy third. Results indicate that larger truck shoppers want to maximize fuel economy, but they also understand that the added size required to support their household and recreational needs will result in higher gasoline costs. To compensate for this, buyers will look to reduce maintenance expenses and purchase dependable trucks with solid used value retention," Banks added.     

Truck shoppers, similar to car shoppers, rated Safety and Brand Perception as the third and fourth most important purchase considerations with rankings of 69 and 68, respectively. Vehicle Design and Versatility/Utility followed closely behind with respective scores of 65 and 63.

Brand Preference ranked fourth for truck shoppers overall, but was the No. 1 most important attribute for pickup shoppers who are loyal to specific brands in the pickup truck segment.

With an average score of 58, Performance Capabilities was ranked seventh by truck shoppers, but pickup truck shoppers ranked Performance fourth. Luxury truck shoppers, just like luxury car shoppers, ranked Performance as the second most important purchase factor.

Incentive Availability received a score of 27 making it the least important purchase factor considered by truck buyers.

Through its Car Research Center (www.nadaguides.com/Cars/Research-Center), NADAguides.com provides tools that allow consumers to research new and used cars by comparing prices, fuel economy, warranty and other important purchase factors for multiple new or used vehicles side-by-side.

About NADAguides.com

NADAguides.com (www.nadaguides.com) is the largest publisher of the most market-reflective vehicle pricing and information available for automotive, classic cars, motorcycles, boats, RVs and manufactured homes. NADAguides.com offers in-depth shopping and research tools including a broad range of data, products and service and informational articles as well as tips and advice. NADAguides.com also produces software, mobile applications, raw data, web services, web-syndicated products and print guidebooks. NADAguides.com is an alliance partner of the NADA Services Corporation.

About the NADA Used Car Guide

Over an 80-year history, NADA Used Car Guide has earned its reputation as the leading provider of market-reflective vehicle valuation products, services and information to businesses throughout the U.S. and worldwide. NADA's editorial team collects and analyzes more than 1 million combined wholesale and retail automotive-related transaction prices per month. Its guidebooks, auction data, analysis and data solutions offer automotive, financial, insurance and government professionals the timely information and reliable solutions they need to make better business decisions. For more information, visit www.nada.com/b2b.