CAR SHOPPING: Internet Overcomes Bias

AUTO.COM reported their slant on a JD Power Survey. "Women and minority automobile buyers generally pay more than white men for the same cars -- but can erase the difference by buying online rather than through car dealerships, a study shows. The study, conducted by researchers at the University of California's Haas School of Business, the Yale School of Management and J.D. Power and Associates, concluded that the Internet serves as an equalizer for car buyers whose demographic characteristics can cost them at regular dealerships. "We weren't expecting to see the degree of difference in purchase price that we saw," said Florian Zettelmeyer, a Berkeley marketing professor who helped conduct the research. "And then it was really surprising to see how the Internet made that difference virtually disappear." The study, which analyzed about 700,000 new car purchases in 1999, follows several earlier research projects that yielded inconclusive results. The data indicate minority car buyers pay about 2 percent more than white consumers, or about $500 more for the average car, at dealerships. Women pay slightly more than men -- 0.2 percent, or $45 more per average car -- when they make purchases at dealerships, the study shows."