Groundbreaking New-Buyers Survey by Foresight Research Explores Consumer Responses to Specialty Vehicles

Results, to be shared next Thursday by ASC Incorporated in Traverse City, quantify 'halo effect' of specialty vehicles

ROCHESTER, Mich., July 29 -- Do high-image specialty vehicles help automakers win new customers, sell existing models and boost profits? The answers to these key industry questions -- and others like it -- will be provided next Thursday morning, August 5, when results from a groundbreaking market-research survey are unveiled at the annual Automotive Management Briefing Seminars (MBS) event in Traverse City, Mich.

The comprehensive study -- believed to be the first of its kind in North America -- was conducted this past spring by Foresight Research of Rochester, Mich. Nearly 2,000 recent buyers were polled in the 2004 High Image and Specialty Vehicle Study -- people who own or lease one of 33 designated vehicles across six specialty segments: sports cars; luxury sports cars; sporty "tuner" cars; sporty coupes and roadsters; high-image trucks; and high- image sport-utility vehicles.

Paul Wilbur, president and chief executive officer of Southgate, Mich.- based ASC Incorporated, will profile findings from the research effort in his speech at the MBS conference next Thursday morning. ASC -- a leading specialty-vehicle design and development partner for automakers -- is among the automotive companies that have purchased user rights to the syndicated study.

"In recent years, auto manufacturers increasingly have relied on specialty vehicles to attract all-new buyers, test new technologies and designs, and strengthen brand equity through the heretofore unmeasured 'halo' effect that specialty vehicles have on existing models," said Steven Bruyn, chief executive officer of Foresight Research. "Through our study, we sought to generate in-depth insight and knowledge concerning the dynamics and actual influence of specialty vehicles in today's highly competitive automotive market."

According to Bruyn, the study is unique and important because it provides significant, quantitative information about the real impact on broader product and brand equity for automakers delivered by well-executed specialty vehicles. He says the results also offer a solid foundation for decision-making surrounding the development and marketing of future niche vehicles. In revealing just one finding from the survey, Bruyn noted that the buyers' data showed a 44% to 74% increase in same-brand consideration among the specialty- vehicle owners.

"But the data go well beyond that," said Bruyn. "They show that there really are scientific ways of measuring the halo effect of specialty vehicles, and that that effect is very real."

Bruyn and other members of the Foresight research team will be attending the MBS all next week, and will be available to the media to discuss the 2004 High Image and Specialty Vehicle Study in the press room at noon on Thursday, following Wilbur's speech.

Respondents polled in the study included consumers who own or lease one of the 33 model-year 2003 and 2004 vehicle models. Vehicles targeted in the research included: Acura RSX; Audi TT; BMW Z4; BMW X5; Chevrolet Corvette; Chevrolet Super Sport Roadster (SSR); Chrysler Crossfire; Dodge SRT-4; Dodge Viper; Ford F150 Lightning; Ford Mustang; Mercedes-Benz M-Class; Mini Cooper; Mitsubishi Eclipse; Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution; Nissan 350Z; Porsche 911; Porsche Boxster; Porsche Cayenne; Subaru WRX; Toyota MR2 Spyder; and Volkswagen Golf GTI.

The MBS event, sponsored by the Ann Arbor, Mich.-based Center for Automotive Research (CAR) in collaboration with the University of Michigan, runs from August 2 through August 6. According to officials at CAR, more than 1,200 automotive executives are expected to attend this year's conference, which is being held at the Grand Traverse Resort and Spa in Traverse City. For more information about CAR and next week's event, visit: http://www.cargroup.org/ .

ASC, founded in 1965, has 1,000 employees and 10 facilities in the United States and Germany. In one of its more-recent specialty-vehicle programs, the company helped General Motors develop the Chevrolet SSR, and now provides 42 sub-assembly systems, services and support for the vehicle. Additional information about ASC is available at: http://www.ascglobal.com/ .

Established in 1998, Foresight Research is a full-service market-research company serving the automotive, financial-services and health-care industries, as well as other business sectors. The 2004 High Image and Specialty Vehicle Study was conducted under the direction of Bruyn and Ron Hein, Foresight's executive vice president-automotive. Bruyn joined Foresight in 2002, following an 18-year career in senior marketing management at DaimlerChrysler Corp., including positions managing that company's entire market-research function and acting as brand manager for Chrysler/Plymouth. Hein joined Foresight last year following a successful career that included senior marketing roles at Collins & Aikman Corp., where he was vice president for product management and marketing, and at DaimlerChrysler. Additional information about Foresight Research and on the availability of the 2004 High Image & Specialty Vehicle Study can be found online at: http://www.foresightresearch.com/ or by calling 248-608-1870.