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Drivers Won't Change Their Vehicles Until Fuel Prices Rise 70%

2 June 1998

What Greenhouse Effect?; AutoPacific Study: Drivers Won't Change Their Vehicles Until Fuel Prices Rise 70%

    SANTA ANA, Calif., June 2 -- A new study by automotive
consulting firm AutoPacific reveals what many environmental and policy leaders
have feared -- Americans are wedded to their thirsty vehicles.  In a survey of
almost 26,000 now vehicle buyers, the company's Fuel Economy, Price and Range
Study(R) found seven in ten unwilling to change the kind of vehicle they drive
until fuel prices reach almost $2.10 per gallon.  The other 30% of buyers are
unwilling to change their vehicle type at any fuel price.
    None of which surprises AutoPacific president George Peterson.
"Americans' vehicle requirements are mostly contradictory to high fuel
economy.  Cars are freedom, and freedom is enhanced by space and by power,
neither of which contributes much to fuel efficiency."  Those hoping younger,
perhaps greener, consumers will brighten the picture are likely to be
disappointed.  The same survey found Generation Xers to be the least likely of
all generations to want a fuel efficient four, rather than a six or eight,
cylinder engine in their next car.  The news doesn't bode well for an America
facing worldwide pressure to reduce is fossil fuel usage.
    Peterson is quick to point out that sport utility vehicles, a popular
scapegoat for many of today's vehicular woes, are not the culprit.  "Buyers of
almost every car segment turn out to be less willing than SUV owners to change
their driving habits or their vehicle type," he states.  The study found
large, luxury and sports car owners the most intractable of all.  Over 40% of
large car acquirers won't give up their barges, and nearly 32% of luxury car
buyers won't change their driving habits.  The numbers for sports cars, at 44%
and 36% respectively, are even worse.
    Among brands, luxury import owners seem to have the least time to bother
with such workaday trivialities as fuel cost or economy.  A 55% majority of
Jaguar buyers won't change their vehicles regardless of prices at the pump.
Another 46% of Jaguar owners would refuse to change their driving habits.  The
average BMW owner, while slightly more willing to change their ride or habits,
won't do so until fuel hits $2.42 per gallon.
    Based on AutoPacific's analysis, "As depressing as it sounds, CAFE
(corporate average fuel economy) cannot be achieved by pure consumer demand.
Buyers all give lip service to high fuel economy, but very few of them will
put their wallets where their mouths are," laments Peterson.
    The 1998 Fuel Economy, Price and Range Study(R) (FUEL) examines the total
US light vehicle market.  The study provides distinct information by vehicle
segment, source, brand, acquisition method, and vehicle line.  Information
regarding usage, other vehicles in consumers' family fleets and demographics
is also provided by the study, as is psychographic profiling.  Full electronic
data is delivered with FUEL's executive summary.  A condensed version of the
research, Fuel Economy Briefing(R), is available with an abridged dataset for
public agencies, suppliers, and users outside the automotive industry.