The trend continues: people want smaller cars, not compromises
It's a common question these days: can you live with a tiny car? For a growing number of people, the answer is yes, but they're not always ready to make the lifestyle adjustments to get the benefits of lower gas usage (and cost) of using the right tool for the job. According to an Omnibus Study recently conducted by Morpace, Inc., a full 62 percent of consumers think their next vehicle will be smaller than what they're currently driving. Morpace Automotive Feature Content Practice VP Bill Pendry said, "While consumers may want a smaller, more fuel efficient vehicle, they don't want to compromise on the feature and option content. Nearly all consumers want the same or greater number of features and options in their next vehicle."
Well, then, perhaps people aren't really clear on their reasons for downsizing. As we know, the current situation is that most (though certainly not all) small cars are pretty bare bones when compared to larger versions. A smaller car has at least one reduced feature: less room. While I can certainly understand the lack of enthusiasm for losing something like airbags, letting go of heavy and space-consuming things like DVD players and a third row of seats is OK. Realizing that it is perfectly possible to live a full life with fewer features/things is something quite vital to adapting to our new global reality, I think. See more on this topic here and check out the Morpace press release after the jump.
[Source: Morpace Inc.]
PRESS RELEASE:
Morpace Reports Consumers Want Smaller or More Fuel Efficient Vehicles With No Sacrifice in Features
FARMINGTON HILLS, Mich., Aug. 14 /PRNewswire/ -- A majority of consumers (62 percent) expect their next vehicle to be smaller or more fuel efficient compared to the vehicle they currently drive. Based on results from the Morpace Inc. Omnibus Study fielded in July 2008. Bill Pendry, Vice President, Morpace Automotive Feature Content Practice said, "While consumers may want a smaller, more fuel efficient vehicle, they don't want to compromise on the feature and option content." He added, "Nearly all consumers want the same or greater number of features and options in their next vehicle."
When acquiring a smaller, more fuel efficient vehicle, the desire to have more, fewer, or the same number of features and options depends heavily on the feature content of the consumer's current vehicle. Among owners of high series, well-equipped vehicles, nearly three-quarters expect to maintain the same number of features and options, 18 percent want more, and 9 percent want fewer. Two thirds of consumers owning mid-series, medium-equipped vehicles want to maintain the same number of features and options, 29 percent want more, and only 4 percent want fewer. And among low series, least-equipped vehicle owners, half want the same number of features and options and about half want more.
"That consumers are looking for better fuel efficiency today is not surprising," Pendry said. "That they are unlikely to give up the features they currently have and may want even more features and options has strong implications for automotive manufacturers and dealers."
About Morpace Inc.
Morpace is a full-service survey research and consulting organization specializing in automotive, financial services, health care, retail and technology. Morpace has global expertise in providing innovative proprietary solutions to clients in four core areas: market definition and segmentation; product development and pricing; brand and image positioning; and customer satisfaction and loyalty.
Established in 1941, Morpace Inc., an ISO 9001:2000 certified organization, is one of the largest privately held marketing research firms in the United States. Headquartered in Farmington Hills, Michigan the company has offices in Irvine, California; New York City; and London, England.
Visit www.morpace.com for more information.
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Chris Carpenter 4:07PM (8/15/2008)
Broadbrushed article with too many generalities..."People" want smaller cars. I don't think that's true. People want fuel efficient cars and that doesn't necessarily mean small. This is a greenwashing article. Take the work of Johnathan Goodwin as an example of what's possible and then poll some real people and get some real data. http://www.fastcompany.com/magazine/120/motorhead-messiah.html.
The global go-cart track that you are saying is in such high demand is simply not supported by the data of what cars are actually on the road now, what capacity consumers have to alter the entire automotive marketplace, and what will happen to the tens of millions of cars that are on the road now (that will ultimately go to Mexico as we righteously abscond ourselves of eco-guilt by buying a Prius or some other hybrid that takes 97000 miles to break even at the pump because of the gigantic premium that is charged on hybrids).
Poor folks can't afford hybrids, but they might be able to retro-fit their existing cars. The automotive X prize is making good headway on that front. The principles of reduce, reuse, and recycle don't mean create a whole new genre of cars at the expense of giga tons of carbon so that we can say we're not oilaholics anymore. True ecofriendliness means that we may need to look at getting rid of planned obsolescence and learn to keep our cars longer, to retro-fit them to be more fuel-efficient and less poluting, and not just try to buy our way out of the current situation. Yes, I said it - we don't need to get new cars as often. We don't need to keep building this mass surpluss of micro-machines and convince folks that they are sinners if they still drive their old "gas guzzler". The truth may be that we just need to slow down our consumption on a lot of fronts and get a little more resourceful and judicious about how we address our problems rather than just buying what marketers tell us will solve our problems. At one point in time, America was a hot-bed of ingenuity...we're not going to get out of any crisis - financial, global, ecological, or otherwise unless we stop depending on other folks to tell us what we need and then buying/consuming like we're trying to save our souls.
I watched my dad use a flat-head screwdriver on a philips head screw once. It worked. He didn't have to go buy a new screwdriver. He didn't have to drive to the hardware store. They didn't have to print a receipt on paper. He didn't have to throw away packaging or a plastic bag...he didn't even have to waste 30 minutes more of his day. I learned a valuable lesson watching him that day.
. ♦
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Hans Wurst 11:01AM (8/16/2008)
DVD players heavy?
Losing airbags?
What a nonsense!
The only thing I have to let go off when moving to a smaller car is space.
Unless I want to let go off other features at the same time, but then that's a whole different story, and should be treated as such, unrelated to the "smaller car" discussion.
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Eletruk 11:36PM (8/16/2008)
Love the picture!
One of my favorite Top Gear episodes is when Jeremy Clarkson drives the Peel P50 through his office.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xqf1yKxb9hI
Matter of fact, it's the one in the lower left corner!
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