Survey Says: Fuel economy now more important than cup holders
2010 Toyota Prius - Click above for high-res image gallery
We Americans are a strange bunch... at least according to all of our European friends. Our love for all things that hold cups in cars is known 'round the wold as a uniquely American obsession, and it's one of the first things that we tend to check when it comes time for that new car test drive. But, it's not the most important thing. Not anymore.
According to accounting firm PriceWaterhouseCoopers, the last time Americans were surveyed about the most important features in cars and trucks, the number of cup holders was found to be more important than fuel mileage. That was back in 2007, before the price of gas took its historic rise to record levels.
Now, with 2009 drawing to a close, PWC's latest survey has found that fuel economy is finally more important to new car buyers than cup holders. And there was much rejoicing.
Moving on, there seems to be a bit of debate about the future buying habits of automotive consumers. Will we continue to purchase pricey options that aren't really necessary – such as sunroofs and heated, powered seats – or will people choose cars based solely on their individual needs? We'll see... but the answer is probably a little of both.
Gallery: 2010 Toyota Prius
Source: Wards Auto via Green Car Reports]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
Greg Perkins 4:49PM (10/17/2009)
Can we get an electric trike like the Carver One and have it emit coffee into a thermos? Also, can it make tuna melts off the heat of the engine? That would trump fuel consumption for me.
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Snoopy 4:29PM (10/18/2009)
The sad part about your comment is that there was a company working on an electric version of the Carver One. Venture Vehicles, now Persu, was going to make all electric and Serial Hybrid versions of the Carver One, mass produced for North America. Now all it will be is a Prius-style Parallel Hybrid.
As for the rest of your comment, I have no idea what to say.
Greg Perkins 4:41PM (10/18/2009)
Oh I know, I love the idea, I wish the Persu was an all-electric, I'd like to know what challenges them from doing so. It would be an incredible machine, the comfort of a car, the motion of a motorcycle, and whisper quiet. I'd start saving for one today.
As for the rest of my comment, I'll have to excuse that with the imbibing of too much coffee.
Brent 6:12PM (10/18/2009)
Note: There are also 2 cup holders for small cups and trash on the doors. So the prius has plenty, and there are 2 in the back in the fold down arm rest, or at least in model IVs. I never use them for drinks tho, haven't yet, I wouldn't eat in my car, and I don't by fountain drinks. I use them for my garage door opener(I know I could use the cars) and the front one holds my signal sending keys as I drive.
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wincros 5:23PM (10/17/2009)
I just hate these surveys and their conclusions without seeing what was actually asked. Are Americans really interested in high fuel economy or just 2 or 3 mpg better for their new SUV? Will someone driving a Cadillac Escalade trade it for a Ford Escape Hybrid if the SUV part is important or smaller, luxurious 4 cylinder sedan? Doubt it.
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Ernie 8:26AM (10/18/2009)
... Or a Lexus RX 400h?
jpm 7:00AM (10/19/2009)
oh wa wa wa cry some more
what do you want the survey to say?
Ignatius 6:13PM (10/17/2009)
Noooo! My precious cup holders!
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Rain 7:20PM (10/17/2009)
The prodigal son,returns.
Roast the fatted calf!
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3n1gma 10:38PM (10/17/2009)
Cupholders more important than gas mileage? God... This is why our country is in the shltter.
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Laurens 4:42AM (10/18/2009)
Lack of education, except for the privileged. Seems to work!
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Benoit 6:49AM (10/18/2009)
That's typically something I don't understand (among other): why cup holder are so important? A car is not a 2nd living room or something like that, isn't it?...
But thanks to this survey, I know why GM, Ford and Chrysler managed to sell more shit than any other car manufacturer in the USA: it was just a "cup holder run", and that's propably what we, the European, understood fairly late.
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Ernie 8:26AM (10/18/2009)
By the way, heated seats might sound like an extravagance, but they're actually *far* more efficient than heating the air in the cabin. For reference, see your high school science textbook under "conduction vs convection".
The thing is, that you can heat practically anything with the amount of wasted energy that comes off an internal combustion engine.
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Kyle B 10:26AM (10/18/2009)
My car has only one cup holder and it's a huge pain in the ass when I'm driving with people. Obviously the driver's beverage takes preference to get the coveted spot, but it's still really irritating.
I wouldn't rank cup holders in front of mileage, but they're still very important, you have to put your shit somewhere.
What car makers need to do is put two buttons on the cup holder, a chill or heat option. To keep your liquid warm or cool.
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PowerCell 11:32AM (10/18/2009)
I'm getting ready to replace my F-150 Crew Cab, but hate that with all this recent concern for improved mileage I'm still stuck with buying an 18mpg guzzler.
It's way past time for Detriot to offer us light truck buyers a diesel option. If I could get 25mpg, even with a $3500 premium up front, I'd feel much better about my new purchase.
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Mike!!ekiM 11:44AM (10/18/2009)
Please write a letter.
These guys are 'old school', if you complain and sign your name you will have a bigger impact.
But, I'm with you there man, I've got 200 HP in an older SUV. I can't imagine having an extra 50 to 200 more, and this product being safe.
(( 100,000 miles / 15 mpg * $2.50 ) = $16,666 Fuel Cost.
So, no that's only circumstantial evidence the Oil Industry is dictating fuel consumption in the US Fleet.
Nick 3:48PM (10/18/2009)
PowerCell
Im with you on that, I own a full size RAM 1500 that gets about 17mpg.
Despite what they say, trucks are STILL stone-age technology that's ultra inefficient.
Ever looked under your truck? It'd be hard to make it more anti-aerodynamic.
Front fascia with all the decorative recesses? Pfff
A pillars stick out forward of the windshield in high-pressure zone...
My tailgate is so heavy it takes 2 men to carry it....
Then there's my BELT DRIVEN fan, lol wtf!!
No trace of direct injection or start-stop systems.
Cylinder deactivation? No Sir.
Most truck owners don't haul or pull stuff 95% of the time, a compact diesel motor would work fine and get 25 mpg.
meme 3:58PM (10/18/2009)
What sort of stuff do you typically haul? Do you need an open bed, or is an enclosed space acceptable?
Two things keep truck milages down: the inherent aerodynamic inefficiency of the shape of a pickup, and the demand for pickups with powerful engines (which, with gasoline, means poor mileage; with electric, not so much).
Ed 4:44PM (10/18/2009)
You can have my cup holders when you pry them from my cold dead fingers.
But seriously, how much can a cup holder weigh? How much can ten cup holders weigh? How can fuel economy and cup holders be mutually exclusive? What's the beef?
Meme: re. aerodynamic efficiency of pickup trucks. Our favorite non-theoretical scientists, the Mythbusters, did a piece on whether empty pickups were more efficient with the load gate up or down. The answers was up, because the gate scooped air into a vertical vortex that went forward along the bed, up behind the cab, and presented a friction free interface for airflow over the back half of the vehicle. Pay attention to the front and underside aerodynamics and the drag won't be too bad.
As far as those big engines go, if the truck is a working truck then there's a certain amount of structure required to carry 1/2, 3/4, or 1 ton. That structure includes suspension as well as body components. That stuff is just heavy even if there's no load at the time. It takes a big engine to move that structure as well as the load. A friend of mine has a 1 ton king cab that he loaned to me a couple of weeks ago for some landscaping I was doing at my place. I hauled about a ton & a half of very pretty rock in two loads. No way to move that kind of weight without a truck. It cost me about $25 to replace the gas I burned in just under 100 miles of hauling.
I'll agree that the never off-road never haul load "look at me" trucks are a waste. If those fools want to spend all their money on gas, or just leave the thing parked in front of their house, then let 'em.
The guy who loaned me the truck uses a Ford Focus as his daily driver. Mine is a Corolla. Both average between 25 & 30 mpg, and over 30 on the freeway. They're both high mileage, still easily meet emission specs, and keep us from having to have more steel, copper, and aluminum smelted with all the attendant pollution in order to make new vehicles.
Question: How many miles at 45 mpg vs 28 mpg would it take to break even emission wise with the environmental impact of replacing an old but still good Corolla?
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lne937s 11:45AM (10/19/2009)
If you look at Nissan's numbers, approximately 97.4% of all carbon emissions are related toward vehicle operation. Shifting from 28 mpg to 45 mpg will reduce operation emissions by 37.8%. If we base our projections on Nissan's numbers, to save the 2.6% of the total vehicle emissions associated with production/dev/logistics, it would take about 1/14th of the vehicle's lifetime... or about 1-1 1/2 years depending on use.