americans Archives

Study: Americans who consider drunk driving ‘a serious threat’ declines 21% in 3 years

Filed under: Safety

The

Alternate titles for this story could have been “American drivers growing stupider,” “Number of boneheads on the road increases,” “Natural selection having greater influence on American drivers.” We don’t mean to make light of the latest study from the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety, but it’s so darn disturbing that we aren’t really sure what else to do.

AAA compiled the results of three years of surveys, and found that Americans aren’t nearly as concerned about seriously bad behaviors while driving as they were a few years ago. It’s no wonder there was an estimated 5.3-percent increase in annual traffic fatalities last year. The infuriating thing is that we’ve gone seven years without an increase in fatalities.

In 2009, 90 percent of the AAA survey respondents thought drunk driving was a “serious threat.” 71 percent were opposed to drowsy driving. 87 percent considered working a smartphone while behind the wheel to be a bad thing, while 21 percent admitted to texting while driving. 77 percent took issue with people that ran red lights.

Fast-forward to 2012, and we’re going to see a rather radical shift in feelings. Only 69 percent of people find drinking and driving to be an issue, while 46 percent are opposed to drowsy driving. 81 percent think a smartphone and driving don’t mix, while 26 percent have texted while behind the wheel. Also baffling, 70 percent of people are against running red lights, with over a third admitting to flying through a red in the past month. For those that don’t feel like looking at the paragraph above for comparison, fewer people are concerned with bad behind-the-wheel behaviors.

Take a look below for the full press release on the AAA study, and please, please be safe behind the wheel.

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Americans who consider drunk driving ‘a serious threat’ declines 21% in 3 years originally appeared on Autoblog on Thu, 22 Aug 2013 13:20:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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2012 Audi A6 Avant: Another wagon Americans just don’t get anymore

Filed under: Wagon, Europe, Audi, Diesel, Luxury

2012 Audi A6 Avant

2012 Audi A6 Avant – Click above for high-res image gallery

Worldwide, 60 percent of all A6 sales are Avants.

We return to an old whine: Why exactly does the United States as a whole clearly possess the psyche that can categorically reject perhaps the two most useful body configurations ever thought of for road-going automobiles? Namely, the hatchback in all its various configurations and the most wonderful all-rounder on Earth, the station wagon.

Regarding the latter, witness this latest chapter in sensational wagoning, estating, call it what you will: the new 2011-12 Audi A6 Avant, which just had the covers pulled off it at a Berlin ceremony. We know that opinionists sprout from the ether of the Internet and have the habit of saying things in ways that reflect the writer’s intensely personal and frequently skew-ish “obvious reason why” North America many years ago thumbed its collective nose at the wagon. But go ahead and comment; it’s a lively and fun ritual. And for more of our own commentary, continue reading…

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2012 Audi A6 Avant: Another wagon Americans just don’t get anymore originally appeared on Autoblog on Fri, 20 May 2011 19:25:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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R.L. Polk: Toyota top brand considered among African-Americans

Filed under: Chevrolet, Ford, Honda, Nissan, Toyota

African-Americans purchased 641,090 new vehicles in 2010, accounting for 7.4 percent of all new vehicle sales. That’s a significant portion of overall sales, and a population segment that Toyota appears to be winning over.

R.L. Polk released a study showing that Toyota accounted for 15 percent of all new car sales to African-American car buyers last year. Ford came in second at 11.7 percent, followed by Chevrolet, Honda and Nissan. The top five automakers accounted for nearly 60 percent off all new vehicle sales to African-Americans.

The U.S. Census Bureau predicts that the African-American population will grow by 25 percent by the year 2030. In 2010 alone, auto sales among African Americans rose by 11.5 percent versus 2009. That’s 68.6 percent faster than the non-ethnic market increase of 6.8 percent, meaning that automakers would do well to reach out to this burgeoning customer segment.

“With the U.S. population growing faster in the African-American segment than others, there’s a significant opportunity for automotive manufacturers and dealers to begin to align marketing initiatives toward this specific audience,” said Marc Bland, product strategist at Polk. “Those companies that are ahead of the curve, like Toyota, are already reaping the rewards.”

While it appears that Toyota has already gotten the message that African-Americans represent a fast-growing market segment, others are beginning to get the picture. Buick sales, for example, are up 72 percent, while Hyundai and Kia area second and third at 53 percent and 34.2 percent, respectively.

On the other end of the spectrum, R.L. Polk says that Acura, Land Rover, Mercedes and BMW are not making inroads with African-American buyers. Hit the jump to read over the R.L. Polk press release.

[Source: R.L. Polk]

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R.L. Polk: Toyota top brand considered among African-Americans originally appeared on Autoblog on Sun, 01 May 2011 14:22:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Americans racked up 3,000,000,000,000 miles traveled last year

Filed under: Etc., Government/Legal

American drivers logged 3 trillion miles traveled in 2010

The Department of Transportation has released data revealing that American drivers clocked over 2.9 trillion miles traveled in 2010. According to DOT, that’s a .7 percent, or 20.5 billion-mile) increase over 2009, and the highest rate since 2007.

The area between Texas and Kentucky saw the biggest increase in miles traveled at 1.4 percent, with motorists travelling 46.6 billion miles in that area in 2010. The area from Delaware to Florida saw a .4 percent decrease in miles traveled, shaving 214 million miles off that locale’s annual total.

Despite the increase in miles traveled, traffic fatalities in 2010 were at their lowest since 1950. We wouldn’t expect the same increase in miles driven for next year, as gas prices are expected to climb to $4 a gallon over the summer, but we’ll see… Americans love road trips, no?

[Source: Consumer Reports | Image: Gabriel Bouys/AFP/Getty]

Americans racked up 3,000,000,000,000 miles traveled last year originally appeared on Autoblog on Fri, 04 Mar 2011 18:01:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Report: Americans using 8% less gasoline than 2006 peak, will never go up again

Filed under: Etc.

American oil well

Peak oil, according to the great and all-knowing Wikipedia, “is the point in time when the maximum rate of global petroleum extraction is reached, after which the rate of production enters terminal decline.” Regardless of your opinions on whether or not the planet has entered into its Peak Oil stage, it would seem that the United States has at least entered the stage of steady decline in usage.

Here’s the hard data according to the Associated Press: Americans averaged about 8.2 million barrels of oil, or 344 gallons, per day in 2010, which is an eight percent drop since the country’s peak in 2006. Experts seem to agree that gasoline usage in the States will continue to drop – as much as 20 percent by the year 2030, despite millions of additional cars on the roads – barring any unexpected periods of economic boom or another meteoric drop in fuel prices.

Before environmentalists get too excited, though, the falling trend of gasoline usage only applies to the United States, which is still by far the world’s largest consumer of oil. Demand from emerging countries, especially China and India, will more than make up for the declining usage in the U.S., leading to an expected record of 88.3 million barrels of oil produced in 2011. The more things change, they more they stay the same…

[Source: The Associated Press via Google | Image: Farther Along via CC 2.0]

Report: Americans using 8% less gasoline than 2006 peak, will never go up again originally appeared on Autoblog on Wed, 22 Dec 2010 15:31:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Hatchbacks: Who says Americans don’t buy ’em?

Filed under: Car Buying, Budget, Hybrid, Sedan, Hatchback, Design/Style

2011 Ford Fiesta hatchback

Hatchbacks and their sedan counterparts – Click above for high-res image gallery

There’s a well-worn cliché that is uttered periodically by just about every product planner and PR wonk in the auto industry – one that’s been dutifully parroted by the journalists and enthusiasts that surround them, and it goes something like this: “Sorry, fellas, Americans just don’t buy hatchbacks.” Typically, that chestnut is trotted out whenever an automaker is compelled to explain why a particularly desirable new hatchback won’t be sold in U.S. showrooms. Thing is, this commonly accepted bit of wisdom isn’t as true as we’ve been led to believe.

The hatchback accounts for 60 percent of Fiesta sales.

Just ask Ford, who announced today that its new-for-2011 Fiesta is selling more in five-door guise than it is in its more traditional four-door sedan format. According to figures the automaker has sourced from Ward’s Auto, the jaunty hatch accounts for over 60 percent of the Fiesta’s sales. Little wonder, perhaps, as Ford has seemingly devoted the Fiesta’s entire marketing budget to that particular bodystyle.

As a further statement of faith in the viability of the utilitarian bodystyle, the Blue Oval is readying its 2012 Focus in both sedan and five-door formats, with the two-door Focus coupe being discarded in favor of the hatchback – a configuration unavailable since 2007. Ford sales analyst George Pipas nutshells what he sees as a growing trend:

“American car buyers have grown accustomed to the convenience of hatch bodystyles after years of owning SUVs and crossovers. Combined with a generation of younger drivers who have been exposed via the Internet to popular high-performance hatchback offerings in Europe and Asia, we may be seeing the beginning of a shift in buyer acceptance of hatchbacks.”

Ford isn’t alone in its bid to disprove that consumers are inherently averse to two-box designs because they feel they’re cheap and frumpy – sensible as opposed to stylish. Autoblog recently inquired with a number of automakers who offer entry-level models available in both hatchback and sedan bodystyles, only to find out that in many cases, bubbleback models are outselling their trunked counterparts.

Gallery: Hatchbacks and Their Sedan Counterparts

2011 Ford Fiesta hatchback 2011 Ford Fiesta sedan 2010 Toyota Yaris hatchback 2010 Toyota Yaris sedan 2010 Hyundai Accent hatchback

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Hatchbacks: Who says Americans don’t buy ’em? originally appeared on Autoblog on Tue, 28 Sep 2010 12:33:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Study: Americans prefer tolls over fuel taxes… how about you?

Filed under: Government/Legal, Earnings/Financials

One fact seems indisputable: Americans have come to hate taxes and any suggestion by a politician to raise them is tantamount to political suicide. The problem is that public infrastructure requires funding – and lots of it. Critics of this disparity would argue that a lack of political will to raise fuel taxes has left roads, bridges and tunnels across America crumbling in recent decades.

A new survey conducted by HNTB Corporation suggests that Americans would prefer to pay tolls or let their roads crumble rather than pay higher fuel taxes. While this may well be a valid survey, it’s important to note that HNTB is an infrastructure firm that supplies toll collecting equipment, among other things.

In any case, the study’s findings note that “when given a choice between new roads funded by an increased gas tax, by new tolls or no new roads at all, Americans prefer tolls (41 percent) or no new roads at all (41 percent) over increased gas taxes (18 percent).” Further, “A strong majority of Americans (84 percent) feel tolls should be considered project-by-project or as a primary source of transportation revenue. Only a small minority (16 percent) say tolls should never be used.”

In the old days, toll booths were a pain because every car had to stop and pay. The advent of affordable radio frequency transponder systems like EZ-Pass now allows commuters to drive toll roads and pay automatically without stopping – or even thinking about how much money using such systems costs them. Of course, this type of toll collecting raises other issues including invasion of privacy concerns, since the operators know where specific cars are at certain points in time. There’s also the possibility of account hacking or errors where someone could end up charging their driving to other accounts.

What do you think about tolls? Check out the full press release after the jump for more of the study’s findings, then drop your fellow readers a line in Comments.

[Source: HNTB Corporation | Image: Wikimedia Commons]

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Study: Americans prefer tolls over fuel taxes… how about you? originally appeared on Autoblog on Mon, 26 Jul 2010 15:29:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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