Tag: study

Study: Car buyers not impressed by celeb endorsements. How about you? [w/poll]

Filed under: Car Buying, Etc., Celebrities

Kate Walsh Cadillac ad

As Americans, there’s no denying we have a healthy obsession with the lives of celebrities. From movie stars like Will Smith down to reality television “stars” like The Situation, people are curious as to what’s going on in their world. What clothes do they wear, where do they get their groceries and what kind of car(s) do they buy? Sometimes a celebrity won’t have much say in the vehicle they drive because they sign a sizable endorsement deal to tell us which vehicle we should be driving. As sales numbers for thousands of celeb-endorsed products will tell you, their stamp of approval can make a difference in a bust or boom period for a product. Well, as long as that product isn’t a car.

According to WhatCar, celebrity endorsements only affect one percent of car buyers. They polled over 1,000 folks and just 11 said they could be encouraged by someone famous telling them what to buy. Obviously, a car buyer should purchase the vehicle that makes the most sense to them, not the one that Kate Walsh (above) likens to trying on a good dress. Exceptions can be made, however, for anyone who purchased a Chrysler Cordoba because of its soft Corinthian leather, of which the virtues were extolled beautifully by Ricardo “KHAN” Montalban.

What say you? Can Justin Timberlake convince you to buy an Audi or does Mike Rowe explaining how great the Ford F-150 is make you picture a Chevrolet Silverado in your driveway?

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[Source: WhatCar]

Study: Car buyers not impressed by celeb endorsements. How about you? [w/poll] originally appeared on Autoblog on Mon, 20 Sep 2010 14:57:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Study: Average male drives extra 276 miles/year because he won’t stop for directions

Filed under: Etc., UK

That long-running joke about men unwilling to stop for directions? Well, it’s no joke, at least not according to British insurance firm Sheilas’ Wheels. In fact, the average male motorist in Britain travels some 276 extra miles per year simply because he refuses to ask for directions. Worse yet, that amounts to £2,000 ($3,100) worth of wasted fuel over the stubborn man’s lifetime.

In the UK, 25 percent of all men would rather wander aimlessly for up to a half hour before stopping to ask for directions, and one in 10 simply refuse to ask altogether. On the flip side, three quarters of women polled have zero qualms about asking for help. And here’s our favorite stat: 41 percent of men admitted to telling their passengers that they knew where they were going… even though they didn’t.

Though the study took place in the UK, we’d bet that, if anything, it’s worse here in the States. After all, as a much larger country with sometimes huge stretches between destinations, we probably waste more time and fuel pretending like we know exactly where we’re going.

[Source: Telegraph | Image: Andreas Rentz/Getty Images]

Study: Average male drives extra 276 miles/year because he won’t stop for directions originally appeared on Autoblog on Fri, 27 Aug 2010 17:29:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Study: Ambient interior lighting makes drivers feel safer

Filed under: Etc., Safety, Technology

Ambient interior lighting overhead photo Lincoln

Ambient interior lighting – a feature once reserved for the top-dollar models in many automakers’ ranges – is now becoming standard kit on a host of new vehicles. Ford, for example, offers ambient lighting on nearly its entire range of products, as do higher-end manufacturers like Audi and BMW. We’ve always found this to be a cool feature, if only as a nifty party trick to show your friends, but new studies show that ambient lighting actually enhances the perceived quality of interior materials and even makes drivers feel safer.

In a study conducted by the Lighting Research and Technology journal, drivers were put in a car simulator and were asked to give feedback on their overall spacial perception within the car. Researchers found that each driver’s visual senses were improved with the use of interior light – drivers said that the design and finish appeared more attractive, controls were easier to use and that overall, they felt safer. Interestingly, increasing the brightness of the ambient lighting had a negative effect on the test group – instances of distracting glare were reported.

It’s no secret that ambient lighting can improve the overall attractiveness of a vehicle’s interior, but with the added benefits of improved spacial sense and a subconscious feeling of heightened safety, it’s no wonder that more and more new cars are being fitted with extra LEDs inside the cabin. And to think, Meatloaf had it right all this time.

[Sources: Wired, YouTube]

Study: Ambient interior lighting makes drivers feel safer originally appeared on Autoblog on Thu, 19 Aug 2010 15:58:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Study: One-third of drivers don’t know what this dashboard light means

Filed under: Safety, Ford

Remember the Ford Explorer/Firestone tire debacle from a decade ago? Thousands of the ‘utes rolled-over and much of the blame fell on insufficiently inflated tires, costing the Blue Oval billions of dollars to replace the tires on just about every Explorer still left on the road. The other fallout from Explorer-gate (or Firestone-gate) was institution of the Tire Pressure Monitoring System that’s now a legal standard on every car and truck built since 2008.

TPMS sensors constantly measure the pressure in all four tires, and when one or more tires is more than 25 percent below the recommended amount, a light illuminates on the gauge cluster. Most of us know the light (on right) and if you do, you’re among the 54 percent of drivers who know what it means. But more importantly, less than half of the population doesn’t.

TPMS maker Schrader recently surveyed drivers to see if there were knowledgeable about all things TPMS, and the results had to be a bit disappointing. First, the good news: 96 percent of all drivers surveyed felt that under-inflated tires were a serious safety problem. Now the bad news: Only 44 percent of drivers polled regularly check their tire pressure. Furthermore, one third of drivers surveyed didn’t know what TPMS was or what it was used for. Another 44 percent were unaware what the symbol was supposed to represent, while still another 14 percent thought the symbol identified a problem of the non-tire variety.

In order to combat some of the ignorance among motorists about one of its main products, Schrader has introduced its TPMS Made Simple website. While it’s not exactly riveting stuff, the site is chock full of information about TPMS, including what to do when that (apparently) inscrutable warning light in your gauge cluster illuminates (Hint: check your tires) and the economic benefit of properly inflated rubber, including improved fuel economy and longer lasting tires. Head over to the site to become a TPMS expert.

[Sources: USA Today | TPMS Made Simple]

Study: One-third of drivers don’t know what this dashboard light means originally appeared on Autoblog on Wed, 04 Aug 2010 11:31:00 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]

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

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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Study: It’s actually safer to drive on holidays

Filed under: Etc., Safety

We may have one less excuse not to visit the in-laws this holiday season. According to the National Motorists Association and State Farm, driving on the holidays may actually be safer than jumping behind the wheel on a normal day. The insurance agency recently took a look at the number of claims it received on seven separate major U.S. holidays – the Fourth of July, New Year’s Day, Memorial Day, Easter, Labor Day, Thanksgiving and Christmas – and found that on average, those days had 2,350 fewer accidents than non-holidays.

The NMA says that for the majority of the year the average number of claims comes in around 7,435, while the holiday with the most claims – the Fourth of July – netted just 6,031. The figures are without a doubt interesting, but we would be just as interested to see the insurance agency’s numbers on the days leading up to and trailing away from major holidays. The majority of people who head away from home typically hit the road just before the actual day of celebration, so we’re guessing the number of claims for, say, the Wednesday before Thanksgiving might be higher than the national average.

[Source: National Motorist Association | Image: Scott Olson / Getty Images]

Study: It’s actually safer to drive on holidays originally appeared on Autoblog on Thu, 22 Jul 2010 18:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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New study suggests that women drive dirtier than men – at least in Britain [w/poll]

Filed under: Etc., UK

We’ll be the first to admit that we’re not the most fastidious folks when it comes to a clean vehicle. It’s not that we don’t pride ourselves in having a clean-as-can-be car, it’s just that there are more pressing things on our schedule most days. The good news is, we’re not alone. According to research worked up by Autoquake – an online vehicle retailer in the UK – nearly half of drivers surveyed clean their vehicle in intervals of six months or more. Hey, even we aren’t that bad. Even more interestingly, the poll found that women are more likely to leave their ride dirty than men.

Around 56 percent of the women in the study said that they leave their vehicle unwashed for six months or more while 44 percent of men said the same. Granted, leaving half a year’s worth of grime to eat away at your vehicle’s bodywork is bad, but it gets worse: Four percent of those surveyed said that they never clean their vehicle.

This lead us to wonder – how often do give your vehicle the once-over? Come clean in our poll below, and don’t forget to check out the full press release from Autoquake after the jump.

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[Source: Autoquake]

Continue reading New study suggests that women drive dirtier than men – at least in Britain [w/poll]

New study suggests that women drive dirtier than men – at least in Britain [w/poll] originally appeared on Autoblog on Thu, 22 Jul 2010 14:01:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Useless Study of the Day: California leads the nation in Tweets about speeding tickets

Filed under: Etc., Government/Legal

Top speeding ticket Tweets: Top States – click above for the complete infographic

Getting a speeding ticket is like slamming your hand in the car door, breaking your hand and then paying the hospital bill – only worse. Mostly because after the pain of paying the ticket goes away, your insurance may be raised by hundreds of dollars per year. And if you follow friends (and Autoblog) on Twitter, you’ve likely read about someone you know getting a bloody speeding ticket.

The folks at Freeinsurancequotes.com probably know a thing or two about how a few points on your record can raise insurance rates, and they’ve decided to analyze how many Twitter users complain about tickets. The results? As you can see from the above graphic, California leads the nation in ticket Tweets by quite a percentage, followed by New York, Texas, Florida and Ohio. What’s more, a full 44 percent of those Tweets come from Los Angeles, which comes as a shock to nobody.

The top five states are perhaps a bit predictable, mainly because they represent five of the top seven most populous states in the Union. Taking a closer look at the results does show that 20 percent more Ohio residents Tweet about tickets than Illinois residents. This, in spite of the fact that the home state of the Windy City has 1.4 million more people. Ditto for New York, which takes the number two spot despite the Lone Star State having another five million residents. Check out the complete infographic after the jump.

[Source: Free Insurance Quotes]

Continue reading Useless Study of the Day: California leads the nation in Tweets about speeding tickets

Useless Study of the Day: California leads the nation in Tweets about speeding tickets originally appeared on Autoblog on Fri, 16 Jul 2010 11:31:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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