Big Three get image boost

[rickaren]

Big Three get image boost

Posted Thursday, Sep 3, 2009, 1:40 pm in Employee News

An overwhelming percentage of new-car buyers said they would consider a vehicle made by Detroit’s Big Three, according to a survey released Wednesday by the Consumer Reports National Research Center, The Detroit News reported.

The nationwide survey found that 81 percent of new-car buyers said they were likely or very likely to consider an American brand; 47 percent said they were likely or very likely to consider an Asian brand; and 46 percent said they were likely or very likely to consider a European brand, the paper said. This is the first year for the survey and Consumer Reports did not have data to make comparisons, the News said.

“The number really stood out as surprisingly high,” Jeff Bartlett, Consumer Reports deputy editor for online autos, said. “The domestic brands are poised to succeed if they can deliver; the deck is stacked in their favor.”

A similar survey conducted earlier this year by AutoPacific, an industry marketing and consulting firm based in Tustin, Calif., showed 72 percent of consumers were likely to consider buying an American vehicle, the paper said. Ed Kim, an analyst at AutoPacific, said there was a lot of negative publicity aimed at Detroit at the time, in part triggered by a rash of negative headlines about domestic auto executives flying in corporate jets to Washington to seek federal loans, the News said.

Bartlett attributed the high survey numbers to several factors, including the continued improvement of many domestic vehicles and a sense of wanting to help American companies during tough economic times, the story said. (The Detroit News)