Fuelly Forums - Consumer Reports: Fuel economy most important to car buyers

Since this article is based on a survey before gas prices dropped 15 cents in 2 weeks. This mind set is bound to be short lived.

Consumer Reports: Fuel economy most important to car buyers

Quote:

NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- Fuel economy is at the top of the list of factors shoppers consider when looking at a new vehicle, according to a new survey by Consumer Reports.

When asked what factors they considered most important in a new car, the largest number of respondents - 27 percent - said "fuel economy." That was slightly higher than the responses for "reliability," which was the top consideration for 25 percent.

"Purchase price" was most important to 14 percent of shoppers and "safety features" were most important for just 12 percent of shoppers.

Incentives were top-most for only five percent of car shoppers.

"Manufacturers have used car-buying incentives so frequently in recent years that shoppers are beginning to look beyond rebates at fuel economy, reliability and safety," said Rob Gentile, director of Consumer Reports Auto Price Service.

Most car shoppers have trouble understanding incentive offers, the survey found. For example 63 percent said that every customer is eligible for the same incentives and most also believe that multiple incentives can be combined.