Objects In Mirror Are Closer Than They Appear

New York, NY -- Americans still think American-made cars are the best, but Japanese cars finished strong in second place, according to Ipsos World Monitor, a global reporting service from Ipsos, a leading global survey-based market research firm. 49% of Americans still rated American cars as the best in terms of overall quality and value. Japanese cars were chosen as best by 30% of Americans, while another 11% of Americans picked German cars. "A lot of Americans are still very proud of the cars that Detroit makes, but the proportion who see them as the best in the world has slipped below half of the population," noted John Ward, Ipsos Senior Vice President. "It's impossible to ignore the high degree of respect that foreign car makers now have, especially those from Japan." Swedish cars were singled out for offering the best overall quality and value by only two percent of Americans, while cars made in Korea, the United Kingdom, Italy or France received a scant one percent or fewer mentions. The older generation--aged 55 and over--was more smitten with American cars than those under age 35 by a margin of 57% to 43%. Women also favored American cars by a small margin: 52% rated them the best compared to 46% of men. The place where American cars ran into the most serious competition from foreign makes was among more affluent households earning more than $75,000 a year. While 37% of those from well-heeled households picked American cars as the best, the Japanese brands had nearly pulled alongside with a 36% top rating. German cars also narrowed the gap, with 23% of well-off households giving them the nod for overall quality and value. Regardless of who makes them, nearly two in three Americans claim they see cars primarily as transportation rather than a special possession that say something about the owner. But there are still a few segments of the population where all the efforts of automotive marketers have been a little more successful at pitching the automobile as something besides mere transportation. Almost half (44%) of under-35's look at cars as a special possession, while the same percentage of Americans in upper income households earning more than $75,000 a year also opt for the status symbol aspect of automobile ownership. This proportion decreases steadily with increasing age or declining incomes - only 29% of those over age 55 and 34% of those earning less than $40,000 a year admit to seeing anything special about an automobile besides transportation. Whether a car represents transportation or a special possession, American cars are the ones most often rated as the best in the world: 48% among those who view cars as transportation and 51% among those who see cars as something special. But Japanese car manufacturers make a stronger second place showing among those who see cars primarily as transportation than among those who see cars as a special possession, with ratings of 33% versus 26%. German makes finish only slightly better among those who see cars as special possessions - their third place standing edges up to 14% compared to 9% among those inclined to view cars as basic transportation. "These differences suggest that Japanese makes have built a strong niche for themselves among the more pragmatic segment of consumers who are looking for the best overall value," observed Ward. "Perceptions of American car quality aren't differentiated at all on this dimension, while German cars really lose ground among consumers who see their cars primarily as transportation." Who makes the best cars? Thinking of all the major car makers in the world and the countries they are from, all things considered, including value and overall quality, which country do you think makes the best cars? (% responding American cars are the best, from a survey over 1001 people across eight countries) Do Americans make the best cars? Responses by age group. (% responding American cars are the best, from a survey over 1001 people across eight countries) Do Americans make the best cars? Responses by income level. (% responding American cars are the best, from a survey over 1001 people across eight countries) Are American Cars Transportation or Special Possessions? The respondents who believe American cars are the best were asked: Which of the following two statements comes closest to how you feel about owning a car, even if you don't have one now? "A car is just a means of transportation" OR "A car is a special possession that says something about its owner" About Ipsos World Monitor The research in this press release is based on information made available exclusively to Ipsos World Monitor subscribers. World Monitor covers global consumer and civic trends based on primary research data, and delivers findings to subscribers through an online database of fresh research alerts (posted weekly) and archived research as well as four quarterly print publications. To find out more about Ipsos World Monitor, visit our homepage. The Global Express Research Methodology These international survey research data were collected via Ipsos Global Express, a quarterly international omnibus survey. Fieldwork was conducted between May 15 and June 29, 2003. Data are based on individual surveys taken with a random sampling of adults (18+) across 10 national markets. The target sample size in each country was 250, except for Russia where 500 interviews were conducted and the United States where 1,000 sample in the United States. Within each country, the survey results can be said to be within 177 6.3 percentage points of what they would have been had the entire adult population been surveyed; 177 4.5 percentage points for the 500 sample in Russia; and 177 3.1 percentage points for the 1,000 sample in the united States. In 9 of these 10 surveyed countries, the samples provide national coverage. In many of these national sample countries the data were collected via randomized telephone interviewing, the exceptions being the Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland, Romania and the Ukraine, where in-person door-to-door interviewing was used. Door-to-door interviewing was also used in the non-national sample of Russia where the sample coverage was limited to urbanized areas with a population above 20,000 persons. For more information, please contact: John Ward Senior Vice-President Ipsos-Insight 612.573.8528 About Ipsos-Insight Ipsos-Insight is a member of the Ipsos Group, a leading global survey-based market research company. As the company's flagship marketing research division in the U.S., Ipsos-Insight provides custom and tracking research to domestic clients as well as U.S.-based multinationals. Ipsos-Insight specializes in research for the Consumer Products, Technology & Communications, Financial Services, and Health industries, to name a few. It also acts as the portal to other Ipsos specializations including advertising research, forecasting, modeling, global research, public opinion research, and customer loyalty research. 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