Price and Reliability are the Top Factors Women Consider When Choosing a Car

New York, NY - Thinking about qualities that are most important when choosing what car to buy, price (33%) and reliability (29%) rise to the top among women, according to a new survey of over 500 women conducted by Ipsos Public Affairs on behalf of CarMax. Nearly one in five (19%) say that fuel efficiency would be the number one factor, while roughly one in ten say it would be safety features (9%) or space and seating capacity (8%). Just 1% rank convenience options such as a navigation system or DVD player as being the most important factor when shopping for a car.

• With few exceptions, price is the top factor across demographic groups, particularly among women in the Midwest (42%), with a household income of less than $50,000 (38%) without a college degree (37%), and full time workers (37%).
• However, women aged 55 and older (32%), women in the Northeast (32%), and college graduates (33%) are more likely to say that reliability is most important.
• Space and seating capacity is more likely to be a top factor among women under 35 (15%) and moms with children under 18 (17%).

These are some of the findings of an Ipsos poll conducted August 17-19, 2009. For the survey, a national sample of 510 women aged 18 and older from Ipsos' U.S. online panel were interviewed online. Weighting was then employed to balance demographics and ensure that the sample's composition reflects that of the U.S. adult population according to Census data and to provide results intended to approximate the sample universe. A survey with an unweighted probability sample of this size and a 100% response rate would have an estimated margin of error of +/- 4.3 percentage points 19 times out of 20 of what the results would have been had the entire adult population of women aged 18 and older in the United States had been polled. All sample surveys and polls may be subject to other sources of error, including, but not limited to coverage error, and measurement error.

For more information on this news release, please contact: Nicolas Boyon Senior Vice President Ipsos Public Affairs 646-364-7583 [email protected]

About Ipsos Public Affairs

Ipsos Public Affairs is a non-partisan, objective, survey-based research practice made up of seasoned professionals. We conduct strategic research initiatives for a diverse number of American and international organizations, based not only on public opinion research, but elite stakeholder, corporate, and media opinion research.

Ipsos has media partnerships with the most prestigious news organizations around the world. Ipsos Public Affairs is the polling agency of record for The McClatchy Company, the third-largest newspaper company in the United States and the international polling agency of record for Thomson Reuters, the world's leading source of intelligent information for businesses and professionals.

Ipsos Public Affairs is a member of the Ipsos Group, a leading global survey-basedmarket research company. We provide boutique-style customer service and work closely with our clients, while also undertaking global research.

In 2008, Ipsos generated global revenues of e979.3 million ($1.34 billion U.S.).

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