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Consumers Agree: Automobile Buying Is Easier

18 February 1998

Consumers Agree: Automobile Buying Is Easier

    WASHINGTON, Feb. 18 -- Dealer efforts to make the sales
process easier and more pleasant for consumers are paying off, according to a
special survey conducted by Yankelovich Partners for the National Automobile
Dealers Association.  Money has been well-spent on showroom remodeling,
enhanced salesperson training, additional shopping hours and targeted
advertising campaigns aimed at specific consumers, the study found.
    Fifty-six percent of consumers agree with the statement "buying a car or
truck is now easier than it was in the past." Luxury car and lease customers
are particularly satisfied; a significant number agreed that the buying
process had become easier (65 percent and 68 percent respectively).
    Generation X-ers (born between 1963-1981) agreed more than Baby Boomers or
seniors that purchasing vehicles is easier.  Regionally, consumers living in
southern states were most likely to agree that the automotive buying process
has become easier (59 percent vs. 53 percent for customers in the Northeast).
    The National Automobile Dealers Association represents more than 19,500
franchised new-car and -truck dealers holding nearly 40,000 separate
franchises, domestic and import.

SOURCE  National Automobile Dealers Association