Market forces speak: We want good mileage

NEW YORK — More new-vehicle buyers than ever cite inadequate gas mileage as a reason for choosing one car over another, according to a study of vehicle preferences.

The study released Wednesday by J.D. Power and Associates also said a growing number of potential car buyers are considering buying Asian brands, while the number considering cars from domestic automakers is shrinking.

"Fuel economy has definitely become a more important issue, and I think if we were in the field with the survey right now I think it would be even more important," said Tom Gauer, senior director of automotive retail research at J.D. Power.

The results of the study, conducted from May to July, come at a time when U.S. automakers are scrambling to get fuel-sipping vehicles to the market.

General Motors and Ford Motor Co. have been ramping up production of small cars to meet demand, while cutting back production of slow-selling trucks and sport utility vehicles. GM plans to sell a new global compact car, the Chevrolet Cruze, in the U.S. in 2010, the same time Ford will introduce its new European-designed Fiesta. Both cars are expected to get close to 40 miles per gallon.

The J.D. Power survey showed nearly 20 percent of buyers cited inadequate gas mileage as a reason for rejecting one car in favor of another, up 3 percentage points from 2007. That figure was the biggest year-over-year increase among the reasons cited for rejecting a car, Gauer said, and has climbed from about 15 percent in 2003.

However, fuel economy remained in third place among the most important factors consumers cited for turning down a vehicle. The No. 1 factor remained sticker price, which 40 percent of buyers cited as a reason for turning down a car. The No. 2 factor was a car's monthly payments, Gauer said.

Meanwhile, the percentage of buyers considering an Asian brand rose 3 percentage points to 63 percent, while the number considering a domestic brand shrunk 3 points to 55 percent.

That trend has been ongoing for several years, Gauer said. More telling, he said, is that shoppers who consider buying both an Asian and U.S. brand are more likely to choose the Asian brand — and they are most likely to do so because of "product-attributes," such as vehicle quality or mileage.

Those who choose a domestic vehicle, on the other hand, are more likely to cite support for the U.S. auto industry — and the product rebates Detroit offers — in their reasoning, the study said.

"A key advantage the Asians have developed in the marketplace all revolve around the product itself," Gauer said.

J.D. Power's study surveyed 29,903 new-vehicle buyers by mail. The margin of sampling error varies depending on each question but is generally less than 1 percent, Gauer said.