With fuel prices at near-record levels, consumers are driving less and contemplating a move to smaller, more fuel-efficient vehicles, according to recent survey by Consumer Reports.

The survey found that 37% said their leading consideration when shopping for their next car will be fuel economy. A distant second was quality (17%) followed by safety (16%), value (14%) and performance (6%).

“These results make it clear that high fuel prices are continuing to impact driver behavior and influencing future purchase considerations,” said Jeff Bartlett, Consumer Reports deputy auto editor. “While quality, safety and value are still important, this may be foreshadowing a market shift by folks seeking relief at the pump.” Some two-thirds of owners surveyed said they expected their next vehicle to get better fuel mileage than the one they’re driving now. While gasoline costs (90%) were the No. 1 reason cited for wanting a more fuel-efficient vehicle, more than half of respondents also had other reasons, including a desire to be more environmentally friendly (62%) and concern about dependence on foreign oil (56%).

Women disproportionately said they were motivated by the environmental benefit of better fuel economy (65% vs. 58% of men), more concerned about dependence on foreign oil (63% vs. 49% of men), and impacted by changes on the home front (38% vs. 31%).

The survey, conducted by the Consumer Reports National Research Center, found that car owners were open to different ways of saving at the pump, from downsizing to looking at hybrids, electric cars or models with diesel engines. In all, nearly three quarters (73%) of participants said they would consider some type of alternatively fueled vehicle, with flex-fuel (which can run on E85 ethanol) and hybrid models leading the way.

Younger buyers were more likely to consider an alternative-fuel or purely electric vehicle than drivers over the age of 55. Of those who said they plan to move to a different type, owners of large SUVs were the most open to downsizing, frequently planning to move to a smaller SUV. Small cars were the leading category targeted by survey respondents for their next vehicle, followed by larger sedans and midsized SUVs.

Further illuminating a future market shift, larger sedans (18%) and minivans (7%) are on fewer participants’ radars relative to their current model.

Via Tire review.

Press Release:

The Engine Rebuilding and Remanufacturing industry operates countercyclical to the economy as a whole. When consumer spending is strong, demand tends to fall because motorists will be more likely to replace worn out vehicles rather than extend their useful life through rebuilding and remanufacturing (R&R) services.

Alternatively, when consumer spending is weak, R&R demand generally increases because such services constitute a cheaper alternative to outright vehicle replacement. This latter condition is expected to benefit the industry at an annualized rate of 4.8% during the five years to 2012. Engine R&R firms are largely small, independent ventures operating as stand-alone enterprises or as part of a larger automotive services garage.

According to IBISWorld industry analyst Josh McBee, “The flexibility of existing mechanics to add or remove R&R services to their offerings makes the industry relatively porous, so key characteristics tend to move in line with overall demand more drastically than other industries that enjoy more consistent levels of demand.”

In general, per capita disposable income, the average age of the vehicle fleet and gas prices help determine demand for R&R work. Most recently, rising disposable income from recessionary lows is expected to decrease the age of the vehicle fleet, as consumers return to buying new cars. As such, revenue from R&R is expected to fall 6.2% in 2012, eventually settling at an estimated $2.2 billion.

Revenue declines are forecast to continue for this mature industry. As revenue falls, profit will remain hindered by persistently high steel prices, which raise operating costs through higher prices paid for parts, tools, machinery and raw inputs.

“Without trade to bolster sales, operators will rely on improved operational efficiencies to salvage their profit in the wake of falling demand from downstream markets consisting of consumers, businesses and the government,” says McBee. As such, IBISWorld forecasts Engine Rebuilding and Remanufacturing industry revenue to fall during the five years through 2017.

Full release at PR Web.

Step aside chocolates and oysters, a new survey reveals the car may be our new aphrodisiac. More than one in three Canadians (36 per cent), including almost 40 per cent of women and close to 50 per cent of young Canadians under 35 report driving a sexy car makes them feel more attractive.

Findings from the new study were released today, and came from The CarCourting Report, commissioned by autoTRADER.ca and conducted among Angus Reid Forum panel members across Canada. “Canadians really didn’t hold back in this study, showing us that although choosing a car might seem like a wholly rational decision, emotion and even social implications are a major influence on Canadian car buyers,” said Ian MacDonald, Director of Marketing, Trader Corporation.

“We discovered that people not only judge others on the type of car they drive, they also internalize their choices - cars appear to be a key part of how we identify ourselves personally.” Case in point: a full 61 per cent of Canadians admitted they would even walk away from purchasing the car of their dreams if it wasn’t the right colour! Moreover, 41 per cent believe people should drive cars that match their personality.

This figure jumps to 47 per cent among young Canadians under 35 years of age for whom image is clearly a more important consideration. One in five Canadians even go as far as agreeing that people should drive cars that match their appearance.

Based on such personality matching, survey respondents assigned the following cars to some of our most-loved Canadian celebrities (based on the most popular vote):

Ryan Gosling would be a macho Ford Mustang
Shania Twain would be a stylish BMW 3 Series
Wayne Gretzky would be an active Subaru Forester
Pamela Anderson would be a status-seeking Porsche 911 
Alanis Morrissette would be an environmentally-friendly Toyota Prius
Michael Bublé would share the limelight with Ms. Twain as a stylish BMW 3 Series

“This study confirmed our hypothesis that the car-buying process is a very social and emotional one today,” said MacDonald.

Press release:

Global manufacturers seeking to eliminate the risk of releasing defective products to market can now rely on USON-Innovative Systems (UIS, http://www.uson.com), a newly created joint venture between USON’s best-in-class leak testers and Innovative Products and Equipment’s automation systems expertise.

UIS is a single source turnkey solution for semi-automated and fully automated leak testing applications. Sophisticated automation systems such as state-of-the-art robotic part handling are tightly integrated with the USON leak detector best suited for a particular leak testing application challenge by the industry leading engineering talent comprising the UIS service.

Dave Foran, President of USON comments, “UIS marries a deep bench of mechanical and control engineering talent from Innovative Products and Equipment with USON’s unsurpassed leak testing applications engineering team. Our customers seeking to automate or semi-automate their NDT leak testing operations will be able to get a turnkey single source custom clean assembly design that is not only tuned to their leak detection needs but is also the most efficient production line design possible.

This means lower costs, faster throughputs and faster time-to-market.”

Full story at PR Web.

Styling and sex appeal might be the love-at-first-sight factors that sell a fair number of cars, but the fact of automotive marketing life in 2012 is that what’s inside the cockpit — and, in many cases, invisible to its occupants — is crucial, especially in targeting a younger, tech-savvy buyers whose life revolves around their digital devices. Or rather, an affluent, younger tech-savvy buyer, since prices for existing systems are often upward of $2,500.

Global revenue from automotive infotainment components is projected to hit $33.5 billion in 2012, up 3% from 2011, according to a market-tracking report from IHS iSuppli. One auto exec likened the competition in this space to “an arms race … customers are expecting and anticipating this stuff.” Brake assist, lane-departure warning and parking-assist cameras are already offered by several manufacturers, and a cockpit camera in the Mercedes Benz S Class can alert the driver if he appears drowsy. Intel is also working with BMW and Toyota.

“This is really the starting point of us becoming a significant player in the automotive market,” said Tom Steenman, VP for Intel’s intelligent-systems group.

“The car is becoming the next big connected mobile device.” To that end, the company recently established a $100 million venture-capital fund to explore advanced uses for its chips. Cadillac is taking a same-but-different tack from Infiniti with its new CUE. The Cadillac User Experience appropriately premiered not at an auto show, but at the CTIA Wireless Association’s telecommunications show in San Diego. CUE uses a stunning 8-inch screen that, as with a smartphone, users can swipe, pinch or flick to control navigation, radio, heating and cooling functions.

It also has now-obligatory natural-language voice recognition. CUE will sync with up to 10 devices, including your phone. The instruments’ screens are customizable, and the driver will be able to speak the name of a song — “Play ‘I’ll Sleep When I’m Dead’ “— and CUE will find it if it’s stored in the system.

“CUE will be a big part of the way we market the XTS,” a Cadillac sedan arriving next month, said David Caldwell, brand communications manager for the company. It will be standard in the XTS and, eventually will migrate to other models as an option that will probably cost about $2,000. Working with Fallon, Minneapolis, on creative, “visually, we’ll try to get across, if you love the tablet and the smartphone, you’ll like the CUE,” Mr. Caldwell said. TV spots are expected to begin next month, he added.

Full story at Advertising Age.

CRC says the goal of the “Intermediate-Level Ethanol Blends – Engine Durability Study,” was to investigate the effects of two intermediate-level ethanol blends on several models of current, on-road, non-Flexible-Fuel Vehicles (non-FFVs).

According to CRC, the study has shown that two popular gasoline engines used in light-duty automotive applications of vehicles from model years 2001 through 2009 failed with mechanical damage when operated on intermediate-level ethanol blends (E15 and E20).

Based on the results of the study, Drevna and the AFPM are urging the EPA to reconsider increasing the level of ethanol in gasoline. “The Coordinating Research Council’s objective scientific tests have found disturbing evidence that increasing the amount of ethanol in gasoline above the current 10 percent causes serious damage to car engines,” Drevna said.

“The study shows that a significant percentage of cars tested suffered engine damage when refueled with 15 percent ethanol. These are cars EPA has approved to run on E15 and are representative of approximately 5 million vehicles in the nation’s existing fleet.

Full story at After market News.

2. James Dyson

You’ve seen the commercials. They are a product pitch narrated by a smooth English voice. The subject of the spot is sleek and dynamic. No, it’s not a car – it’s a vacuum. James Dyson came to the U.S. in 2002 with a product that was high priced for a market that wasn’t looking for new entrants.

He had created an upright vacuum that exerted 3 times the centrifugal force of a bullet shot from a gun just to suck up dirt better without a bag. It isn’t just Dyson’s rapid success in the U.S. vacuum cleaner market that can inspire — within two years he’d cornered 15% of the $4 billion dollar market with a product that cost more than 3 times his competitors’— it was his steadfast commitment to his idea. He made 5,127 prototypes before he got it right. Small Business Marketing Spark: Embrace failure. It’s inevitable and may be just the nudge you need to get to the next level of success.

3. Dhani Jones

He was an NFL player whose friend loved to wear bow ties. When that friend got cancer, Jones began wearing them in support. At the time he was the first active player to report from the sidelines and he got a lot of heat for his bow tie style. He stuck with it, determined to use that bow tie as a positive symbol.

Not only did he change people’s perception of him, he also changed the perception of players and the NFL. Small Business Marketing Spark: There’s nothing like a cause to inspire creativity.

See the rest at PR Web.