The "dream car" for today's Net savvy consumer would be theft-proof, have sensors to detect hazardous road conditions and a remote zapper to start and warm it up, according to a Greenfield Online survey of 1,000 Internet users.
While 62% think that governments should ban cell phone use while driving, only a handful envision that their next car would have built-in voice command telephone service. While the online survey found that surfing was what respondents like to do most for relaxation, apparently few are ready for Internet capabilities in their cars. Here is how various high-tech options ranked:
Features, How many want
Built-in advanced theft deterrent systems, 30%
Built-in road conditions sensors to detect hazards, 22%
Remote ability to start and warm up the car, 17%
Global positioning navigation system, 12%
Satellite radio with hundreds of stations, 9%
Built-in voice control telephone system, 9%
Internet e-mail inbound and outbound, 6%
Full Internet connectivity, 6%
Internet music downloading, 5%
More than half of those people surveyed say they have a hard time identifying or differentiating the many makes and models on the road today. Most say that until they are ready to purchase a car, they pay little attention to auto news.
Yet 60% describe themselves as loving to drive and on average spend 1.2 hours per day in an automobile.
When it comes to purchase decisions, service and reliability, price, safety and fuel efficiency ranked in overwhelming importance to the respondents. Over 80% say they currently own a car. Just under half plan to buy a new car within two years.
This study is part of Greenfield Online's ongoing Digital Consumer(r) series that examines opinions of the online public. This study was conducted online between March 23-27, with an Internet representative sample of 1,000 respondents. Household income of the respondents averaged $57,000.
