Cupholders Sell Cars

Cupholders could be a defining factor in how people choose the next car they buy, according to a survey by Autobytel, the automotive shopping and research website.

Of the 890 consumers polled by Autobytel, 64% say they currently use their cupholders daily, up from 46% in 2002. More importantly, 39% say they would consider a different make of car to get the “perfect” cupholder, up from 27% of shoppers who were cupholder challenged in 2002.

The majority responding to the latest survey say the best cupholders are found in American automobiles. Autobytel says 46.5% of drivers want the cupholder to be flexible enough to hold a 1.5-literwater bottleanda “short” latte, and 22.9% say they're willing to spend up to $80 for that “perfect” flexible, latte-gripper.

The majority — 53.4% — say domesticauto makers make the best cupholders; 36.1% say those in European vehicles are the worst.

Some 78% say that other than cups, they use cupholders most often for holding their cell phones.