Consumers Say Steady Diet of $4 Gas Prices Would Cause Them to Buy a More Fuel-Efficient...

Consumers Say Steady Diet of $4 Gas Prices Would Cause Them to Buy a More Fuel-Efficient Car

CHICAGO--(Business Wire)--
In a recent survey conducted by Cars.com regarding gas prices and
their affect on buying decisions, 85 percent of consumers said a
prolonged period of $4 gasoline prices would prompt them to buy a more
fuel-efficient car. Of that 85 percent, 28 percent said they would buy
a more fuel-efficient car immediately and 57 percent said they would
buy a more fuel-efficient car the next time they purchased a car.

According to the survey, many consumers are already doing what
they can to save more at the pump. More than 80 percent of respondents
said they are consciously practicing common fuel-saving techniques
like making sure their tires are properly inflated, combining multiple
errands into one trip and avoiding sudden stops and heavy
acceleration.

"The survey is consistent with what we are seeing when it comes to
searches for fuel-efficient vehicles," said Patrick Olsen,
editor-in-chief at Cars.com. "When gas prices surged past $3 a gallon,
searches for fuel-efficient vehicles skyrocketed. With no end in sight
to soaring gas prices, I would expect that we are going to see more
people seeking out cars that get better than 30 miles to the gallon."

The vast majority of consumers (73 percent) said that fuel
efficiency of 30 miles per gallon or higher is what they hope to
achieve in any car they currently own or are planning to purchase.
However, there is a threshold to how much consumers are willing to pay
to get better gas mileage. The survey asked consumers, all things
being equal, how much more they would pay for a car that got 40 miles
per gallon versus a car that got 25 miles per gallon. More than 60
percent said they would pay $2000 or less and 21 percent said they
wouldn't pay any more for it.

"Clearly, when it comes to fuel-efficiency, there is a
contradiction between what consumers want and what they are willing to
pay for," added Olsen. "That puts a bigger burden on auto makers who
claim that they will have to add thousands of dollars to the cost of
each vehicle to meet the fuel-economy standards of 35 miles per gallon
by 2020."

The survey was conducted online for Cars.com by Impulse Research
Corp., with a random sample of 1,033 men and women 18-and-older who
own cars. The survey audience was carefully selected to closely match
U.S. population demographics and the respondents are representative of
American men and women 18-and-older. The overall sampling error rate
for this survey is +/-3 percent.

About Cars.com

Cars.com is the leading destination for online car shoppers,
offering credible, easy-to-understand information from consumers and
experts to help buyers formulate opinions on what to buy, where to buy
and how much to pay for a car. With comprehensive pricing information,
side-by-side comparison tools, photo galleries, videos, unbiased
editorial content and a large selection of new- and used-car
inventory, Cars.com puts millions of car buyers in control of their
shopping process with the information they need to make confident
buying decisions.

Launched in June 1998, Cars.com is a division of Classified
Ventures, LLC, which is owned by leading media companies, including
Belo (NYSE: BLC), Gannett Co., Inc. (NYSE: GCI), The McClatchy Company
(NYSE: MNI), Tribune Company and The Washington Post Company (NYSE:
WPO).

Cars.com
Jackie Brennan
Public Relations Specialist
312-601-6229 (direct)
219-577-6106 (mobile)
jbrennan@cars.com
or
Steve Nolan
Public Relations Manager
312-601-5163 (direct)
630-310-2468 (mobile)
snolan@cars.com

Copyright Business Wire 2008