The green automotive movement is taking firmer hold in the minds of consumers.

Over the past decade the automotive industry has undergone a major facelift. From gas guzzling SUVs and Hummers that dominated the market in the late 90s and early 2000s to the “green machines” that have taken hold since, the automotive industry is an ever evolving behemoth. Much of this evolution has been spurred on by higher gas prices and calls from the public and experts alike to improve the quality of the environment.

Needless to say, there were quite a few automotive enthusiasts and many casual drivers that were and still are not too pleased with the movement towards “green autos.” However, as time has passed, many have warmed up to the idea of filling up less often and potentially saving the environment.

Survey Says…

The best way to gauge the mindset of the public on virtually any subject is the public opinion poll. Most of us are familiar with opinion pulls in politics, as the news media and politicians like to gauge how popular a politician is. For example, the job performance of the prime minister or the president is constantly gauged and reported on almost constantly by the news. However, public opinion polls also play a role in other industries, especially the automotive industry. They are just one of the many tools used by the major automotive companies to gauge how popular their current autos are, what consumers want to see in a future auto and much more.

If you have ever wondered how exactly the news or polling companies conduct a survey regarding any subject, here is an abbreviated explanation to make things a bit clearer. In a typical case, a polling company will call anywhere from 1000 to 1500 individuals qualified to take the survey and ask the ones who actually do not hang up a standardized set of questions (i.e. if they are old enough to drive or if they are old enough to procure credit to buy a new auto).

As you can imagine, calling random people to ask them questions is a lot like telemarketing. There are many individuals sitting at computers that auto dial just about everyone in the phone book. In order to make the survey as scientific as possible, a survey involving the auto industry involves calling people from every province and state (this is called a “cross section”). From there the results are tabulated and reported to whoever commissioned the survey.

Go Green

An August survey conducted by Angus Reid Strategies reveals that a majority of drivers in Canada and the United States look at “green autos” in a favourable fashion. In fact, a majority of those surveyed would rather purchase a green auto than their dream auto if money weren’t an issue.

Of course, one can never truly predict what a person would buy if they just won $100 million. I don’t know about the rest of you, but if I had that type of cash, my first trip would be to a Ferrari dealership and then to a dealership that sold hybrids or electrics.

As mentioned above, one of the questions in the poll was if money were not an issue, would the person being surveyed rather buy their dream car or a green car. Of Canadian respondents, 53 per cent responded that they would rather buy a green auto, while 29 per cent responded that they would rather purchase their dream auto. Surprisingly, 48 per cent of participants from the U.S. responded that they would rather purchase a green car, while 28 per cent would rather get their hands on their dream auto. If we break the results down by age, surprisingly, out of any age group those 18 to 34 would prefer to acquire their dream auto (even though all groups in aggregate preferred the green auto).

Green Fuels

The other surprising result of the survey was in concern to the use of alternative fuels. The survey inquired whether or not respondents would favour government action to encourage the use of alternative fuels. Forty-nine per cent of Canadians and 46 per cent of Americans favoured government action, while 29 per cent from both countries were against their respective governments taking action. As you can imagine, those in the 55+ age group were less in favour in comparison to the other age groups.

What to Take Away

Keep in mind that public opinion polls are not the be all, end all of deciphering an issue, but they do give us a good idea about the way the majority of the public is leaning on the subject. In this case, it would appear as if a majority of Canadians and Americans have or are beginning to support the green movement. Increased support for the green movement from consumers is a sure sign that the automotive industry will continue to charge ahead in the development of new autos and technologies that are fuel efficient and environmentally friendly.

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