September 03, 2010
New Vehicle Survey? It should have been called the New Magazine Survey
By: Bob Ulrich
I bought my 2010 Ford Focus in the spring; I received my "New Vehicle Survey" from J.D. Power and Associates in the summer -- along with a $10 bill.
That's quite an incentive to complete the 16-page form, so I did. I didn't fill it out in one sitting, but all told, it took me 55 minutes. That includes the amount of time it took me to look up what I paid for the vehicle "excluding cash rebates, tax, license, trade-in, etc."
Interestingly, only FOUR pages were related to my purchase directly ("How did you pay for your vehicle?") or my views about buying a vehicle in general ("Are you willing to pay more for a vehicle that is environmentally friendly?"). And they were split up.
SEVEN pages addressed consumer magazines or newspapers, by far more than any other subject. J.D. Power wanted to know if I "may have read or looked into" 131 publications in the last six months. I answered "yes" to 15 of them, which took me to the "b." part of the question: "How many of the past four issues have you read or looked into?"
For those of you who are wondering, I get "Sports Illustrated" at home and often buy "TV Guide" or "Entertainment Weekly" at the supermarket. I read "Fortune" and "Forbes" at the office. I have been known to glance at "Rolling Stone" or "Maxim" at the newstand.
I answered that I did not look into 116 of the magazines. That includes "O, the Oprah magazine," although if you asked me who was on the cover of a particular issue, I would guess Oprah Winfrey.
TWO pages were devoted to newspapers and television (my three favorite shows at the moment: "Bones," "Castle" and "Burn Notice"). And THREE pages asked questions about me (I don't speak Spanish at home) or my general attitudes about a number of issues (I "disagree completely" that computers are too confusing to be of much use to me).
Just sticking to the automotive questions, I had a few problems with the way they were asked. Take Question 4 a., for example.
"The next time you are in the market for a vehicle, how likely would you be to purchase/lease a vehicle of the same make?"
* Defintely will not.
* Probably will not.
* Probably will.
* Definetly will.
After rougly five months in the car, the correct answer is "How the heck would I know?" I've owned many different makes over the years -- this is my first Ford -- and liked or disliked them for various reasons. I answered "Probably will," but only because I thought that was closest to my real answer.
When asked, "During the last 12 months, how many times have you mentioned your new vehicle to a friend, relative or collegue?" the survey gave me two options to consider: positive recommendations and negative recommendations.
Not counting Facebook, where I have 143 friends, who knows? And my Focus and I are still in the honeymoon stage. How can you negatively recommend a vehicle that still has its new car smell?
I understand why J.D. Power asks all these questions. I just don't understand why it is called a "New Vehicle Survey."
And I did get a free meal out of it. I used the $10 to eat at Asian Chao. Maybe J.D. Power will ask me that when it wants me to fill out the next "National Auto Insurance Study."
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