Survey Reveals A Woman's Love for Her Automobile Stronger Then Men(s)

A Woman's Love for Her Automobile More Common

CHICAGO, Feb. 10 -- As Valentine's Day approaches, matters of the heart become top of mind. However, much of what we take for granted may not be true at all when talking about the relationship between Americans and their cars.

A new Jiffy Lube International / Harris Interactive(R) survey revealed that more than half (51%) of all Americans say they love their cars. Contrary to popular stereotypes, women tended to view their cars more fondly than men (56% vs. 46%).

"About half of our customers here in Chicago are women, and we were not surprised by the study findings," said Chuck Graziano, Marketing Director for Chicagoland Jiffy Lube. "We find most of our customers, female and male, are equally as curious about their cars and want to keep them well-maintained. The survey just confirms what we see in our service centers all the time."

The survey also showed very few people say they hate their cars (4%) while more than one in three (37%) say they are indifferent.

When those respondents were asked how they either do or would express love for their cars, 63% cited regularly scheduled maintenance services, such as oil changes. Twenty-two percent said they would give their cars a good cleaning, the next highest response.

In keeping with the Valentine's Day spirit and to encourage drivers to show their cars a little love, Jiffy Lube has created a section of its Web site where people can submit a 50-word Valentine describing why their car is important to them.

Anyone who composes a Valentine to her or his car at www.jiffylube.com between Feb. 10 and Feb. 14 will automatically receive a coupon for $5.00 off a Jiffy Lube Signature Service(R) oil change. On Feb. 28, one entrant will be selected at random and will win a year's supply of four Jiffy Lube Signature Service(R) oil changes. Further contest details are available at www.jiffylube.com .

Jiffy Lube, located on more than 2,200 of the busiest street corners in North America, is synonymous with convenient car care. The company pioneered the fast oil change industry in 1979 and today serves in excess of 32 million customers each year. Headquartered in Houston, Texas, Jiffy Lube International is a wholly owned subsidiary of Shell Oil Company . The current advertising and marketing campaign for Jiffy Lube, "The Well-Oiled Machine(sm)," exemplifies its commitment to excellence. Jiffy Lube has been the top-ranked company in the Automotive category in Entrepreneur Magazine's Franchise 500 for the last six years. To learn more about Jiffy Lube and vehicle care, visit www.jiffylube.com .

The nationwide telephone survey of 1015 male and female adults (18+) was conducted January 9-12 by Harris Interactive for Jiffy Lube International. To ensure reliable and accurate representation of the total national adult population, completed interviews were weighted to known proportions for age, gender, geographic region, and race. The margin of error for the total sample was 1 / -3.1%.

Source: Jiffy Lube

CONTACT: Vanessa Rickert for Jiffy Lube, +1-630-932-7928

Web site: http://www.jiffylube.com/