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New National Study Shows Growing Consumer Preference for Online Auto Buying

1 February 1998

New National Study Shows Growing Consumer Preference for Online Auto Buying

                     Dramatic Increase in Internet Usage
          Indicates Many Consumers Prefer High-Tech Over High-Touch

    NEW ORLEANS, Feb. 1 -- A new national consumer survey
released today found that the number of consumers who would purchase a vehicle
directly through the Internet has more than doubled in the last twelve months.
    Ten percent of those polled in the annual automotive consumer study
conducted by The Dohring Company said that they would purchase a vehicle
directly through the Internet without a test drive, up from last year's figure
of just four percent.  Results of the study were released here today at the
National Automobile Dealers Annual Convention.
    The national study also found that almost half (44 percent) of all
potential car buyers now have access to the Internet, showing a steady
increase over the past several years as the power of the Internet continues to
grow.
    "The tremendous potential of the Internet should not be underestimated.
Internet usage among consumers shows a healthy increase, and the number of
consumers showing willingness to buy directly online has more than doubled.
Car dealers who learn to effectively harness the Internet's true power stand
to enjoy significant gains in market share.  Those who do not may be left in
the dust as the more savvy dealers steal customers away," commented
Rik Kinney, senior vice president of The Dohring Company.
    Kinney noted that there will always be consumers who will want to visit a
dealership, look at different models and test drive vehicles.  "Auto dealers
must continue to serve these more traditional customers, while accommodating
the changing needs of technology-oriented shoppers," Kinney said.
    According to the study's findings, one third of consumers with online
access have actually researched automotive information on the Internet.  The
information most frequently accessed includes vehicle prices, specific model
features, vehicle options, consumer reports, vehicle safety reports and
dealership locations.
    "We also found that Internet usage crosses all age groups," Kinney said.
"In fact, 38 percent of consumers aged 35-49 said they would use the Internet
to assist them in the car buying process, representing a good portion of the
breadbasket of America's car buying public."
    The study was completed in January 1998, with a random sample of
1,253 qualified consumers from all 50 states.  The poll's margin of error is
+/- 2.8 percent.
    The Dohring Company, Inc. is North America's largest provider of custom
market research to the retail automotive industry.  The Glendale,
California-based firm has conducted over 4,000 studies for automobile dealers,
automotive dealer advertising associations, automakers and suppliers, and more
than one million vehicle buyer interviews.

SOURCE  The Dohring Company