Hi guys. My name is Riley FitzGerald and I've been bombing around your site here, and it seems like you guys have a pretty close-knit community. I want to keep this kind of brief, because I’m sure you’re all busy but at the same time I want to give you guys the relevant background of what I’m going to ask. I’m a Junior at SUNY Geneseo in New York and we are doing a project for a Marketing class. Basically we have to write a marketing plan for a company’s product and since my group is pretty green-minded (is that a word?) we decided that we should do a product that we all felt passionate about. Originally we wanted to do a green design firms services, but we were told we had to do a product, so we decided on the Honda Insight. If you are concerned this information will be going to a marketing company (which I still don’t think would be a bad thing since it would be helping the cause) you are more than welcome to look me up on Geneseo’s website www.geneseo.edu, or email me at rf4@geneseo.edu, however for the sake of convenience I would ask you all post on the forum if that is possible.

Anyway, right now we’re trying to come up with some demographic information on hybrid customers so we can figure out how we want to segment the marketing etc… and try to come up with some affective market coverage strategies and positioning. Right now the Insight has some dismal sales (about 50 a month) and we want to figure out how we can help the most fuel efficient of the hybrids reposition themselves. Basically we are trying to get a picture of what the market for hybrid cars looks like, who’s buying these things and the current market info is dismal.

The questions we would like you guys to answer are as follows (and feel free to omit and question you don’t feel comfortable answering):

Sex
Age
Marital status
What kind of hybrid car do you own?
Income range to the nearest $10,000
Do you live in a densely populated area?
Do you consider yourself, environmentally conscious (and did this affect your decision to buy a hybrid car)?
What was your reason for buying a hybrid car?
Would you recommend them to friends?
Would you buy another hybrid, and if so would you buy the same type and brand?
Additional information that you fee would be pertinent, or any resources you might be aware of that could help us along in our pursuit.

Thanks in advance for all the help, your information will be invaluable to the success of our project.

Cheers

Riley

Start by going to each "Forum" and use the 'Search' function for the word "Poll". We've been polling ourselves for quite sometime. Report back what you've found (250 words or less) and then ask the remaining questions with justification and sources.

Bob Wilson

Operation Iraqi Oil Freedom:

Automatic, stock, project car.

My other 1500 cc car:

Automatic, stock, backup car.
Free speech, dialog and knowledge thrives without the poison of SPAM.

Also, if you're focusing on the Insight, you might want to check out Insight Central at http://www.insightcentral.net/forum/.

Support the Troops - Drive a Hybrid!

Sex Female
Age 19
Marital status Single
What kind of hybrid car do you own? 2005 Civic
Income range to the nearest $10,000 I make $0 when I round to the nearest $10k
Do you live in a densely populated area? Not super-dense, but not miles away from my neighbors either... suburban.
Do you consider yourself, environmentally conscious (and did this affect your decision to buy a hybrid car)? Yes, and I've become more so since getting my hybrid. If hybrids were as "dirty" as SUVs and other large trucks, I'd have been less inclined to get one, but if they still had high MPGs saving money on gas would still have me interested in them... but I probably would've gotten a regular Civic if that was the case.
What was your reason for buying a hybrid car? Honestly if we hadn't gotten the great price we did on mine (there was a typo in the ad, & we bought it used), I probably wouldn't have a hybrid. I would definelty still have wanted one eventually. I wish every car was a hybrid, it'd be a wonderful thing. I love that they are better for the environment and can help save some money at the pump (having to stop less is good too). I'm not afraid of technology, it's going great places and I want to support that.
Would you recommend them to friends? Oops, I thought it said "Were you recommened by friends." Yes, I'd recommend hybrids to anyone who is interested.
Would you buy another hybrid, and if so would you buy the same type and brand Yes, I couldn't imagine going back to a regular car after this... Besides, I hope by the time I have to buy another car there will have been lots of new developements as far as alternative fuels go. I'm a Honda girl, so I'll most likely stick with them, but I may or may not stay with the Civic.
Anything else? I initially was interested in an Insight, but I felt it was too small for me, not so much that there were only two seats, but that the hatchback area was signifcatly smaller than a regular hatchback. I need space to lug all my clothes and other crap to and from school before and after the summer.

Well, there's nothing here that I haven't admitted before:

Sex: M
Age: 38
Marital status: Married
What kind of hybrid car do you own?: 2003 Civic Hybrid
Income range to the nearest $10,000: I'll keep that one to myself
Do you live in a densely populated area? Yes
Do you consider yourself, environmentally conscious (and did this affect your decision to buy a hybrid car)? Yes
What was your reason for buying a hybrid car? Overall, it was to drive a more responsible car (cross-section of gas savings, money I'd save, environment, reduce dependency on foreign oil)
Would you recommend them to friends? Absolutely
Would you buy another hybrid, and if so would you buy the same type and brand? Most likely, but I'd consider a Toyota next time as well
Additional information that you fee would be pertinent, or any resources you might be aware of that could help us along in our pursuit. Well, if you're specifically after why the Insight is a slow seller, I'll tell you why I didn't buy one. Two words: two seats. I'd guess that's the biggest drawback. Would be interesting to compare sales to other 2-seaters, because I think the market for those cars, in general, is very small. It's one thing to say sales are "dismal", but I'm guessing that 2-seaters don't sell in great quantities period. So considering the small market for 2-seaters, add to that it's a hybrid. I wouldn't rule it out as my next car when my children are older and I don't need a 4-door.

Good luck with the report.

*** Retired after 65,000 outstanding miles ***

Sex: Male

Age: 39

Marital status: Married

What kind of hybrid car do you own? (2) Ford Escape (2005 & 2006)

Income range to the nearest $10,000: $100k+

Do you live in a densely populated area? Yes

Do you consider yourself, environmentally conscious (and did this affect your decision to buy a hybrid car)? Yes and Yes. I was driving a 2004 Escape that got horrible mileage, but I loved the vehicle. This is the best of both worlds.

What was your reason for buying a hybrid car? I like to have the latest technology, we NEED to reduce our oil usage and it's a great vehicle.

Would you recommend them to friends? Would I? I do every day. People ask me a question about the hybrid and usually regret it since I give them way more info than they wanted to know.

Would you buy another hybrid, and if so would you buy the same type and brand? Been there done that. I liked the '05 so much that three months later I bought the '06 right off the truck - didn't even test drive it.

Additional information that you fee would be pertinent, or any resources you might be aware of that could help us along in our pursuit. Not really.

Okay, even though this is for a marketing project and I suspect that there are more than a few of us who are engineering-types whose stated goal in life is to make the lives of our favorite marketing people -- er, 'interesting' -- even so, I will answer your questionaire.

Sex: male
Age: 48
Marital status: married
What kind of hybrid car do you own?: honda civic hybrid
Income range to the nearest $10,000: sorry. isn't that a typical marketing question? ;-)
Do you live in a densely populated area?: is suburbia dense enough?
Do you consider yourself, environmentally conscious (and did this affect your decision to buy a hybrid car)?: moderately so
What was your reason for buying a hybrid car?: to help save the world by reducing oil consumption and foreign oil dependency
Would you recommend them to friends?: I have done -- three conversions so far, one on the way
Would you buy another hybrid, and if so would you buy the same type and brand?: yes, and yes. but being a thorough person by nature, I will probably explore other hybrid options as well, and even consider diesel or diesel-hybrid if it becomes clean enough to pass CA standards.

Sex: Female
Age: 31
Marital status: single
What kind of hybrid car do you own? 2004 HCH
Income range to the nearest $10,000: secret
Do you live in a densely populated area? yes
Do you consider yourself, environmentally conscious (and did this affect your decision to buy a hybrid car)? not really and not really
What was your reason for buying a hybrid car? I bought it for the gas savings, which for me was about $900 last year compared to previous car
Would you recommend them to friends? yes
Would you buy another hybrid, and if so would you buy the same type and brand? yes, I am actually in the process doing that now

Sex: F

Age: 43

Marital status: M (w/1 child)

What kind of hybrid car do you own? '05 FEH & '06 Prius

Income range to the nearest $10,000: up there, but not "independently wealthy"; enough to afford two new cars in one year (and private school tuition), but not enough to pay cash for them!

Do you live in a densely populated area? Upstate NY, fairly rural; outskirts of small city (college town), pop. 30-50,000.

Do you consider yourself, environmentally conscious (and did this affect your decision to buy a hybrid car)? Yes, and Yes.

What was your reason for buying a hybrid car? Gas savings, less pollution, cool technology. Wanted to support the market, encourage more hybrid development, and have a really cool car that doesn't burn gas and pollute at stop lights (and burns less and pollutes less the rest of the time).

Would you recommend them to friends? Yes - have already. No takers yet, but I think some will consider a hybrid next time around.

Would you buy another hybrid, and if so would you buy the same type and brand? Definitely. I can't imagine having a non-hybrid car ever again. I would buy another Prius in a minute, and would buy a hybrid SUV if I felt I needed that kind of capacity. What I would REALLY like is a 4WD Prius!

Additional information that you fee would be pertinent, or any resources you might be aware of that could help us along in our pursuit: I agree that the drawback of the Insight is its size/seating capacity. Hybrid owners tend to be "practical" people, and even for young unmarrieds, a two-seater isn't all that practical (hopefully they have some friends, maybe a dog... ). Older people who can afford a hybrid (or can afford two cars, so as to have one to haul people/stuff and one to use solely for a commute) probably have a significant other, maybe some kids, etc. And the really older, empty-nesters probably think of a "two seater" as more like a sports car, which only a few of them would be interested in.

Good luck!

How about someone putting together a 'poll' for this 'college student.' A multi-selection poll with sensible boundries would easily handle all of the categories. Personally, I think folks are volunteering way too much personal data which is one reason I've not replied but I wouldn't mind clickin' on a poll.

Bob Wilson

Operation Iraqi Oil Freedom:

Automatic, stock, project car.

My other 1500 cc car:

Automatic, stock, backup car.
Free speech, dialog and knowledge thrives without the poison of SPAM.