Study of "why people buy hybrids" - Interesting - GreenHybrid

lars-ss · #1 (**permalink**) 01-09-2006, 02:35 PM

http://www.hybridcars.com/hybrids-sy...-identity.html

Quote:

Researchers from the University of California at Davis are speaking directly with hybrid owners to better understand hybrid car purchase decisions. Ken Kurani, Tom Turrentine, and Rusty Heffner of UC Davis's Institute of Transportation Studies eschew traditional marketing techniques like focus groups, or surveys in which thousands of consumers tick a series of boxes and number-crunchers tally the results.

Instead, the UC researchers sit down over the kitchen table with the entire consumer household—commonly the car purchase is a family decision—for two hours or more, and let the stories come out. In this way, they believe they develop a deeper understanding of what's motivating hybrid owners. They've interviewed more than 30 households who bought Priuses, Civics, and Insights—and now they are moving on to the latest wave of hybrids.

Bradley Berman, editor of HybridCars.com, spoke with Kurani and Heffner on Dec. 21, 2005.

Bradley Berman: What is the primary goal of your research?

Rusty Heffner: We're trying to understand what motivates people to buy a new kind of vehicle. As Americans, when you are buying a car, you have so many choices. You have over 300 combinations of make and model. Why does somebody consider a new technology like a hybrid?

Ken Kurani: We learned from our first sets of interviews to throw out our assumptions, to start from scratch rather than, in effect, go into an interview with a checklist of things to look for. To go into interviews with a wide-open mind, and let the stories tell us what was important about what people were doing. And then Rusty developed an analytical approach to deal with cars as symbols of identities.

BB: What do you mean by "symbols of identities?"

KK: In an increasingly market-based society, the things we buy are more and more a part of representations of who we are. And cars are incredibly important symbols of who we are, in large part, because cars are so mobile and so many people see them everyday.

Also, I think our identities are constructed as narratives. And we're always looking for new elements for those narratives. We're comparing the stories we have about ourselves today to older stories and to ideal stories. In those comparisons, we're looking for either new ways to either advance the storyline we like, or change the one we don't like. The idea of what a car means can be one of those important story elements.

BB: Journalists commonly criticize hybrid cars for not providing a return on investment for their owners. Based on your research, what's your opinion of that criticism?

RH: I think the question journalists are asking is, 'Do hybrids save money?" It's the wrong question. A more basic question to ask is, "Do people who are buying hybrid cars really care about saving money?" The truth is that everybody likes to save money in the abstract. But we found in our research that saving money is not the primary motivator for buying a hybrid vehicle. Some people might think about hybrids as ways to save money. Those are not the types of people who are buying these types of vehicles.

KK: In the interviews, we heard that people who bought a hybrid compared it to nothing else. Once they heard about a Prius, for example, and heard about its capabilities, that became the car they needed next to advance a certain story line. At that point, keeping their old car was no longer desirable.

John M. Dwyer · #2 (**permalink**) 01-09-2006, 04:32 PM

Perhaps these researchers are on the right track - finally!

I am tired of being asked when I expect to have my "investment" pay for itself. This question focuses only on one aspect of hybrids - fuel economy, and discounts many other aspects as well as FE for other vehicles. When does one expect the "investment" in a Navigator or Camry to pay for itself, after all?

My overt purpose for getting a hybrid is based on ecological concerns. I voted with my pocketbook for the kind of vehicle I wanted and would like to see more of. And isn't this what we all do, essentially?

Eskrimast1 · #3 (**permalink**) 01-09-2006, 05:14 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by John M. Dwyer

My overt purpose for getting a hybrid is based on ecological concerns. I voted with my pocketbook for the kind of vehicle I wanted and would like to see more of. And isn't this what we all do, essentially?

I couldn't have put it better. Its nice to save money on gasoline naturally, but that was never a primary motivation in my purchase; its merely an added bonus.

Sledge · #4 (**permalink**) 01-09-2006, 05:47 PM

I have yet to encounter the cost-benefit analysis argument. People ask if it really does get 50 mpg. I say yes of course

Double-Trinity · #5 (**permalink**) 01-09-2006, 07:18 PM

I would have to disagree somewhat with the mentality that the cars shouldn't be looked at from an economic perspective, but seen as a symbol of identity. There is nothing wrong with that, but I believe it could have a tendency to marginalize the hybrid technology as just a fringe option.

I ended up getting my Civic Hybrid because at the time, taking into consideration the tax deductoin (not the present tax credits -- a much better deal) made it close to a breakeven deal with the standard Civic. I wanted the improved driving range, and to support a more efficient technology that will only become more cost-effective with time, given enough support by early adopters. Environmental concerns were another reason, that and the fact that I like the idea of improving efficiency of things, all sorts of things, in engineering.

I actually bought the Civic as opposed to the Prius specifically because I did not want a car that was a standout (actually, it mostly has to do with the fact that the Gen-I Prii were incredibly ugly... and on backorder, while the Civic we could actaully negotiate down)

Delta Flyer · #6 (**permalink**) 01-09-2006, 07:22 PM

I got mine for sex and power.

tigerhonaker · #7 (**permalink**) 01-09-2006, 07:29 PM

One more persons input:

In my case I simply like having a vehicle that is small in size, modern, comfortable, auto-climate control, cruise, CVT, reliable, under long term warranty (8/120,00), X/m, Two-Tone Interior, and all did I forget to mention on top of all that. Silly me I wanted it to get "Great Fuel Economy".

The-End

Terry

stevejust · #8 (**permalink**) 01-09-2006, 11:15 PM

Why do people treat hybrids as investments? If I bought I $75,000 car, it's going to lose $20,000 of value the second it drives off the lot. With the exception of classic cars, cars are not "investments" and it's inane that hybrids should be treated as any different than any other car in that respect. People pay more money for bigger, higher horsepower engines. Why would it be unusual for people to pay more money for smaller, more efficient, more technologically advanced engines as well? Has anyone ever asked if that moonroof "investment" has paid off? What about the upgraded alloy wheel "investment?" Did that premium sound system "investment" pay off?

It's strange how hybrids are always held to a standard no other car is measured by. Someone here once pointed out that people always say that well, if gas hits $x dollars, it will make sense to buy a hybrid, but no one ever says well, if you transport x number of people it makes sense to buy an 8 passenger SUV. But unless you drive around with X number of people, that Expedition or Excursion is a waste of money.

Anyway, I'm glad to hear someone's doing a qualitative study and I'm glad to hear this site exists to vent about why the media just doesn't "get it." But I really wish people would focus on what current hybrid drivers really want in a car. Which, for me, as I have often said, is this biodiesel hybrid that gets 50 mpg and looks great:

http://www.k1-styling.sk/images_vide...%20by%20K1.wmv

coyote · #9 (**permalink**) 01-10-2006, 08:48 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by stevejust

http://www.k1-styling.sk/images_vide...%20by%20K1.wmv

Wow, what a great story. Thanks for posting that link!

Delta Flyer · #10 (**permalink**) 01-10-2006, 09:13 AM

Quite simply, the Insight was the only thing close to the 1988 CRX HF that got totaled in 2000. The choices for a vehicle with greater than 40mpg were limited.

I think the general public just thinks too simplisticly. Either you are driving a $50,000 vehicle to flaunt your alleged success, or you are driving a hybrid to save every penny - black-and-white mentality. Add to that many expect a hybrid to get 50mpg even if they drive at varied speeds, averaging 75mph.