http://www.detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll...1008/OPINION01
Quote:
. . .
"Absolutely they're buying the car for the statement it makes more than anything," says Art Spinella, president of CNW Marketing Research. "They tend to be upper income and the Prius doesn't replace any other car. It's an extra."
. . .
Turns out, 57 percent of the people who buy a Prius do so because it turns heads and gives the impression that they're doing more for the environment than their neighbors, according to a CNW study.
The second most popular reason for buying a Prius is for business and the incentives offered (42 percent). Fuel economy, by comparison, comes in third at 36 percent.
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This is what I sent to the Detroit News:
Manny Lopez did a fine job of repeating "CNW Marketings" anti-Prius press release but the source is suspect. For example, where is the sample set size and the margin of error? Where is the methodology that was used for this survey? What time interval?
I ask these questions because ever since the CNW report, "Dust-to-Dust" was published, it has been clear that facts and data have little to do with their reports. Recently the "Pacific Institute" pointed out:
"The CNW Marketing Research, Inc. Dust-to-Dust: The Energy Cost of New Vehicles From Concept to Disposal caught the interest of the media and the public with its claim that a Hummer H3 SUV has a lower life-cycle energy cost than a Toyota Prius hybrid. Closer inspection suggests that the reports conclusions rely on faulty methods of analysis, untenable assumptions, selective use and presentation of data, and a complete lack of peer review. Even the most cursory look reveals serious biases and flaws: the average Hummer H1 is assumed to travel 379,000 miles and last for 35 years, while the average Prius is assumed to last only 109,000 miles over less than 12 years. These selective and unsupported assumptions distort the final results. . . ."
http://www.pacinst.org/topics/integr...sus_prius.html
The CNW anti-Prius bias continues through this CNW survey that echoes claims first made in "Dust-to-Dust." So the questions remain, where are the ordinary survey metrics such as sample size and margin of error? They are missing from the Lopez story and this seriously calls into doubt CNW's methodology. Real hybrid owners are quite different from what CNW Marketing claims.
Rather than take my word for it, there will be hybrid rally, Hybridfest, July 21 in Madison WI. This is a short drive and I would recommend you take time to visit real hybrid owners. See if their hybrids are the "extra car." It certainly would be more accurate than repeating the press release of a notorious marketing firm that already is known to play loose with the facts and data.
Bob Wilson
More CNW nonsense
