JD Powers' mob have released yet another study detailing the personal predilections of American automotive consumers. Although this reveal has a headline to warm the hearts of the BOSE Mountain Boyz– "Branding Substantially Increases the Prices Consumers Are Will to to Pay for Automotive Premium Surround Sound Audio Systems"– the survey examines the full range of "emerging technologies." JD's researchers called 17k American consumers [at dinner time] and asked them which automotive gee-whizzery floats their e-boat, both before and after price considerations. If you suck money out of the equation, U.S. car buyers are up for run-flat tires (77 percent of those polled), two-stage smart airbags (75 percent), navigation systems (70 percent) and premium surround sound (67 percent). At the bottom of the list: rear seat entertainment (49 percent), lane departure warning systems (42 percent) and in-vehicle Internet (41 percent). Put financial considerations back on the table and all the stats drop by over a half, leaving sat nav the price-conscious feature seeker's friend A 28 percent approval rating may not seem like much, but it beats the Hell out of Congress' popularity.
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Put financial considerations back on the table and all the stats drop by over a half…
Is that really a surprise, though? If I thought I could get all that stuff for free, I’d probably take it even if I had no clue what half of it was.
The 77% who want run flat tires never owned a Mini that had them. They have a harsh ride, cost way too much to replace, and we had to wait for one to be shipped. Car was parked for over a week while waiting.
Rear seat entertainment is the drug of choice for all my friends with kids. I wonder how that will work out long term.
Factory rear entertainment costs a fortune. We prefer the $100 removable DVD player which we pop in only for long trips, to prevent our kids from becoming vidiots.
In-car Internet, GPS, entertainment? Can someone say next-generation iPhone?
I think what we really need is an “in dash anti-distraction unit” to keep the drivers focused on what their name implies; driving.
So this is where BMW gets their ideas. God help us if Porsche is on the JD Powers mailing list.
If you already have a Blackberry or Pocket PC phone with an unlimited data plan then you already have in-car internet and you can take it out of the car. Wireless technology is advancing too quickly to build it into a car, IMO. A case in point being all of those factory integrated analog wireless phones that are mostly useless bricks today.
That’s funny that 77 percent want run-flats. They obviously have no idea how difficult–often impossible–it is to repair them, how expensive and inconvenient they are and waht they do to a car’s ride and performance.
As I understand it, a run-flat is only recommended to run flat for about 500 miles. And after that, the manufacturers recommend replacement of an outrageously expensive tire.
The “donut” your car came with has a recommended use life of 500 miles and junkyards are full of ones that never left the trunks of wrecks that they’ll practically give away.
I’m also definitely of the anti-nav system persuasion. Pulling off the road to refresh one’s memory of a $5 atlas, then resuming the trip, never will be obsolete.
I have a cheap compressor and tire patch kit in my car. Never had to use it on my own vehicle, but I patched my coworker’s tire last summer. If the blowout is more severe I can always fall back on the donut. Having a compressor is also handy for topping off tire pressure periodically.
Actually, the typical run-flat, like the ones BMW mounts on I think 3-Series, is limited to 50 miles at 50 mph (not its lifetime, but the amount you’re allowed to drive on it without stopping). And you better hope there’s a BMW dealer within that range, since they’re the only ones that can dismount and replace (they’re usually not repairable) it. Even big tire shops don’t have the machines.
I urge anyone interested in purchasing a new BMW to carefully research the run flat tire technology that comes standard on so many of their products. It’s now so commonly known as a mistake, that BMW sales people are trained not to mention RFTs during a sales presentation. Last great BMW product? 2003 BMW M5 (E39).
I don’t think that people really understand what in car internet may be: Not the traditional keyboard and mouse that the average consumer is familiar with.
Navigation, traffic reports and live data delivered via wireless communications from vehicle to vehicle will be network based.