Domestic Preferences Increase

Jan. 8 - Announcing the latest Kelley Blue Book Marketing Research data, the company says that nearly three-quarters of car shoppers say they prefer to buy American-made products. More than half (51 percent) of the survey respondents say they try to buy American-made products if they are readily available and price-competitive, and 14 percent say they will go out of their way to buy American.

The penchant for buying American-made products also has made its mark in the automotive marketplace, even amidst the recent turmoil of the domestic manufacturers. One-third of new-vehicle shoppers say they would only consider cars from United States-based manufacturers, such as vehicles made by General Motors, Ford or Chrysler, and that they would not consider any vehicles from other countries.

At 33 percent, exclusive interest - shoppers saying they would only buy cars from a particular country - was far higher for vehicles from the United States than for any other country. Exclusive interest in Japanese vehicles, in comparison, was only 12 percent and five percent for vehicles manufactured in Germany. Furthermore, vehicles from the United States are on the vast majority of shoppers' consideration lists, with more than 90 percent saying they would consider buying a vehicle from a domestic manufacturer.

The latest Kelley Blue Book Marketing Research survey was conducted on Kelley Blue Book's kbb.com among 537 qualified respondents from December 8-14.