Poll: Americans still favor foreign cars

The domestic industry is trying to bring consumers into showrooms to look for something other than trucks, offering traditional cars like the Ford Mustang and introducing muscular new models of the Chevy Malibu and a concept car that could serve as a replacement for the popular Chrysler 300.

American automakers got off to a good start this year when the Saturn Aura and Chevrolet Silverado, both General Motors Corp. products, were chosen as the 2007 car and truck of the year at the North American International Auto Show over the weekend.

For the past decade or so, American automakers have tried to win back car buyers who purchase gas-efficient imports, industry analysts said, but that effort has met with limited success.

American models are getting more gas-efficient, analysts say, and prices for regular gas have dipped from their average $3-per-gallon price last summer.

But the biggest audience for American-made cars and trucks may be the blue-collar population, analysts said.

The poll found that 51 percent of those with a high school education or less preferred American-made motor vehicles, while 31 percent with a college degree felt that way. Younger people and those with less education were also most interested in more traditional or “retro” cars.

The share of autos sold in the U.S. by the Big Three has dropped sharply in recent years. General Motors and Ford have cut their labor force and related costs to be more competitive, and the Chrysler Group of Daimler Chrysler is likely to make similar moves.

George Maglione, an auto industry analyst, said the Big Three’s share of the market has dropped from seven in 10 sold in 1998 to just over half sold in 2006.

That dropping share has accelerated as older people, the generation most loyal to American cars, have aged and left the buying market.

That has made it critical that American automakers win over young adults, who are just starting to build their loyalties.

Leticia Bowlin, a 29-year-old mother from Sanford, Fla., said she makes her choice on what car to make based on its ratings and safety features.

“I don’t have a preference based on the country,” she said.

Features such as side air bags and antilock braking systems were the options people most wanted, while onboard navigation systems interested them the most, according to the telephone poll of 1,004 adults conducted Dec. 19-21. The margin of sampling error was plus or minus 3 percentage points.

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