• by Jack Loechner , Staff Writer @mp_research, October 30, 2007

The Iron Belt Wraps Around Domestic-Only Auto Owners

A newly released 88-Market national report from The Media Audit, analyzing automobile ownership by brand, reveals that 38% of U.S. adults own domestic-only brands, compared to 25.4% of U.S. adults who own foreign-only brands.

The surveys, which were conducted between January 2006 and April 2007, found that among those who are the most loyal to owning only domestic brands are adults who own a truck. According to the study, 47.5% of truck owners own domestic-only brands, making the audience 22% more likely than the average adult to own domestic-only brands.

Older adults are are also more likely to own domestic-only brands. Among 50 plus adults, 42.6% own only domestic brands, a figure that is 12% higher than that of the average adult.

The average age for the nearly 40% of U.S. adults who own domestic-only brands is 47.2 years old, compared to 44.1 years for adults who own foreign-only brands.

The top ranking market for domestic-only automobile ownership is Detroit, Michigan with 73.4% of adults in this market owning domestic-only brands. Toledo, Ohio ranks second with 66.6% who own domestic-only brands, followed by:

• Peoria, Illinois (65.3%)
• Buffalo, New York (64.4%)
• Grand Rapids, Michigan (60.1%)
• Dayton, Ohio (59.7%)
• Akron, Ohio (58.3%)
• St. Louis, Missouri (57.4%)
• Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania (56.2%) 
• Cleveland, Ohio (55.6%)

The analysis further reveals that domestic-only vehicle owners exhibit above-average usage of television, direct mail, radio and newspaper. Those who own domestic-only brands are:

• 18% more likely to be heavy television viewers
• 12% more likely to be heavy direct mail users
• 9% more likely to be heavy radio listeners
• 9% more likely to be heavy newspaper readers

For the PDF report on this study, please visit The Media Audit here.