Focus Group Research for Improving Fuel Economy Label Design and Content

Focus Group Research for Fuel Economy Label Designs for Advanced Technology Vehicles (New Collection)

2343.01 pre-group survey 2-25-10

Focus Group Research for Improving Fuel Economy Label Design and Content

OMB: 2060-0632

⚠️ Notice: This form may be outdated. More recent filings and information on OMB 2060-0632 can be found here:

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Page 1

Thank you very much for agreeing to participate in one of our focus groups. As a person who recently purchased a new vehicle, your

opinions are very important to us. This brief survey will allow you to share some of your opinions before the focus groups and allow us to use

our time together most productively. All your responses will be completely confidential and will only be reported in combination with those of

other focus group participants.

The survey will take about 12 to 15 minutes of your time and is best viewed by maximizing your computer screen. Please be sure to scroll

down to the bottom of each page and click the "Next" button to proceed. The bar at the bottom of each page tells you how much of the

survey you have completed. The survey is programmed so that if you need to stop and complete it at a later time you will be brought back

to where you left off. Please click "Done" at the end of the survey so that your answers will be saved in our database. Once you have

clicked “Done”, you will not be able to make any changes.

Please complete the survey at least 2 days before your scheduled focus group. Thank you for sharing your opinions and we look forward to

meeting you in person!

Introduction

Focus Group Information

1. Please indicate your full name here

Focus Group Information

Page 2

In this section we are interested in the type of new vehicle you purchased most recently during the last 12 months.

2. Please indicate the focus group you will be attending.

Vehicle Information

3. How often do you typically purchase a new vehicle?

Vehicle Information

Seattle – 3/8 (6:30 pm - 8:30 pm)

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Seattle – 3/9 (6:30 pm - 8:30 pm)

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Charlotte – 2/25 (6:00 pm - 8:00 pm)

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Charlotte – 2/25 (8:15 pm - 10:15 pm)

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Houston – 3/3 (6:00 pm - 8:00 pm)

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Houston – 3/3 (8:15 pm - 10:15 pm)

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Chicago – 3/4 (6:00 pm - 8:00 pm)

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Chicago – 3/4 (8:15 pm - 10:15 pm)

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Every year

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Every 2 years

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Every 3 years

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Every 4 years

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Every 5 years

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Longer than every 5 years

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4. When did you purchase your most recent new vehicle?

5. What is the type of new vehicle you purchased most recently? (For example – Ford Explorer.)

Make

Model

6. How many city and highway miles does this vehicle get per gallon?

City

Highway

7. In a typical week, how many days is your new vehicle driven?

Last 3 months

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4 to 6 months

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More than 6 months

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8. In a typical week, for what trip purposes do you use your new vehicle? (check all that apply)

Vehicle Information

9. Are you the principal driver of this vehicle?

Vehicle Information

10. About how many miles per year is this vehicle driven?

Travel to or from work

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Travel to or from school

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Errands/shopping

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Non-commute work-related travel

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Recreational or entertainment activities

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Visit family or friends

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Medical appointments

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Other

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Yes

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0-9,000 miles

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9,001-12,000 miles

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12,001-15,000 miles

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15,001-20,000 miles

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More than 20,000 miles

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Page 5

Here we’re interested in the process you used to choose your most recent new vehicle.

Process of Selecting Vehicle

11. Thinking about the vehicle you purchased new most recently, briefly describe the method that you

used to decide which vehicle to buy?

Process of Selecting Vehicle

Page 6

12. Thinking about this vehicle, please rate each of the following factors in regard to how important

they were in your decision to buy this vehicle. (Please use a scale of 1 to 10, with 1 being 'not important

at all' and 10 being 'very important'.)

1 - not

important

at all

10 - very

important

Safety

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Gas mileage / Fuel economy

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Warranty

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Brand name

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Features (such as stereo, GPS)

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Emissions

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Size / Interior volume

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Performance / Handling / Power

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Seating capacity

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Comfortable to drive

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Towing capacity

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Reliability/repair costs

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Price / Affordability

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Interior and exterior appearance

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Other (specify below)

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Process of Selecting Vehicle

If you chose 'other' above, please specify

Page 7

13. Did you have a specific type of vehicle in mind when you first started looking for a new vehicle?

Process of Selecting Vehicle

14. Which types of vehicles did you seriously consider when you first started looking for a new vehicle?

(Check all that apply.)

Process of Selecting Vehicle

15. Was this the same type of vehicle you ended up purchasing?

16. If no, why not?

Process of Selecting Vehicle

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Yes

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Don't know

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Sports car

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Subcompact car

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Compact car

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Midsize car

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Large car

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Station wagon

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Sport utility vehicle (SUV)

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Crossover

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Pickup truck

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Minivan

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Full-size van

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Other

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Yes

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Page 8

Now we’re interested in how you thought about fuel economy when you shopped for your most recently purchased new vehicle.

17. How many vehicles did you compare before making your decision?

Process of Selecting Vehicle

18. Please list the vehicles you did consider before making your final purchase decision? (For example -

Honda Accord.)

Process of Selecting Vehicle

19. What or who did you rely on the most when deciding which vehicle to purchase?

Role of Fuel Economy in Vehicle Purchase

Just considered 1 make and model

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5 or more

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Role of Fuel Economy in Vehicle Purchase

20. On a scale of 1 to 10, where 1 is ‘not important at all’ and 10 is ‘very important’, how important a

consideration was fuel economy when choosing your new vehicle?

1 = Not

important at

all

10 = Very

important

Level of importance

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Role of Fuel Economy in Vehicle Purchase

21. Before buying your most recent new vehicle, did you search for information about fuel

economy/fuel consumption?

Role of Fuel Economy in Vehicle Purchase

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Yes

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Don't know

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22. Where did you search for information on fuel economy/fuel consumption? (please check all that

apply)

23. If you searched other places for this information, please specify where.

Role of Fuel Economy in Vehicle Purchase

24. Who do you consider a trusted source of fuel economy information?

Role of Fuel Economy in Vehicle Purchase

25. Do you consider the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency a trusted source of information for fuel

economy?

Other (please specify below)

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Asked others who have similar vehicle

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Environmental organization

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Government Web sites (e.g. fueleconomy.gov, EPA Green Vehicle Guide)

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Auto dealers

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Television ads

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Newspapers

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Edmunds.com

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Radio ads

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Manufacturers' Web sites

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Fuel economy label on vehicles

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Auto magazine (e.g. Car & Driver, Road & Track, Motor Trend)

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Consumer Reports

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Yes

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Page 11

We are interested in your thoughts about the fuel economy label as a source of information.

26. If yes, why?

27. If no, why not?

Use of Fuel Economy Label

28. Do you remember seeing the fuel economy label on vehicle windows when shopping for your most

recent new vehicle ?

Use of Fuel Economy Label

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Yes

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Don't know

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This is where the fuel economy label is usually found.

Page 13

29. Do you remember seeing it?

Use of Fuel Economy Label

30. On a scale of 1 to 10, where 1 is ‘not important at all’ and 10 is ‘very important’, how important was

the fuel economy label in helping you to choose the make and model of your most recent new vehicle ?

1 = Not

important at

all

10 = Very

important

Level of importance

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Use of Fuel Economy Label

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Yes

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Don't know

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31. Thinking about the information shown on the label, please rate each piece of information in regard

to how helpful it was to you in choosing your vehicle. (Please use a scale of 1 to 10, with 1 being 'not

helpful at all' and 10 being 'very helpful'.)

1 - not

helpful

at all

10 -

very

helpful

City mpg

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Expected range for most drivers in regard to highway mpg

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Expected range for most drivers in regard to city mpg

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Statement ‘Your actual mileage will vary depending on how you drive and maintain your vehicle’

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Reference to the ‘Free Fuel Economy Guide at dealers or www.fueleconomy.gov’

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Highway mpg

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Estimated annual fuel cost

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Combined fuel economy comparison to other vehicles in the vehicle class

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Page 15

Use of Fuel Economy Label

32. Is there anything on the fuel economy label that is hard to understand or that could be improved?

Use of Fuel Economy Label

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Yes

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33. What is hard to understand or what could be improved?

Environmental Issues

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In this section we want to introduce you to another way of thinking about fuel economy. There are no questions to answer, just information

that we want you to read and think about before the focus group.

Assume that a person drives 10,000 miles per year and is contemplating buying a new vehicle. Which of the following scenarios do you think

would reduce gas consumption the most?

A. Current vehicle - 15 mpg (or 6.7 gal/100 mi); New vehicle - 20 mpg (or 5.0 gal/100 mi)

B. Current vehicle - 30 mpg (or 3.3 gal/100 mi); New vehicle - 35 mpg (or 2.9 gal/100 mi)

Some people think ‘gallons per 100 miles’ is more useful information than ‘miles per gallon’ because it is more directly related to the amount of

fuel consumed and to how much you spend on fuel.

Please be sure to think about this issue before you come to the focus group.

In this section we would like to know a little bit about you. Please remember that all of your answers are strictly confidential.

34. Please rate each of the following environmental concerns on a scale of 1 to 10 (with 1 being "not a

concern at all' and 10 being a 'serious concern'.)

1 - not a

concern at

all

10 - serious

concern

Greenhouse gases

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Smog

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Burning coal for electricity

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Carbon Dioxide (CO2)

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Toxic exhaust emissions

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Drilling for oil

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Climate change/global warming

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Fuel Consumption

Demographics

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35. How many working vehicles does your household have?

36. How many licensed drivers in your household?

37. What is your gender?

38. Which of the following

ranges includes your age?

Demographics

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5 or more

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5 or more

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Male

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Female

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20-24

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25-34

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35-44

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45-54

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55-64

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65 or over

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Page 19

39. What is the highest level of education you have completed?

40. Which of the following categories includes your household's total

2009 income (before taxes)?

Less than high school

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High school diploma or GED

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Some college / AA degree / Technical school degree

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College graduate (Bachelor's degree or equivalent)

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Postgraduate degree (Masters, Doctorate, Law, Medical)

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Less than $15,000

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$15,000 to less than $25,000

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$25,000 to less than $50,000

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$50,000 to less than $75,000

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$75,000 to less than $100,000

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$100,000 to less than $125,000

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$125,000 to less than $150,000

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$150,000 or more

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File Modified	2010-02-25
File Created	2010-02-25