German car’s have long been criticized of being over-engineered; with more gadgets and gizmos than people know what to do with. Now it all makes sense. The recent findings in the Scarborough Research/RAB Automotive Study show that American BMW owners are crazy about new technology and media.
According to Scarborough, BMW owners are more likely to purchase personal technology such as MP3 players, GPS devices etc and new media such as HDTV, TiVo etc, than the national average. The research firm says this could be a good thing when it comes to high definition radio. Scarborough finds that people planning to purchase a luxury vehicle in their household during the next year are 20 percent more likely than the national average to be among radio’s most avid listeners.
"The consumer is ready for advanced technology to integrate in many areas of their lives including radio listening. Given that luxury car drivers are also avid radio listeners, this is a great place to begin," said Howard Goldberg, senior vice president, radio services, Scarborough Research. "BMW’s recent announcement to offer high definition radio will most likely receive consumer receptivity and installation will certainly pave the way for other manufacturers to follow."
Statistics from the report are listed below:
MEDIA/TECHNOLOGY INDEX (100=National Average)
Amount spent on purchases made on Internet past 12 months: $1,000 or more 277
Type of Internet connection HHLD uses: Broadband (DSL or Cable) 173
Items household owns: Digital Video Recorder (TiVo, etc.) 149
Type of cable service HHLD subscribes to (HHLD): Digital cable 146
Video On Demand used past 30 days (HHLD) 184
Ways online services used past 30 days:
Download music/listen to audio clips** 175
Items household owns: HDTV (HHLD)** 237
Items household owns: MP3 player/iPod** 227
Items household owns: Personal Digital Assistant 257
