CHICAGO, June 7 /PRNewswire/ — According to a recent survey conducted by Cars.com, a third of consumers say they are less likely to consider a car from either Chrysler or General Motors today because of their acceptance of federal bailout funding that helped save the manufacturers about a year ago. Roughly two-thirds of consumers say the bailouts have no impact on their consideration of the two manufacturers.
“Obviously, Toyota’s issues have definitely had a big impact on the market and definitely helped their competitors, GM in particular,” said Cars.com Editor in Chief Patrick Olsen. “However, while it’s clear that some consumers still hold a grudge against GM and Chrysler, a vast majority don’t factor the bailouts in their buying decision and that clearly can be seen in overall sales and leads generated through Cars.com over the last year.”
Ford continues to benefit from not taking any money in the federal bailout efforts. While most (53 percent) consumers say the fact that Ford did not take federal bailout funds will have no impact on their purchasing decision, 47 percent said they are more likely to consider Ford over GM and Chrysler.
“While there’s no doubt there is still some fallout from the financial struggles of GM and Chrysler, it has likely been mitigated by all of the issues that Toyota has had,” added Olsen. “In fact, 30 percent of consumers still feel that Toyota hasn’t addressed the safety issues with their cars and 51 percent feel Toyota has addressed some, but not all of the issues.”
About Cars.com
Cars.com is the leading destination for online car shoppers, offering credible, easy-to-understand information from consumers and experts to help buyers formulate opinions on what to buy, where to buy and how much to pay for a car. With comprehensive pricing information, side-by-side comparison tools, photo galleries, videos, unbiased editorial content and a large selection of new- and used-car inventory, Cars.com puts millions of car buyers in control of their shopping process with the information they need to make confident buying decisions.
Launched in June 1998, Cars.com is a division of Classified Ventures, LLC, which is owned by leading media companies, including Belo (NYSE:BLC) , Gannett Co., Inc. (NYSE:GCI) , The McClatchy Company (NYSE:MNI) , Tribune Company and The Washington Post Company (NYSE:WPO).
Source: Cars.com
CONTACT: Jackie Brennan, Associate Public Relations Manager,
+1-312-601-6229 (direct), +1-219-577-6106 (mobile), jbrennan@cars.com, or
 Steve Nolan, Public Relations Manager, +1-312-601-5163 (direct),
+1-630-310-2468 (mobile), snolan@cars.com, both of Cars.com
Web Site: http://www.cars.com/
