Americans Buying Smaller Engines, According to Honeywell - Engine Builder Magazine

Americans Buying Smaller Engines, According to Honeywell

As American consumers shift their
buying behavior toward more fuel-efficient vehicles, turbocharging –
already in use by roughly half of new vehicles in Europe – has emerged
as the engine technology U.S. consumers "didn’t know they wanted."

In a study of U.S. consumers released recently by Honeywell, more than
half of those who plan to purchase a vehicle in the next two years
believe fuel efficiency is more important than it was during their last
vehicle purchase. The study also found that more than 80 percent of
American consumers were more likely to consider purchasing a
turbocharged vehicle after learning that the readily available
turbocharger helps to increase the fuel efficiency of a gas engine by
up to 20 percent without sacrificing performance or reliability.

While Americans’ prioritization of fuel efficiency is new, their actual
purchase preferences are not. According to the Department of
Transportation, nine out of the 10 most popular vehicles purchased in
the recent ‘Cash for Clunkers’ program were equipped with smaller and
more fuel-efficient versions of conventional technology engines.

"The success of the ‘Cash for Clunkers’ program shows that a
consumer appetite exists for fuel-efficient options on traditional
engine platforms that don’t sacrifice the power, reliability and price
that Americans demand," said David Paja, vice president, marketing for
Honeywell Turbo Technologies. "For that reason, almost every major
automaker has announced plans to broadly introduce turbocharged engines
to the U.S. market in the coming years. We anticipate demand for gas
and diesel turbocharged engines in the U.S. market may increase from 5
percent today to 25 percent by 2014 and could top 85 percent by 2020."

The Honeywell study showed that while 90 percent of Americans had heard
of turbochargers, just over half were familiar with the technology and
only 36 percent of those people said they would consider purchasing a
turbocharged vehicle. But that number jumped to more than 80 percent
when information was shared about the benefits of turbocharging.
Specifically:

Fuel efficiency, reliability and overall cost (compared to hybrid
engines) were the top reasons U.S. consumers would consider buying a
turbocharged vehicle. While 96 percent of Americans are familiar with
hybrid technology, 84 percent of those same consumers said they would
consider buying a turbo vehicle based on cost savings versus hybrids.
Nine in 10 U.S. consumers said they are more likely to consider buying
a turbocharged vehicle after learning it increases fuel efficiency of a
gas engine by up to 20 percent without sacrificing performance.
Eighty-four percent of Americans said they were more likely to consider
a turbocharged engine when told the engines have a proven reliability
track record and are now tested to last 150,000 miles or 10 years.

The survey was conducted during a one week period in August 2009.
Approximately 1,000 random telephone interviews took place across the
United States. Demographic weights were applied to ensure the sample
accurately reflected the total population of U.S. adults.

You May Also Like

HP Academy Teaches EFI Online

The HP Academy was started to fulfill the need for some sort of formal training for EFI tuning. Two New Zealanders, Andre Simon and Ben Silcock, founded HPA in 2010.

With the ongoing COVID-19 situation, classrooms, as we know them, are not in session. You can’t physically distance in a small class in real life, but you can online. Virtual learning is now the new norm across the country. The racing industry is getting a leg up thanks to one school that is dedicated to online education. 

Utilizing Instagram

“When we started, we had no business at all… that’s when I started using Instagram,” Yaghoubian says. “Back then I didn’t know a lot about social media, but it works for business really well, and especially the automotive industry on Instagram.”

Higher Revving Education

We’ve all seen the ads in magazines and online for schools, classes and seminars on tuning an ever-increasing number of engines and even transmissions in today’s cars and trucks. The better ones will include the use of a chassis dyno to show real-time results of the step-by-step methods they teach.

Chassis vs Engine Dyno

We spoke with a couple shops that utilize both dyno types to get their take on the advantages, disadvantages and reasons to have one over the other or both.

Tradeshow Season

While the rest of the world tends to slow down in the fourth quarter, our industry is starting to rev up. That’s because it’s tradeshow season, and the excitement for next year is always palpable!

Other Posts

OE Parts vs. the Aftermarket

Many of your customers believe that OEM parts are better than aftermarket parts. We wanted to dispel some of the myths once and for all. Without getting into the mud about which brands are better. It is important to note that not all parts are created equal, and this includes both aftermarket and OE replacement parts.

Setting Up an Instagram Account

The old saying goes, “A picture is worth 1,000 words.” Well, in the world of social media, that same picture is not just worth 1,000 words, but could also be worth thousands of dollars in new business for your engine shop. By now you’ve likely seen our features on setting up and utilizing Facebook for your business. Next on our ‘to-do list’ is an introduction to Instagram for those of you who haven’t started utilizing this social media platform.

The Potential in Differential

Is growth part of your business strategy? It comes in a lot of different forms, but when it’s adding a new service offering or product for your customers, it can be nerve-racking at the very least. The additional investment in tools, equipment, training or people weighed against the unknown outcome leaves you holding all the risk, unless there is something that’s a perfect fit.

How To Put Your Facebook Page To Work

A couple months ago, we walked you through the setup of a Facebook business page. Hopefully you’ve gone ahead and created that page and took some time over the last couple months to play around with ways to engage with an audience. If not, go back and check out the February issue. It’s worth your while to do so!