Doubts About Hybrids, Drinking Before 21, Etc.

While the market for hybrid cars is growing, a pair of new surveys find many consumers wary of the technology. And it's not just that they're skeptical about the claims made for hybrids' miles per gallon. In a poll conducted via the Web site of Kelley Blue Book, 61 percent of respondents said they're "very concerned about the difficulty and expense of fixing the complicated technology of hybrids." Nearly as many (55 percent) said they're very concerned about the cars' "limited battery-pack life." People who said they're interested in hybrids were willing to pay a premium of $2,355, on average, to get one. The catch is, the actual price differential is much larger. A study by R.L. Polk & Co. notes that a hybrid now costs from $4,000 to $9,000 more than its conventionally powered equivalent. The same Polk study finds price is a sticking point for many consumers. "Sixty-one percent of those who never owned a hybrid vehicle indicate that the mere cost to buy this type of vehicle could be a deterrent to them." If your boss is a bully, you aren't alone—and neither is he or she. In a new Spherion Workplace Snapshot Survey, working adults were asked whether they would or would not describe their current manager as a bully. Thirteen percent said they would classify the boss as a bully, while 69 percent said they would not. The rest wimped out and said they were "neutral." Men were more likely than women to say their boss is a bully (15 percent vs. 10 percent). Counterintuitively, a breakdown by income found the highest "bully" vote (at 15 percent) among people who make $75,000-plus, while it was lowest (8 percent) among those making less than $15,000. In the same poll, 74 percent of workers said they have a "positive" relationship with their manager, while 9 percent said they have a "negative" relationship and the rest were neutral.When hiring is on the increase, it can also signal a rise in the number of people who are relocating to take new jobs. That's the case now, according to a survey by Challenger, Gray & Christmas among managers and executives. During the second quarter of this year, 16.4 percent of those who took a new job also took a new city. The employers often made it worth their while, as 89 percent of people who found a job (whether in a new locale or where they were already) got positions as good as or better than their previous posts.Bad news for thirsty 18-year-olds: A large majority of adults favor keeping the minimum drinking age at 21. In an ABC News/ Washington Post poll, 78 percent of respondents voiced that opinion. There wasn't a breakdown for respondents in the 18-20 age range, but 73 percent of those in the 18-34 bracket said they favor keeping the law as is. Meanwhile, women were more likely than men to say that underage drinking is a very serious problem in their communities (37 percent vs. 28 percent). There was also a wide regional disparity on that issue: 23 percent of Northeasterners, vs. 41 percent of Westerners, said it's a very serious problem.We're a nation of bundlers. A survey by J.D. Power and Associates finds 75 percent of households now bundle their local and long-distance phone service with a single provider— up from 51 percent as recently as a year ago. The study also finds a decline in switching from one provider to another. In the new poll, 10 percent of respondents reported switching their local service during the past year, down from 17 percent in the research firm's 2004 survey. For long-distance service, 12 percent of this year's respondents reported switching, down from 31 percent of last year's. And just 7 percent said they're likely to switch in the future, vs. 17 percent in last year's survey.Gee, how do you suppose an ad agency would get the idea of someone being covered in garbage on a client's behalf? In any case, this must be one of those good-news, bad-news situations for the woman in the photo—getting to star in an ad for the Minnesota Lottery, but having to stand in an oversized garbage can to do it. At least she'll have the satisfaction of delivering welcome news to Minnesota lottery players: Their losing scratch-off tickets could turn into winners after all in the new "second chance" drawing. Colle+McVoy of Minneapolis created the ad.

Brand Marketing

Doubts About Hybrids, Drinking Before 21, Etc.

Mark Dolliver

About

Subscriptions

Events

Publications

WORK SMARTER - LEARN, GROW AND BE INSPIRED.

Subscribe today!

Mark Dolliver