Horsepower, Storage Space Losing Ground as Automotive Purchasing Decision Drivers, Survey Says

Muscle-car V8s boasted impressive power for their day. But

thanks to engineering advances, some 4-cylinder engines of

today can rival their power.  Photo: Christopher Ziemnowicz 

(released to the Public Domain).

For the past several years, the automotive media has been packed with commentary about a "horsepower renaissance," with four-cylinder motors of today boasting horsepower figures that could embarrass ginormous V8 engines from the peak of the muscle-car era.

Driven by advances in automotive engineering, horsepower has been touted as a selling point, at least to consumers with "enthusiast tendencies."

But is interest in horsepower now on the wane?

Survey findings released this week by Morning Consult suggest that the answer just might be "Yes."

In a briefing, Morning Consult disclosed that surveyed consumers, when asked about horsepower as a factor in past vs. future purchasing decisions, has dropped six percentage points in "net importance."

Storage space was also ranked six percentage points lower in net importance by the survey population, a finding that could provide a clue about the direction that the current popularity of CUVs might take.

Nevertheless, the survey findings also reflect well on the industry as a whole. Nearly 60 percent of those surveyed say their view of the industry is favorable or very favorable, and more than 75 percent see the industry as "very innovative."

And although we enthusiasts are known to look back fondly at the automotive past, that point of view is clearly in the minority among consumers across the board. Fifty-five percent of those surveyed say that "the best days are ahead" for the automotive industry.