If buyers would only decide why they buy cars...

Life might be a lot easier if buyers would just decide why they buy cars. There have been a variety of studies released that contradict. It's becoming more difficult to determine exactly why people are buying cars. Which makes it even more challenging for dealers to figure out what's important to their website visitors, and how to feature their inventory for maximum qualified lead generation.

Here's a couple examples of the confusion:

A recent J.D. Powers and Associates survey asked 100,000 auto shoppers to rate their buying preferences. Fuel efficiency came in number 8. Reliability was number one and performance and style were both rated higher than economy.

Yet a AAA survey showed the exact opposite response from the consumers they asked. Automobile fuel efficiency came in as their top choice.

Kelly Blue Book also reports that 58% of consumers surveyed said that gas prices were playing a role in their car purchase decisions. This is an increase of 11 percent from the last time they were asked.

J.D. Powers and Associates also did a study on why GM buyers chose to buy GM cars. Styling was the number one reason, followed by fuel economy and performance - all ahead of the deal.

So what's a dealer to do? Cover all your bases.  The beauty of  your website is that you can easily update and showcase information.  Maybe, instead of just a traditional inventory page, you need to utilize those specials pages by criteria. You could have the fuel economy list, the performance list, and the style or image list.

Maybe it's not so much about price anymore, but about classification and focus by buyer hot buttons.