A study from the Maritz Automotive Research Group says Cash for Clunkers was far more effective than anyone is giving it credit for, concluding that "...90% of program participants say they would not have purchased a new car without the government incentive -- a far higher percentage than originally estimated."

If reading this quote didn't make you laugh out loud you're obviously not in the car business.  If you are in the car business or if you pay any attention whatsoever to it, you knew back in August 2009 that 100% of Cash for Clunkers buyers wouldn't -- or couldn't -- have pulled the trigger on a new car purchase in the absence of a four grand spiff for their worthless gas-guzzling jalopies. You would also know enough to consider the source of this kind of fuzzymath surveying and would take such findings with a grain of salt, if not a topped-off saltshaker. Here's more about auto industry "researchers" like Maritz...

Ultimately, the majority of car buyers tell a fib or two at some juncture on the road to the sale.  If not during the car-buying process then certainly with the completion of a Purchase Experience Survey received via snail mail or e-mail prior to the end of the first month of their ownership. 

If human nature hasn't already caused a proud new owner to brag about blowing the doors off a much more expensive vehicle or to highball his trade-in allowance or to overstate the fuel economy on that first road trip, then once a buyer checks a dozen or more Completely Satisfied boxes on the aforementioned survey he is as guilty of exaggeration as any car salesman who might have convinced him to do so.

Most car manufacturers employ firms like the Maritz Automotive Research Group (Maritz administers sales/service customer satisfaction data for GM dealerships and several other automakers) to record the results of customers' showroom experience surveys. Most carmakers either offer their dealers a bonus for achieving a certain CSI (Customer Satisfaction Index) or they exact substantial pecking order penalties for sub-par annual average survey-based ratings.

Now you know why your salesperson always begs you to cover him and his co-workers when that survey hits your mailbox.  CSI is so important that some dealerships push the envelope, risking disenfranchisement, by offering a quid pro quo such as a free oil change or a full-service car wash in return for a survey that states 100% satisfaction.

Most people would agree that completely satisfied implies experiential perfection. However, given that not a single person or machine is perfect, it is extremely difficult to imagine that every single element of the sale and delivery of a new car could possibly be flawless -- even if all promises were cheerfully fulfilled. 

What about that lint on the carpet or that smeared exterior rear-view mirror glass? What about the mysterious squeak that made you worry while you were driving home from work yesterday?  What about those accessories that are on national backorder?

If you had been treated to an enjoyable buying experience and took the extra time to include an optional comment with your survey, one that praised your dealer for making it so, your answer to any single survey question with anything less than a checkmark in the completely satisfied box would still be tantamount to calling everyone you had contact with at ABC Motors an uncaring, untruthful clods.

In effect there is no real numerical grade for these new vehicle customer satisfaction tests.  They merely generate a thumbs-up or thumbs-down result.  Nonetheless, they somehow get extrapolated into a CSI score that resembles the collegiate grade point average model. 

Simply stated, and depending on the car company and its survey firm, a dealer will need four or five "perfect" surveys to overcome every trashing in which the customer has failed to check the completely satisfied box next to each and every survey question -- even if not a single answer indicates dissatisfaction!

A new study from the eddobloggo® Automotive Research Group says "...90% of new car buyers would have purchased a new car without knowing their dealership's CSI score -- a far higher percentage than originally estimated by Maritz."

The other 10% are left wondering why the showroom in which they bought their new car is part of a Crime Scene Investigation.  That's not exactly the kind of thought process tie-in that the auto industry should want customers to have during these tough economic times. 

Perhaps an extra four grand thrown at every trade-in, like the government did during Cash for Clunkers, would make car dealers more respected?  Better scratch that idea because carguys' CSI may be low but the government's is far worse.

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