Republicans buy domestic, Democrats buy imports.

I find this pretty interesting. By the way the politcal landscape is painted, you'd assume it to be the exact opposite...

Anyway, found it interesting considering the other thread...


Mixed Results from Political Survey of Buyers

CNW Marketing Research, Inc., a West Coast firm headed by old Detroit hand Art Spinella, has published a curious report on the political leanings of new car buyers. Basically, the overall results from some 150,000 respondents over a year's time are hardly surprising:

-The split between Republicans and Democrats is virtually the same as the popular vote outcome of the November 2004 presidential election, 29.7 percent vs. 28.7 percent.

-Generally, Republicans favor domestic brands and Democrats like the imports but this reflects the Red Republican (center and south) geographical division versus the West Coast and New England Blue Democratic states, and the fact imports have always been more popular on the coasts.

-The research firm reports the proportion of car buyers classifying themselves "independent" has nearly doubled since first asked in the late 1980s, from about 22 percent up to nearly 42 percent.

Oddly, among the handful of buyers of high-priced super-luxury model Rolls, Bentley, Maybach, and Maserati, the split between GOP and Dems is about even *but few among these few call themselves independent. On the other hand, it is hard to figure why Scion, aimed at the youngest generation buyers, attracts the highest proportion of self-proclaimed independents, 66 percent.

Among volume cars, the one having the largest proportion of Republican buyers is Lincoln (39.3 percent), closely followed by Buick (39.0 percent), Mercury (38.4 percent), Cadillac (37.7 percent), and Chrysler (36.8 percent). More Democrats (42.1 percent) favor Subaru than any other make, followed by VW (39.5 percent), Honda (37.3 percent) and, surprise, Buick (36.9 percent).

Least popular among Republicans are Suzuki, Scion, Saturn, Kia, and Hyundai, probably reflecting youth and entry-level economics. Least favored by Dems are Mercury, Dodge, and, ahem, HUMMER.

Without knowing how the relevant questions were posed and the response rate to the political-*leaning question, it's hard to know what to make of all this. But we thought TCC readers would like to gnaw on these results. And please don't blame us for any resulting altercations. -Mike Davis

My GF is a Dem and drive a Ford Taurus :blah: I'm an Independant and have owned nothing but Chevys and a Pontiac :usa:

Republicans hate all the same cars I hate. :thumb: I love HUMMER. It would be interesting to see how many people that don't like HUMMER can't afford one.

My GF is a Dem and drive a Ford Taurus :blah:

I'm an Independant and have owned nothing but Chevys and a Pontiac :usa:

Republicans hate all the same cars I hate. :thumb:

Ya, you gotta figure there are exceptions to every rule... I almost blew it off, but then I saw the sample size... 150,000 people is somewhat significant...


I found it interesting, because I always had the impression that Democrats would overwhelmingly buy domestic, and Republicans would take up most of the imports...

Ya, you gotta figure there are exceptions to every rule... I almost blew it off, but then I saw the sample size... 150,000 people is somewhat significant...


I found it interesting, because I always had the impression that Democrats would overwhelmingly buy domestic, and Republicans would take up most of the imports...I've never felt that way at all. Dems like to paint the Repubs (at least of late) as hill-billy, redneck simpletons, and people tend to put Chevy/Ford/Dodge in that camp, while the Honda/Toyota cars are for the intellectuals of the world.

I see where you are coming from though, with big labor (unions) having the dems in their pocket, you'd think that a bunch of dems would buy Big 3 products (and they do). Remember, not all dems are driving imports, and not all republicans are driving domestics. Plus, although the union leadership has basically sold out its membership to the Dems, there are plenty of conservative blue collar union members out there whose opinions are basically drowned out by the leadership.

I've never felt that way at all. Dems like to paint the Repubs (at least of late) as hill-billy, redneck simpletons, and people tend to put Chevy/Ford/Dodge in that camp, while the Honda/Toyota cars are for the intellectuals of the world.

This is a good alternative point of view... though, at leats in my head, this is a more recent development... but, I can understand that point of view as well.


I see where you are coming from though, with big labor (unions) having the dems in their pocket, you'd think that a bunch of dems would buy Big 3 products (and they do).

This is the angle I was seeing it from. I suppose my heavily Democratic area and the fact that we have a GM plant would effect the way things are presented to me in my area.


Remember, not all dems are driving imports, and not all republicans are driving domestics. Plus, although the union leadership has basically sold out its membership to the Dems, there are plenty of conservative blue collar union members out there whose opinions are basically drowned out by the leadership.

Absolutely... I just found it to be an interesting trend from the sample polled.

Most problems in society are the result of Liberal philosophy.

:mad:

WRT to the Lincoln, Mercury, Buick thing. If you ever looked around in traffic or at Denny's on a Sunday morning, and observed at at who'se driving all those big Park Avenues, Town cars, Buicks Century, Crown Vics etc... it's older people in their 50,60s and 70s and up :). No surpise, these folk tend to vote very consevatively. No surpise either that they buy cars that are also very conservative looking. Right there, that explains a signifcant chunk of those numbers.

Most problems in society are the result of Liberal philosophy.

:mad:

You sir are a ****ing dumbass (for attempting to turn this into a flamefest).

WRT to the Lincoln, Mercury, Buick thing. If you ever looked around in traffic or at Denny's on a Sunday morning, and observed at at who'se driving all those big Park Avenues, Town cars, Buicks Century, Crown Vics etc... it's older people in their 50,60s and 70s and up :). No surpise, these folk tend to vote very consevatively. No surpise either that they buy cars that are also very conservative looking. Right there, that explains a signifcant chunk of those numbers.


I can see your point about the age thing and the conservative looking vehicles... but... most Hondas, Toyotas, etc are pretty conservative looking too, IMHO...


But point taken.

Still, you'd think Democrats, particularly the younger ones, would purchase Chevrolet, Ford, Dodge, Saturn, Pontiac....

Most problems in society are the result of Liberal philosophy.

:mad:

Hey, lets not go there. :no:

Quite interesting, although I'd like to have seen a bit more indepth look at the results. It'd be interesting to see what party drives what type of vehicle, regardless of what shore it arrived from. I'd put my chips on the whim that Repubs tend to drive trucks/SUVs whereas Dems favor more heavily cars which is consistant with the current crop of redneck-Repubs vs. the Tree Huggers...

-Jason

I can see your point about the age thing and the conservative looking vehicles... but... most Hondas, Toyotas, etc are pretty conservative looking too, IMHO...


But point taken.

Still, you'd think Democrats, particularly the younger ones, would purchase Chevrolet, Ford, Dodge, Saturn, Pontiac....

We do! :) 75% of our vehlicles are domestic. Among friends and collegues, I estimate it's pretty much a 50/50 split, both ways where folks own domestic and imports. I prefer to buy domestic if I can to support our Economy. The only reason I bought a Honda was because I needed a used car (hence older) for Winter in hurry and couldn't find anything domestic that I liked the look of (in terms of reliability, condition etc.).

We do! :) 75% of our vehlicles are domestic. Among friends and collegues, I estimate it's pretty much a 50/50 split, both ways where folks own domestic and imports. I prefer to buy domestic if I can to support our Economy. The only reason I bought a Honda was because I needed use car (hence older) for Winter in hurry and couldn't find anything domestic that I liked the look of.


I keep going back to the sample size of this poll though... 150,000 people is a lot more than anyone here can relate to on a personal level...

It's hard to argue that those numbers are very far from an acurate representation...

It makes sense really. The big Dem areas of the country are the west coast and the NE. Where are the highest percentage of imports? The west coast followd by the NE.
Most college and people who just graduated from college seem to drive imports (hondas, scions) and the majority of college students are more liberal than the average.
Then once they get out in the workforce and start paying taxes they become independent or republican like what happened to me.

two things

1) old people are more conservative and buy more domestics because that is all that there was back in the day and thats the way they like it.

2) young people are more "liberal" for lack of a better word. They are willing to try new things. Younger people also want to be individuals and not drive the same cars as everyone else, that is why you will never see one model car sell 1/2 million a year ever again. A lot of people now a days have no brand loyalty, they just want the best product for the money.

But wouldn't the whole Democratic creedo "we're the working man's party" almost mandate that they buy American...??? I know we could get back into the arguement that some import vehciles are built in America, but as a general rule, imports are imported, domestics are built here...

Isn't it hypocritical of a Democrat to buy an imported vehicle?

Democrat.
5 Chevies and 1 Ford.
Even my lawnmower is a domestic. :D

I keep going back to the sample size of this poll though... 150,000 people is a lot more than anyone here can relate to on a personal level...

It's hard to argue that those numbers are very far from an acurate representation...

But we do not know how well distrubted the poll was. Also, skewed sampling produces skewed data. So, respectfully, I must disagree. Dare I say it, (and I mean this in a non-flamy way), that it's also possible the samples or resulting data were deliberately skewed so as to subtly suggest that some Democrats are somehow not as patriotic as Republicans. As I say, no flames meant, just acknowledging that propaganda comes in all sizes, shapes and forms :). What about the "BMW drivers get more sex than Mercedes and Audi drivers" polls? Again.... these kinds of 'skewed' polls are sometimes taken a for a reason... to proliferate an image and get more people to buy into that image.

But we do not know how well distrubted the poll was. Also, skewed sampling produces skewed data. So, respectfully, I must disagree. Dare I say it, (and I mean this in a non-flamy way), that it's also possible the samples or resulting data were deliberately skewed so as to subtly suggest that some Democrats are somehow not as patriotic as Republicans. As I say, no flames meant, just acknowledging that propaganda comes in all sizes, shapes and forms :). What about the "BMW drivers get more sex than Mercedes and Audi drivers" polls? Again.... these kinds of 'skewed' polls are sometimes taken a for a reason... to proliferate an image and get more people to buy into that image.


I 100% agree that how well distributed the sampling is could play a part...

I originally had that in my last reply, but I removed it because I started thinking... A Republican is a Reblican whether he or she is in Texas or New York... same thing for Democrats.

I figured the biggest effect that it could have if this poll were taken in a heavily Democtratic area, or a heavily Republican area is that you have more of one group, and less of the other... but the percentages would still be generally the same as far as what the Dems were driving and what the Repubicans were driving...

Not everyone that is Hardcore one party or the other. I know republicans that smoke pot and support a womens right to a safe abortion.

But wouldn't the whole Democratic creedo "we're the working man's party" almost mandate that they buy American...??? I know we could get back into the arguement that some import vehciles are built in America, but as a general rule, imports are imported, domestics are built here...

Isn't it hypocritical of a Democrat to buy an imported vehicle?

One more thing Darth..

At the end of the day, whether you buy domestic or import, I don't think it's a very good measure of how patriotic someone is as some might suggest :). For one thing, we're are seeing *more and more* outsourcing (which I dislike) of domestic build operations without any real oposition from this Admin. It could be argued that that's not patriotic either, taking jobs from Americans and moving them overseas. This line between what is domestic and what is imported is getting thinner, so the general rule you mention above while it still holds true for now is going to be less applicable as China, Mexico, Korea and India continue taking more and more domestic manufacturing jobs from the US.

Not everyone that is Hardcore one party or the other. I know republicans that smoke pot and support a womens right to a safe abortion.

Absolutely... totally agree.

There are always going to be exceptions... often sizable groups... but I keep going back to the 150,000 sample size.

Unless the distribution, like Z28Marcus mentioned, happens to extremely skew the outcome of the numbers, I gotta think that the sample size is enough to give at least a realistic "ballpark" figure in the results.

One more thing Darth..

At the end of the day, whether you buy domestic or import, I don't think it's a very good measure of how patriotic someone is as you're angling to suggest :). For one thing, we're are seeing *more and more* outsourcing (which I dislike) of domestic build operations without any real oposition from this Admin. It could be argued that that's not patriotic either, taking jobs from Americans and moving them overseas. This line between what is domestic and what is imported is getting thinner, so the general rule you mention above while it still holds true for now is going to be less applicable as China, Mexico, Korea and India start taking more and more domestic manufacturing jobs from the US.

Well, I'm trying to take a relatively neutral stance in this, because I do find it more of a "hypocritical" thing on the Democratic side, than a "Patriotic" thing on the Republican side...

But, your second paragraph backs up my thought even more... the way Republicans are painted (supporting outsourcing of jobs, etc) then they should be the ones buying the imports, and even if they did... it at least would NOT be hypocritical, because they would just be supporting what they are painted as doing anyway...

Notice this report just says "generally".. no stats.


I wouldn't look to deep into these stats... besides, your free to buy whatever car.... Its like saying if you shop at Walmart, your unpatriotic beacuaes 95% of the stuff there is made overseas..

heh, i was at Target the other day, and bought some cotton towels to clean my car with.. At checkout, I was reading the label.. and they were made in Afganistan! Can't believe its still cheaper to ship towels overseas to here, rather than make them in the US itself.

Notice this report just says "generally".. no stats.





While it does say "generally", it later provides percentage statistics.

Also, to Z28Marcus, I glossed over this reading it the first time, but right here it says it is a realistic representation of both Republicans and Democrats in terms of volume... so I have to think this is acceptibale as far as distribution of the numbers polled:

"-The split between Republicans and Democrats is virtually the same as the popular vote outcome of the November 2004 presidential election, 29.7 percent vs. 28.7 percent. "

Well, I'm trying to take a relatively neutral stance in this, because I do find it more of a "hypocritical" thing on the Democratic side, than a "Patriotic" thing on the Republican side...

But, your second paragraph backs up my thought even more... the way Republicans are painted (supporting outsourcing of jobs, etc) then they should be the ones buying the imports, and even if they did... it at least would NOT be hypocritical, because they would just be supporting what they are painted as doing anyway...

Heh. Point taken, you did say hypocritical :).

Doesn't mean the Republican support for outsourcing is good for America though.

Take a look at Walmart (big Rep. supporters and very anti-union). 90% of the stuff on sale there is now made in China or Korea or India. and it's usually crap quality made of flimsy plastic and designed not to last but be tossed away. A relative of mine who is now in her 70s now was telling me the other day how one time, it all used to be made in the good old USA. It's very sad to see this because it means, jobs have been lost in this country and it part of what made this country great has been lost too. I don't want to see the Walmartization of America's Auto industry. Then there will be nothing left to be proud of when the new 2016 6th gen Camaro comes out and 80% of it comes from China or South Korea.

Ok I'm done here.... cuz we're never gonna agree on some things :p

Heh. Point taken, you did say hypocritical :).

Doesn't mean the Republican support for outsourcing is good for America though.

Take a look at Walmart. 90% of the stuff on sale there is now made in China or Korea or India. and it's usually crap quality made of flimsy plastic and designed not to last but be tossed away. A relative of mine who is now in her 70s now was telling me the other day how one time, it all used to be made in the good old USA. It's very sad to see this because it means, jobs have been lost in this country and it part of what made this country great has been lost too. I don't want to see the Walmartization of America's Auto industry. Then there will be nothing left to be proud of when the new 2016 6th gen Camaro comes out and 80% of it comes from China or South Korea.


Ya, I wasn't really trying to bring the "right or wrong" of outsourcing jobs, or anything like that into it as much as thinking that it is pretty hypocrtical for the "working man's party" to be the majority buyer of imported vehicles...

There is no political basis for cars. My uncle is a democrat, and he owns a 2002 SS and a Pontiac 3800 Trans-port. My mom is a republican and she owns a 2002 Honda CR-V, my sister is an independent and owns a 2002 Civic. I am a democrat and I own a 1995 LT1 Formula.

Also the Ford Focus is made in mexico, but the Honda Civic is made in the United States.

Why the hell would I support Ford when they out source our jobs? I am not going to blindly follow a company because they happen to claim to be American.

Isen't it hypocritical of George Bush to claim he is for clean air? But then pass legislation to allow more smog?

It's politics, and if you want to talk about it. There are forums for it besides a car forum.

Especially when you posted in the wrong forum, this is for 5th generation F-bodys.

-Z28WannaB



But wouldn't the whole Democratic creedo "we're the working man's party" almost mandate that they buy American...??? I know we could get back into the arguement that some import vehciles are built in America, but as a general rule, imports are imported, domestics are built here...

Isn't it hypocritical of a Democrat to buy an imported vehicle?

Ya, I wasn't really trying to bring the "right or wrong" of outsourcing jobs, or anything like that into it as much as thinking that it is pretty hypocrtical for the "working man's party" to be the majority buyer of imported vehicles...

The term imported is essentially a play on words in this instance because it does not actually represent where the money goes, or where the cars were in fact built.

Its a inaccurate generalized term you are using to come to a erroneous conclusion which has no factual or statistical basis.

- Z28 WannaB

There is no political basis for cars.



Why the hell would I support Ford when they out source our jobs? .


Um....... talk about contradicting yourself!



It's politics, and if you want to talk about it. There are forums for it besides a car forum.

Especially when you posted in the wrong forum, this is for 5th generation F-bodys.

-Z28WannaB

I posted it here, because:

1) It relates to cars.

2) There is another thread somewhat related to this in this forum.

3) Politics are not "all I want to talk about", in fact I almost never do talk about it here. But it's nice that someone who never posts here, and has been here less than a year seems to think they have a better grasp on what is appropriate for discussion here or not. Look, this thread has been very civil, keep it that way.

Also if you really want to draw some conclusion where none should actually be made.

You could say since democrats are the working man, they have less money than republicans which are supported by large business such as the oil industry, tobacco, Rx, ect ect.

Seeing as how they have less money they choose to drive the best car for their money which may or may not always be American.

That is assuming you want to draw a conclusion. Or maybe they don't want to support the middle east, so they get cars that get better gas mileage from japan. Perhaps they would rather support the Japanese than Dictatorships?

- Z28WannaB

The vehicle breakdown is kinda weird though

Among volume cars, the one having the largest proportion of Republican buyers is Lincoln (39.3 percent), closely followed by Buick (39.0 percent), Mercury (38.4 percent), Cadillac (37.7 percent), and Chrysler (36.8 percent). More Democrats (42.1 percent) favor Subaru than any other make, followed by VW (39.5 percent), Honda (37.3 percent) and, surprise, Buick (36.9 percent).

how does that exactly work since the numbers don't add up to 100%? I guess more than two cars? Does that mean while the republicans do own a domestic, they also own a Lexus,Acura, BMW, or Mercedes too?

And it looks like the Repubs generally buy the more expesnive brands too.. vs the Dem's cheaper Subaru's, VW's, and Honda's... If you look at it that way, who's closer to the "working man" then?










While it does say "generally", it later provides percentage statistics.

Also, to Z28Marcus, I glossed over this reading it the first time, but right here it says it is a realistic representation of both Republicans and Democrats in terms of volume... so I have to think this is acceptibale as far as distribution of the numbers polled:

"-The split between Republicans and Democrats is virtually the same as the popular vote outcome of the November 2004 presidential election, 29.7 percent vs. 28.7 percent. "

The term imported is essentially a play on words in this instance because it does not actually represent where the money goes, or where the cars were in fact built.


There is no play on words. As a general rule, Hondas, Toyotas, etc are imported. If you read the thread, I already said not all were this way, but the majority are. The inverse is true for domestics.


Its a inaccurate generalized term you are using to come to a erroneous conclusion which has no factual or statistical basis.



It's quite factual indeed. You are incorrect.

Also if you really want to draw some conclusion where none should actually be made.

You could say since democrats are the working man, they have less money than republicans which are supported by large business such as the oil industry, tobacco, Rx, ect ect.

Seeing as how they have less money they choose to drive the best car for their money which may or may not always be American.

- Z28WannaB


Again, typical hypocritical statements.

If the Democrats are "for the working man"... you certainly would hope they would take pride in the products he and his brothers build!!

The vehicle breakdown is kinda weird though

Among volume cars, the one having the largest proportion of Republican buyers is Lincoln (39.3 percent), closely followed by Buick (39.0 percent), Mercury (38.4 percent), Cadillac (37.7 percent), and Chrysler (36.8 percent). More Democrats (42.1 percent) favor Subaru than any other make, followed by VW (39.5 percent), Honda (37.3 percent) and, surprise, Buick (36.9 percent).

how does that exactly work since the numbers don't add up to 100%? I guess more than two cars? Does that mean while the republicans do own a domestic, they also own a Lexus,Acura, BMW, or Mercedes too?



I believe the stats work out like this:

Take Lincoln for example (39.3% Republican buyers) The remaining 60.7% would be split between Democrats and Independants... with neither having a higher percentage than 39.3%...

And it looks like the Repubs generally buy the more expesnive brands too.. vs the Dem's cheaper Subaru's, VW's, and Honda's... If you look at it that way, who's closer to the "working man" then

The price of the vehicles shold not be relevant at all... because there are domestic and import offering on each side for each price range

For the "working men" that are buying Subaru's, Honda'a, and VW's... they could, and in theory SHOULD be buying Chevy's, Ford's, Dodge's, Saturn's, and Pontiac's...

Conversly... the Republicans could be buying BMW's, Mercedes, Acuras, Lexus', etc... but these numbers do not show that...

Ugh, that gives me a headache trying to figure out exactly what the repubs and what the demo's are buying.. since the report, is more on for each brand, what is the split..... rather than for each party, what are they buying.


cause aren't there alot more Subaru's, VW's, and Honda's on the road?






I believe the stats work out like this:

Take Lincoln for example (39.3% Republican buyers) The remaining 60.7% would be split between Democrats and Independants... with neither having a higher percentage than 39.3%...

Ugh, that gives me a headache trying to figure out exactly what the repubs and what the demo's are buying.. since the report, is more on for each brand, what is the split..... rather than for each party, what are they buying.


cause aren't there alot more Subaru's, VW's, and Honda's on the road?


It's saying the percentage of the makes listed as a group, not really saying that there are more Subaru's than Lincolns, for example...

It's saying that of the Lincoln owners polled, the majority were Reublicans... of the Subaru owners polled, the majority were Democrats... etc...etc...

Going back to the Lincoln example:

39.3 % of owners were Repiblicans...

Of the remaining 60.7%, it could be split like this: 30.1% Democrat owners, 30.6% Independant owners (I made the 30.1% and 30.6% numbers up, because they are not listed, but both Dem and Ind percentages would have to be lower than the 39.3% and total 60.7% altogether)... that would equal the total distribution of party affiliation for Lincoln owners polled....

I'd be interested to see "nonvolume" cars then.. Like Lexus, BMW, Mercedes, Jag, etc.

and nobody buys a Chevy and Ford?

I'd be interested to see "nonvolume" cars then.. Like Lexus, BMW, Mercedes, Jag, etc.

and nobody buys a Chevy and Ford?


Ya, I am assuming that those brands, in particular Ford, and Chevy, were left out because they were owned by a majority of Independants rather than Republicans or Democrats.... so they weren't as relative to the story...

In fact, I think this clip supports that premise:

"-The research firm reports the proportion of car buyers classifying themselves "independent" has nearly doubled since first asked in the late 1980s, from about 22 percent up to nearly 42 percent. "

Yea, thats probably a right assumption.. although from what they give us.. thats an assumption still.. who knows, they could have left the numbers out on purpose.. ;)


Anyways, its always good to question the a report thats making generalizations and claims based off surveys and statistics.. cause there's many ways to tell the story..

I put this in the "yea okay, whatever" folder... :)





Ya, I am assuming that those brands, in particular Ford, and Chevy, were left out because they were owned by a majority of Independants rather than Republicans or Democrats.... so they weren't as relative to the story...

In fact, I think this clip supports that premise:

"-The research firm reports the proportion of car buyers classifying themselves "independent" has nearly doubled since first asked in the late 1980s, from about 22 percent up to nearly 42 percent. "

I dont find it surprising at all. Generally liberals have more of a save the world philosophy. (hippies are very left, for example). Generally imports are viewed as more fuel efficient cars than domestics, whether they are or not. remember image is everything. So thats why they would be more inclined to buy imports. liberals also seem to have more problems with the way our country is going than conservatives do so maybe they want to do what they can to worsen the economy a much as possible and blame the republicans.

or perhaps thats what they are trying to spin.

To me it seems lke the Repubs are the rich ones buying all the nicer cars.
While the demo's buying the more common brands.

and perhaps, independents, are the ones really buying ford and chevy, pontiac, etc.


I dont find it surprising at all. Generally liberals have more of a save the world philosophy. (hippies are very left, for example). Generally imports are viewed as more fuel efficient cars than domestics, whether they are or not. remember image is everything. So thats why they would be more inclined to buy imports. liberals also seem to have more problems with the way our country is going than conservatives do so maybe they want to do what they can to worsen the economy a much as possible and blame the republicans.

or perhaps thats what they are trying to spin.

To me it seems lke the Repubs are the rich ones buying all the nicer cars.
While the demo's buying the more common brands.

and perhaps, independents, are the ones really buying ford and chevy, pontiac, etc.


I don't see how the price of the car is relevant at all...

Again, the Republican buying the expensive Lincolns and Cadillacs could be buying BMWs, or Mercedes, or Acuras or Lexus' instead... but they aren't...

On the other hand... the Democrats who are buying Hondas and Subaru's could be buying Chevy's and Saturns... but they aren't.

Price doesn't matter at all in this equation.

Well, thats my spin on things! ;)

But see, they didn't tell us the whole picture.. Are independents the ones also buying the most BMW's, Mercedes, Acura's, and Lexus's? Or did they simply not include them because they are not "Among volume cars"

What happens if its like 50% independs buying Chevy and Ford, 45% Dem's buying, and 5% Repubs buying them? But they left it out since the independents are the majority of the buyers?

who knows.




I don't see how the price of the car is relevant at all...

Again, the Republican buying the expensive Lincolns and Cadillacs could be buying BMWs, or Mercedes, or Acuras or Lexus' instead... but they aren't...

On the other hand... the Democrats who are buying Hondas and Subaru's could be buying Chevy's and Saturns... but they aren't.

Price doesn't matter at all in this equation.

Well, thats my spin on things! ;)

But see, they didn't tell us the whole picture.. Are independents the ones also buying the most BMW's, Mercedes, Acura's, and Lexus's? Or did they simply not include them because they are not "Among volume cars"

What happens if its like 50% independs buying Chevy and Ford, 45% Dem's buying, and 5% Repubs buying them? But they left it out since the independents are the majority of the buyers?

who knows.


Vaild points... hard to determine without the full statistics.

But, I can see what you are getting at, I suppose it is possible that overall, more Democrats buy domestic based on a higher "second place" for somebrands... but those second places would have to be pretty heavily weighted toward the Dems...

But, I do agree with you that you can look at it that way.

Regardless, though... ANY "working man" Democrat should be buying domestic... obviously it would never happen, but to do otherwise falls under the "hypocrit" label...

I find this pretty interesting. By the way the politcal landscape is painted, you'd assume it to be the exact opposite...

Anyway, found it interesting considering the other thread...

LMAO!!!!

We have on one hand Republicans, who are generally in favor of low taxation and free trade and market competition, who in this forum are regularly harassed as being unpatriotic for not wanting to protect all the jobs that are allegedly being shipped overseas. Yet they are the ones typically buying American cars.

Then you have the close-the-borders-to-foreign competition types who are the actual ones buying the very products they are claiming are driving our jobs overseas.

I LOVE IT, this just made my day. Thanks Darth. In light of recent discussions here including my taxes=evil thread, this post is so ironic I cannot stop laughing.

And of course the first reply here is "my wife is a Dem and drives a Taurus" Everybody just loves to be the first person to bust up a generalization. Of course there are exceptions, that's why its called a generalization....SHEESH. Yet, obviously there is something to this or the pattern wouldn't have materialized at all.

Then you have the close-the-borders-to-foreign competition types who are the actual ones buying the very products they are claiming are driving our jobs overseas...
.
.
.
.And of course the first reply here is "my wife is a Dem and drives a Taurus" Everybody just loves to be the first person to bust up a generalization. Of course there are exceptions, that's why its called a generalization....SHEESH. Yet, obviously there is something to this or the pattern wouldn't have materialized at all.

"Imports" should really be broken up into two groups, American made, and well.. Imported. An Accord has more American parts than some American cars and is built in the USA unlike the last Camaro which was from Canada....Quebec no less ;)

Notice the big money imports are split right down the middle between both major parties.

Republicans have a lot of two very different people, the wealthy and the uneducated. Too bad they didn't break it up between rich and poorer republicans.

I don't have a wife but my girlfried has a Taurus, I don't think anyone here is thying to "bust up a generalization". it is just interesting to see how other people fall into this trend. Other than 3-4 people most everyone I know are more of a Rudy republican, but dislikes Bush republicanism, which really isn't replicanism, and drive a Domestic. Import buyers seem to be split evenly...at least out of the people I know.

Ya, you gotta figure there are exceptions to every rule... I almost blew it off, but then I saw the sample size... 150,000 people is somewhat significant...

I don't know about that the whole premise of this study, but i can DEFINITLY vouch for the Subaru's! From my personal observation (based off bumper stickers), they are not only the most liberal car buying populace, but they also seem to be the most political (as far as showing public support for their political ideals). Maybe, it's the lack of republican presense in my area, but the republicans almost do nothing as far as showing public support or voicing for their party of choice.

All my vehicles have been GM and Ford (Camaro, Firebird, Camaro, C/K 1500, T/A, F-150). I'm independent...although most people in the lounge think i'm a flaming liberal. Fact is i hate democrats as much as republicans. I used to be a religious Rush Limbaugh listener (for entertainment purposes only) and still get a kick out of the Daily Show which is totally liberal. I thought Bill Clinton was a worthless liar...and coincidentally I think GW is a moron...and i didn't vote for either of them. I mainly vote independent (i did vote for two republican candidates for congress/senate this year).

I can see where this whole thing stems from though. I'm not going to use the term "liberal" or "conservative" here. They honestly don't fit. Let's face it - 90% of this country is republican or democrat and they seem to sheepishly follow whatever their party says (can you imagine republicans 10 years ago agreeing with our current state of spending while Clinton was in office? No, they'd be up in arms over the GW administrations spending habits - but becuase it's republican they're ok. And visa versa...10 years ago Dems would have had no issue with the spending while Clinton was in office...but now are up in arms about GWs budget).

The fact is there are far more democrats who are tree huggers...and they all think foreign cars are more eco friendly. There are far more republicans who drive their Ford Excursion on their 100 mile per day commute and whine about gas prices being too high. That isn't to say all democrats or republicans are like this...in fact both are minorities in their respective groups I would say. But we all tend to get this impression based on the few. To me these statistics are pretty irrelevent. I wish they would do a study based on where the cars are actually built - there are lots of Honda's and Toyota's built in the US. Ironically this board seems to me to be predominantly Conservative (or republican...whichever you choose). I base this of course off of Lounge posts where politics is frequently discussed. The irony is that we are all brought here by a common interest - that of a vehicle that was built in Canada. Can a Camaro truly even be considered domestic? That's another discussion entirely.

Finally, as a self proclaimed (and registered) Independent i would prefer to not be associated with the Scion brand.

Republicans have a lot of two very different people, the wealthy and the uneducated.

That's an outrageous statement.

First, you are ignoring the super rich like Bill Gates (Democrat), Warren Buffet (Democrat), and George Soros (Democrat, pot smoker).

Second, I would like to note that in 2000 Al Gore (Democrat) won the "did not complete high school" vote by about 10%.

I understand that is just your perception of reality, but its ridiculously wrong.

Using this demographic output from 2004, we can see some trends that blow your perception to hell and back:

http://www.usatoday.com/news/graphics/election2004_week/exitpolls/flash.htm

Kerry won "did not complete high school" 50-49
Bush won HS Graduates 51-48, some college 53-46, and College grads 51-47

The ONLY "educated" category kerry won was post-graduate studies, 55-43, and we all know that most post-graduate students end up in academia, and we all know what a cluster-f--- of cloistered, inbred liberal thought (i.e. lack of intellectual diversity) academia is.

I would suggest backing up broad statements with some sort of evidence next time.

Further, according to Annenberg: (http://www.annenbergpublicpolicycenter.org/naes/2004_03_party-id_11-19_pr.pdf)

38% of HS-or-less voters consider themselves Democrats, only 30% of GOPers
College degree or more breaks down 30/30

As for household income, Those under $35K break down 42/25 for the Democrats
35K-75K breaks down 33/33, so apparently the middle class is a WASH
+75K goes 38/29 GOP, as you might expect but not the overwhelming numbers conventional wisdom would suggest.

I guess it could go either way.
Dems are the usualy the working class, therefor usualy have American cars, while Republicans usualy have more money and tend to buy imports.
Then there are Dems who are tree hugging hippies that buy ToyHondas that gas up on love and roses come out of the tail pipes, and then you have the "NASCAR" dads that buy Monte Carlos cause it would be a dishonor to #3 if they got a Accord.

Aren't an enormous amount of imports built in America? So dems who are the major supporter of the UAW are in fact buying UAW built cars? My Camaro certaintly isn't a domestic when it is brought down to if it was built in America or not.

I would like to take the time to point out a stereotype that the entire NE is like NYC. Anyone who says that has never been to New England.

Enormous amounts? Not really, just a few cars, mostly just sold for American consumption like the Avalon.

I think George Bush is the biggest mistake this country has ever made, and what's even better is that we've put him in office twice!!! (Ok, technically once :D) I am a democrat, and I drive GMs. I also live on the East Coast. I guess they didn't talk to me before writing that article :D

Another Dem on the east coast that drives GM.

A lot of you guys are missing the point.

There are exceptions to every rule... no one is questioning that.

It's a 150,000 sample size, and it shows what it shows.

I'm independent, and have never owned an import.

I think George Bush is the biggest mistake this country has ever made, and what's even better is that we've put him in office twice!!! (Ok, technically once :D) I am a democrat, and I drive GMs. I also live on the East Coast. I guess they didn't talk to me before writing that article :D

I agree with you on GW, but only because of 2 reasons:

1. He's completly wrecking the country's finances.
He never vetoed a spending bill and jacked up federal spending to historic levels (even discounting terror related spending). Then he cut the money going into the government by tax giveaways to the wealthy. Now, he's advocating borrowing trillions more to cover cash that's going to be lost when people pull out money from Social Security to play the stock market.

2. Short of Nixon, I can't think of any President who so stubbornly refuses to adapt to realities. Everyone there knew we needed more troops, more money, and that it was going to be more difficult than was being sold. Yet, even today, we still aren't even including the costs over there as part of the budget. Don't get me started on that perscription drug program that miraculously ended up being over twice the cost of what congress was told after it was passed, signed, and is coming into effect.

I like alot of things that Bush has done, but I'm appalled at how he's created a massive deficit and instead of even attempting to rein it in, he's proposing even more massive spending on an unprecidented scale on something that isn't going to contribute one penny to Social Security's future.

I'm glad Congress is finally remembering that they control the purse strings, and don't have to go along with everything the White House proposes, and that the Administration is bogus on their accounting, so maybe there's hope yet.

But if GW gets everything he wants, we're going to be paying for all this.... for many, many years to come.

That doesn't really suprise me. I think anyone with a lot of money will usually go for high-end imports though.

These numbers have nothing at all to do with Bush... or Clinton, or any other president for that matter...

It's funny how VW is up there for democrats since only gay guys drive them, and girly girls who have no brains. ;)

It makes sense really. The big Dem areas of the country are the west coast and the NE. Where are the highest percentage of imports? The west coast followd by the NE.
Most college and people who just graduated from college seem to drive imports (hondas, scions) and the majority of college students are more liberal than the average.
Then once they get out in the workforce and start paying taxes they become independent or republican like what happened to me.

When I read this post I was reminded of an old saying "If your not a Liberal by the time you turn 20, you have no heart, If you are not a conservative by the time you turn 30, you have no brain." Not suprized that tree-huggers hate HUMMERS and LOVE Subarus!!!

That survey is total BS. What were the age groups asked? What types of towns did they survery? Total population etc. There are SO many variables it makes that survey a waste of time to read.

If Lincoln is the leading prefered car for republicans then obviously they didnt ask anyone under the age of 45. Or for democrats they asked people under the age of 45. I am an independent but leaning towards democrat and i dont like Imports. You could deliver from this tread that republicans are locked into the "if it aint broke dont fix it" attitude and the democrats are "if this is all you are going to offer then i am going to look else where for a better price/quality"

My family has owned nothing but domestics. My grandmother who votes nader..lol drives an olds cutty classic. My mother who votes liberal drives a chevy lumina. I have a camaro SS and a Jeep Cherokee. This survey is a joke.

Some people around this board equate buying a honda with takeing a meal of an american steel workers plate. Or in the old days of being communist or unsympathetic to the American labor force. Buy American once was the battle cry of the big 3. They have since dropped the ball on numerous occasions as far as quality and priceing. The imports have tried to fill this gap offering more for less. I dont blame people for opting for the more economical choice. I love my country and would die for it but does it mean that i am going to buy an American car just to say i buy American instead of looking for a reasonable car is stupid. Once again brand loyalty means nothing as far as patriotism and even if i was to drive a honda it is a car not a political statement. Most imports on average provide better entery level vehicles. so it does make some sence since most of the colleges are in the NE and CA. Yes they are liberal. People around here get a vehicle on what they can afford, not charge now and pay later like the president likes to do *you could argue that republicans have more debt then democrats too, lets turn that one into a survey* So college students drive what they can afford. Also MA atleast is a big commuteing state almost all the good jobs are in boston which means you have to commute into the city which makes a small compact car ideal for those conditions. Like i said alot of concideration goes into this survey such as fuel prices. IN CA which i am sure is another big concideration why so many people drive 4 bangers out there not because they are white kids who like rap and have bad taste in style.

When reading surveys like this it should always be taken with a grain of salt if any of you have taken sociology courses you would realize this.

Most problems in society are the result of Liberal philosophy.
No, it's b/c we can't read farther back into the past than yesterdays newspaper and are doomed to repeat the same old mistakes. And we're too focused in on our little world to see waht is really happening around us...but we saved $10 bucks in gas this week! :rolleyes:

When reading surveys like this it should always be taken with a grain of salt if any of you have taken sociology courses you would realize this.Corporate brainwashing like sociolgy, and psycology are part of the reason we're so screwed up now!
Whether you think so or not, what you buy speaks loud and clear to those Corporate and Political forces shaping your world....

That survey is total BS.

No, it really isn't if you look at it .

What were the age groups asked?

It doesn't matter what age they were. It matter if they are Democrats, Republicans, or Independants. Age plays no role in this.


What types of towns did they survery? Total population etc. There are SO many variables it makes that survey a waste of time to read.

Again, these things do NOT matter AT ALL. It shows a split of Democrats and Republicans that is almost identitcal in percentages to the last presidential election.

It does not matter what your age is, where you live, what color you are or anything else. A Republican is a Republican, and a Democrat is a Democrat, no matter what your age, location or anything else is.


If Lincoln is the leading prefered car for republicans then obviously they didnt ask anyone under the age of 45.

You are not reading the stats right. It NO WHERE says Lincoln is the leading car purchased by Republicans. It says Republicans are the people who most purachase Lincolns. There is a HUGE difference... It's not saying 90,000 out of the group polled owned Lincolns. It is saying OF THOSE POLLED WHO OWNED A LINCOLN, 39.3% of them (the majority of the 3 groups) were Republicans.

Or for democrats they asked people under the age of 45. I am an independent but leaning towards democrat and i dont like Imports. You could deliver from this tread that republicans are locked into the "if it aint broke dont fix it" attitude and the democrats are "if this is all you are going to offer then i am going to look else where for a better price/quality"

This makes no sense either. Irrelevant. If a Democrat thinks that Chevy's got poor quality, go try Ford of Chrysler. Heck, most people don't know that GM owns Chevy, Pontiac and Saturn anyway, so you could trhow the other two GM's in for good measure. And, again, if these are truly working people, they should take PRIDE in what THEY and their American Union brethren are building.


My family has owned nothing but domestics. My grandmother who votes nader..lol drives an olds cutty classic. My mother who votes liberal drives a chevy lumina. I have a camaro SS and a Jeep Cherokee. This survey is a joke.

How many poeple can not understand that a trend does not mean EVERYONE is like that. Also, earlier in your very own reply, you listed yourself as INDEPENDANT LEANING TOWARD DEMOCRAT. By definition, that makes you INDEPENDANT... so, your purchases would not swing the vote of this poll anyway!!! :alert:

Some people around this board equate buying a honda with takeing a meal of an american steel workers plate. Or in the old days of being communist or unsympathetic to the American labor force. Buy American once was the battle cry of the big 3. They have since dropped the ball on numerous occasions as far as quality and priceing. The imports have tried to fill this gap offering more for less. I dont blame people for opting for the more economical choice. I love my country and would die for it but does it mean that i am going to buy an American car just to say i buy American instead of looking for a reasonable car is stupid. Once again brand loyalty means nothing as far as patriotism and even if i was to drive a honda it is a car not a political statement. Most imports on average provide better entery level vehicles. so it does make some sence since most of the colleges are in the NE and CA. Yes they are liberal. People around here get a vehicle on what they can afford, not charge now and pay later like the president likes to do *you could argue that republicans have more debt then democrats too, lets turn that one into a survey* So college students drive what they can afford. Also MA atleast is a big commuteing state almost all the good jobs are in boston which means you have to commute into the city which makes a small compact car ideal for those conditions. Like i said alot of concideration goes into this survey such as fuel prices. IN CA which i am sure is another big concideration why so many people drive 4 bangers out there not because they are white kids who like rap and have bad taste in style.

This is a wonderful rant about about reasons, in your opinion, why it's OK to buy imports... that is fine, again, the point of this post was not to debate whether it is "OK" or not to buy imports... the point is... the Democrats, who declare themselves "the working man's party", the one that the UAW and most other unioons support.... are 100% totally hypocritical because they are the high percentage owner of most of the imported brands.



When reading surveys like this it should always be taken with a grain of salt if any of you have taken sociology courses you would realize this.

If the sample was skewed, yes...however.... There is nothing here that can be called a skewed sample, as I addressed above. If you had taken and statistical course, you would realize this.

Demographic has a LOT to do with this. Age and location could change this survey very easily.

Demographic has a LOT to do with this. Age and location could change this survey very easily.


Again.

A Democrat is a Democrat... whether he is 25, 55, or 85. Whether he lives in New York, Kansas, or California. Whether he is black, white, or native American. Whether he is rich, middle class or poor.

Same is said for Republicans.

The percenatges of those polled show a perfectly acceptible mix of Republicans, Democrats, and Independants, based on the last Preidential election.

Like BigAl said, i think a lot of it is just demographics. Just look at all the domestic brands listed in the republican section (Lincoln, Buick, Mercury, Cadillac, Chrysler). They're all old-people cars and its no surprise that older people tend to be more conservative with their political beliefs....more so than younger people.

To further prove that, there's no chevy, no pontiac, no saturn, no Ford, etc.... none of the mainstream domestic brands that have a younger demography are listed in the republican section. I'd be interested in figures for the more mainstream brands like these.

Like BigAl said, i think a lot of it is just demographics. Just look at all the domestic brands listed in the republican section (Lincoln, Buick, Mercury, Cadillac, Chrysler). They're all old-people cars and its no surprise that older people tend to be more conservative with their political beliefs....more so than younger people.

To further prove that, there's no chevy, no pontiac, no saturn, no Ford, etc.... none of the mainstream domestic brands that have a younger demography are listed in the republican section. I'd be interested in figures for the more mainstream brands like these.


If you look at the numbers, you can figure that the mainstream brands were dominated by Independants and not listed because they would be basically "neutral" in this comparision... as I showed earlier int his thread.

Again, demographics have NOTHING to do with these stats...

The *ONLY* way demographics could play a part is if a skewed sample was polled (an out-of-proportion amount of Democrats vs Replubicans or vice versa), however, as clearly stated in the text, the percentage of Republicans and Democrats virtaully matched the last presidential election exactly.

I don't know how else to say this...

If you have a red ball and a green ball... that red ball is still a red ball whether it is 1 year old, 10 years old, or 75 years old... that same red ball is still a red ball wether it is surround by other red balls, a mix of red and green balls, or every ball around him is green... it's still a red ball. At what point do all the people questioning these stats think that the red ball is magically going to turn green because of demographics?!?


I just don't understand how this is not being understood.

I admit, I know next to nothing about polls, sampling, etc…. But to say that demographics have zero bearing on the results or figures? That sounds flawed. They certainly didn’t break the patterns by age, but even the article points at how the South had a higher concentration of polled republicans/domestics when compared to the coastal regions that had a higher import/liberal populace. Is that not demographics?

Demographics can be applied to just about any poll. Even to a poll pertaining to voting patterns based off car purchases. The fact remains that the majority of the republican’s polled in this specific poll bought domestic luxury brands that are predominantly purchased by the older populace . And vice versa, the liberals polled in this thread bought mostly cheap and affordable Japanese imports that usually have a younger demography than the domestic luxury brands. This all points to the general conception that younger people vote liberal while older people tend to vote conservative. Hence why I thought demographics played a role in the results. In many ways, the results weren't that surprising to me.

So I’m just looking at the results differently and trying to see what factors could have affected car purchasing habits, etc… I’m not saying the poll is flawed or that it is skewed. Just comparing it to general trends.

Btw: Your ball analogy isn’t the best.

I admit, I know next to nothing about polls, sampling, etc…. But to say that demographics have zero bearing on the results or figures? That sounds flawed. They certainly didn’t break the patterns by age, but even the article points at how the South had a higher concentration of polled republicans/domestics when compared to the coastal regions that had a higher import/liberal populace. Is that not demographics?

Perhaps I should have worded it better.

Yes, demographics plays a roll in this poll, but the sampling is perfectly fine, as shown by the percentages of Democrats and Republicans, due to the fact that they are nearly identical to the percentages from the last presidential election. This shows that the sample is an acceptible and realistic representation of the nation.

Yes, demographics come into play... but the demographics shown are perfectly acceptible.... so it's not an issue in this sampling.


The fact remains that the majority of the republican’s polled in this specific poll bought domestic luxury brands that are predominantly purchased by the older populace .

No, that is untrue... I have explained this a few times already.

The majority of Republicans polled did not necessarily buy mostly Lincoln's and other "old people cars"... what these numbers are saying is that of the people polled who owned Lincoln's, the majority were Republicans. ... once again, this is a HUGE difference. I am sure that Lincoln's were probably one of the lower cars in terms of total numbers... as was Subaru on the other side... everyone knows these cars don't sell int he volume that Chevy's and Ford's do.


And vice versa, the liberals polled in this thread bought mostly cheap and affordable Japanese imports that usually have a younger demography than the domestic luxury brands. This all points to the general conception that younger people vote liberal while older people tend to vote conservative. Hence why I thought demographics played a role in the results. In many ways, the results weren't that surprising to me.

Of the people polled who owned Subaru's the majority were Democrats. There is no reason why these folks could not have purchased a similarly priced domestic equivilant... just like the "old Republicans" who bought Lincolns could have bought BMW's or Lexus' or Mercedes...



So I’m just looking at the results differently and trying to see what factors could have affected car purchasing habits, etc… I’m not saying the poll is flawed or that it is skewed. Just comparing it to general trends.

The only factor that matters is if the buyer was a Democrat, a Republican, or an Independant. It does NOT matter if what age they were or anything else. A 25 year old Republican who lives in New York is just as much a Republican as a 75 year old Republican who lives in Kansas.

Btw: Your ball analogy isn’t the best.

How come? At what point does the red ball not count as a red ball because of how old it is or where it resides?

guion,
Whether its car info or politics, I just tend to like what you have to say :D I find it interesting the 2 things I despise the most about Bush are the EXACT two things you dislike. The primary dislike is the complete lack of fiscal responsibility. And if he keeps blowing stuff up, you're right...we have a deep, deep fiscal hole to crawl out of.

Darth,
I know this has nothing to do with presidents. I just like to use any place possible to tell the world I dislike the president. A lot. A whole lot. However, the survey is fascinating...and at least in Western MA, relevant. There are some VERY liberal people in this area...they all drive Subaru Outbacks and Hondas :D And no, that is NOT a generalization, either.

I wonder what these same people thought months back when they saw a white and orange Camaro with a "3" sticker, a U.S. Marine Corp sticker and a "Re-defeat Bush" sticker all on the back window. I got a lot of thumbs up on that display...guys in trucks probably liked the 3 and the Marines, Outbacks liked the Bush one.

I crack myself up :D

Interesting study. Interesting responses :)

It works for my family :D

I find it amusing that the democrats posting can't even read the poll properly. Its now clear that the dems own the did not graduate bracket.

I read it properly, worm. Actually, I'll be receiving my MBA in a few short months, my reading and writing skills are fantastic, but please go crawl back in your hole now and leave Democrats alone.

By the way...sorry to see I share the same city of residence as you. My profile still says South Deerfield because I wish I was there...

Any Idea what the Communist party likes? how about Socialists? I'm guessing the Green party isn't HUMMERs #1 customer.