June 9, 2010 - Chicago, Ill. - According to a recent survey conducted by Cars.com, a third of consumers say they are less likely to consider a car from either Chrysler or General Motors today because of their acceptance of federal bailout funding that helped save the manufacturers about a year ago. Roughly two-thirds of consumers say the bailouts have no impact on their consideration of the two manufacturers.
"Obviously, Toyota's issues have definitely had a big impact on the market and definitely helped their competitors, GM in particular," said Cars.com Editor in Chief Patrick Olsen. "However, while it's clear that some consumers still hold a grudge against GM and Chrysler, a vast majority don't factor the bailouts in their buying decision and that clearly can be seen in overall sales and leads generated through Cars.com over the last year."
Ford continues to benefit from not taking any money in the federal bailout efforts. While most (53 percent) consumers say the fact that Ford did not take federal bailout funds will have no impact on their purchasing decision, 47 percent said they are more likely to consider Ford over GM and Chrysler.
"While there's no doubt there is still some fallout from the financial struggles of GM and Chrysler, it has likely been mitigated by all of the issues that Toyota has had," added Olsen. "In fact, 30 percent of consumers still feel that Toyota hasn't addressed the safety issues with their cars and 51 percent feel Toyota has addressed some, but not all of the issues."