Representing over $600 billion in buying power*, U.S. gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender (GLBT) automotive consumers favor luxury and import brands according to Harris Interactive AutoGLBT, a new market research study from Harris Interactive's Automotive and Transportation Research Practice.

"Gay and lesbian consumers are becoming an important target market for U.S. vehicle manufacturers, especially luxury brands," said Bryan Krulikowski, senior director of research, Harris Interactive®. "Nearly three-quarters (72%) of GLBT consumers indicate they are more likely to consider purchasing a vehicle from a manufacturer that has specifically targeted automotive advertising to the GLBT community," said Krulikowski. He added, "Volkswagen, Subaru, Volvo and BMW are perceived as the top brands that extend the greatest outreach to the GLBT community through their marketing communications."

   AutoGLBT Study Highlights

   -- According to the AutoGLBT study, GLBT consumers favor luxury brands
      versus non-luxury brands, though balancing image with affordability is
      a high priority.

   -- GLBT consumers (51%) are significantly more interested in hybrid
      electric vehicles than their non-gay counterparts (34%) and feel that
      they are worth paying more money for.

   -- Automakers' quest to move away from "traditional" media sources--having
      more of an online presence and "viral marketing" focus -- hits squarely
      at the GLBT consumer. This group relies heavily on both the Internet
      (62%) and "word-of-mouth" (45%) advice when deciding which vehicle to
      purchase.

   -- Gay males (17%) are more likely than the GLBT population on a whole
      (12%) to listen to satellite radio programming, with the majority of
      these respondents (67%) tuning in to GLBT-specific stations.

   Methodology

The AutoGLBT Study was conducted online in the United States by Harris Interactive® between July 21 and August 1, 2005 among 2,818 self-identified gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender adults (aged 18 and over) and 2,121 heterosexual adults (aged 18 and over). Figures for age by gender, education, race/ethnicity, region and income were weighted where necessary to bring them into line with their actual proportions in the population. Propensity score weighting was also used to adjust for respondents' propensity to be online.

In theory, with probability samples of this size, one can say with 95 percent certainty that the overall results have a sampling error of 1 percentage point; the GLBT results have a sampling error of plus or minus 2; and the heterosexual results have a sampling error of plus or minus 2.5 percentage points. Unfortunately, there are several other possible sources of error in all polls or surveys that are probably more serious than theoretical calculations of sampling error. They include refusals to be interviewed (nonresponse), question wording and question order, and weighting. It is impossible to quantify the errors that may result from these factors. These online samples are not probability samples.