WASHINGTON-The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration is moderating town meetings to address what kind of auto safety information consumers want, and the best way to provide it to them. This month NHTSA held public forums in San Diego and Des Moines, Iowa, and has meetings planned for Sept. 8 in Tampa, Fla., and Oct. 6 in Washington.
Participants will be asked questions including what kind of safety information is useful when purchasing a car or truck, and how the government can provide that information to consumers so that it is easily understood.
SPORT-UTILITY BOOM MORE THAN JUST A FAD
DETROIT-Of some 14,000 consumers surveyed at recent auto shows in Detroit, New York and Toronto, 23 percent said their next vehicle purchase would be a sport-utility vehicle (SUV).
U.S. sales of SUVs last year reached 1.38 million units, accounting for 9.9 percent of all car and light-truck sales. In 1991, SUVs made up 7.3 percent of all U.S. vehicle sales, at 905,564 units; in 1992, they accounted for 8.8 percent, with sales of 1.13 million units.