Subject: Car Related Info on the Web? Your Opinions Wanted!

From: [email-masked] (A and Z Consulting)
Date: 12 May 1995 23:21:46 -0700

Dear fellow car enthusiasts on the Net,

We need your input about placing car related info on the Web.  Please read on.

As we knew it, the Internet was originally established to serve
DOD's communication needs and later, research and education.

With the birth of the Web in early 1993, and the appearance of easy to
use browsers such as NCSA Mosaic and Netscape, the Internet (together
with the Web) is becoming more and more commercialized. Unfortunately,
many commercial Web pages are simply transplanted advertisements from
printed materials.  They miss the key concept of the Internet and 
the Web - sharing information.                                    
          ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

To gain better understanding of our fellow car enthusiasts' opinions
in such matters for cars, we would like to conduct a survey on the Net.      
               ^^^^^^^^^^
We will analyze the survey results and publish a report in about a
month from now. 

As a thank-you to every survey participant, we will do the following:

(1) a report (with statistical analyses, charts and conclusions) in 
    color PostScript (tm) level II format will be emailed to you 
    (unless you decline this offer).
(2) your name will be acknowledged in the Survey Contributors section
    (unless you wish to remain anonymous) of the to be published report
    (on the Web as well if we can spare the man power then).
                                  ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ 

Please share your thoughts in the following.  We hope the following
questions are interesting and thought provoking.  Please help us in
making the Web a richer place. 

Look forward to hearing from you soon.  Our sincere thanks for your
time and attention!

Ms. Sharah (DeXin) Shi, MPA

[email-masked]
[email-masked]

Business Consultant, A & Z Consulting
1993 VW red Corrado VR6 2.7L 6cyl 5sp (6.6s 0 - 60; 140+ mph :)

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		How to return the attached survey:

a. Unless otherwise noted, please use the provided default choices.

b. if you use newsreaders in UNIX or VMS on a workstation, please use 
   your newsreader's reply option to return the attached survey form
   (e.g. press r (or R) in rn, trn, or tin).

c. certain Web browsers (e.g. Netscape or Netcom's Netcruiser) have
   partial newsreading features built in.  However they may not allow you 
   to email directly to us within the browser without an external 
   helper program.
	   
   In such cases, you may wish to 

   c.1 save the following form, fill it out using a text editor, and then
       email it back to us.
   c.2 email us directly and ask for a form.  We will send you one
       asap.  Once you have filled in the form, you can email it 
       back to us at your convenience.

d. many newsreaders written for MS Windows, OS2 or Mac Desktop
   are quite feature-rich (like their UNIX based counterparts).
   Thus you should have no problems returning the survey 
   to us directly within your newsreader by clicking on the 
   correct buttons of your favorite newsreader.

----------------------- BEGINNING OF THE SURVEY ---------------------------

(A) Personal Info  

	A1. Your age group:
	
		a. 15 - 19
		b. 20 - 24
		c. 25 - 29
		d. 30 - 34 
		e. 35 - 39
		f. 40 - 44
		g. 45 - 49
		h. 50 - 55
		i. over 55

		Your response -> 

	A2. Your sex:

		a. Female
		b. male
 
		Your response -> 

	A3. Nature of your employer (even you are self-employed):

		a. educational
		b. research (public or private)
		c. computer and electronics related
		d. telecommunications
		e. financial institutions
		f. government
		g. retail
		h. medical or health-care
		i. professional service
		j. aerospace
		k. automobile
		l. military
		m. entertainment
		n. other (please specify)		

		Your response -> 

(B) Your Car Ownership Info

	B1. Origin(s) of car(s) that you own:

		a. domestic
		b. import
		c. both

		Your response -> 

	B2. Number of car(s) that you currently own:

		a. 1
		b. 2
		c. 3 - 5
		d. over 5 

		Your response -> 

(C) Your Car Preference and Aquisition Habit

	C1. Your favorite brand(s) and model(s) 
	    (with limited budget; list 3 if possible)

		Your responses ->  

	C2. Your favorite brand(s) and model(s)
	    (if money is no object; ditto)

		Your responses -> 

	C3. How long usually do you keep your car?

		a. a couple years
		b. 5 - 10 years
		c. over 10 years

		Your response -> 

	C4. Do you prefer to lease or to purchase a car?

		a. lease
		b. purchase

		Your response -> 

	C5. Do you finance or pay cash for your purchase(s)?

		a. finance
		b. cash only

		Your response -> 

	C6. How soon will you be buying another car?

		a. 1 - 3 months
		b. 4 - 6 months
		c. 7 - 9 months
		d. a year
		e. more than a year from now

		Your response -> 

	C7. Once you have decided it's time to buy a car,
	    how soon it takes you to reach your final choice?

		a. less than a day
		b. a couple of days
		c. a couple of weeks
		d. longer (please specify)

		Your response -> 

(D) Your Car Info Sources

	D1. Would you like to read new car model info on the Web?

		a. Yes
		b. No.

		Your response -> 

	D2. What kind of info would you like to see? 
            (multiple choices for this one)
            ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
		a. pricing
		b. car test and comparison report(s)
		c. model specifications
		d. technical info
		e. manufacturer info/history
		e. dealer location(s)
		f. promotional packages (rebates, low rate financing)
		g. other (please specify)

		Your responses -> 

	D3. Would you like to see info about pre-owned cars on the Web

		a. Yes
		b. No.

		Your response -> 

	D4. Where do you usually get your car related info?
	    (multiple choices for this one)
             ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

		a. Internet
		b. car magazines
		c. newspapers
		d. friends
		e. TV
		f. books and manuals

		Your response -> 

	D5. Which publication you trust most for your car purchase?

		a. J. D. Power Cosumer Satisfication Indexes
		b. Consumer Report
		c. Car and Driver
		d. Motor Trend
		e. Automobile Magazine
		f. AutoWeek
		g. Car (British magazine)
		h. Auto Motor und Sport (German magazine)
		i. other (please specify)

		Your response ->

(E) Servicing Your Car

	E1. Where do you get your car maintenance done?

		a. service department of a car dealer
		b. independent car repair shops
		c. ask a car-knowledgeable friend
		d. do it yourself

		Your response -> 

(F) You, Computer, and the Internet/Web

	F1. How many hours you spend on browsing the Web?

		a.  1 -  5 hours
		b.  6 - 10 hours
		c. 11 - 20 hours
		d. 21 - 30 hours
		e. 31 - 40 hours
		f. over 40 hours

		Your response -> 

	F2. How long have you been browsing the Web?

		a. 1 -  6 months
		b. 7 - 12 months
		c. more than a year

		Your response -> 

	F3. Do you use Web indexes (such as yahoo) at all?

		a. completely dependent on them
		b. use them often
		c. use them occasionally
		d. never, I have my own
		e. don't even know they exist

		Your response -> 

	F4. Are you on any electronic mailing lists at all?

		a. Yes
		b. No

		Your response -> 

	F5. What kind of computers you use for browsing the Web?
	    (multiple choices for this one)

		a. UNIX (or other) workstations
		b. PC with MS Windows or OS2
		c. Macs 
		d. others

		Your responses -> 

	F6. Do you access the Web from work or from home?

		a. work
		b. home
		c. both places
		
		Your response -> 

	F7. If you access the Web from home, how fast is your connection?

		a. 14.4k 
		b. 28.8k
		c. 56 k
		d. 64 k
		e. over 64 k (geee!)

		Your response -> 

(G) Car companies, dealers and the Web

	G1. Do you consider having a Web presence is already important for a 
	    car maker or a car dealer?

		a. very important
		b. significant
		c. helpful but not that important
		d. not important at all

		Your response ->

	G2. Will you favor a car maker who has a Web presence?
                             ^^^^^^^^^
		a. very much so
		b. perhaps
		c. not at all

		Your response -> 

	G3. Will you favor a car dealer who has a Web presence?
                             ^^^^^^^^^
		a. very much so
		b. perhaps
		c. not at all

		Your response -> 

	G4. How important would you consider to be able to email a car 
            maker and/or dealership (assuming an 800 number is also available)?

		a. vital
		b. significant
		c. good to have, but won't miss it
		d. not very important
		e. not important at all

		Your response -> 

	G5. Will you base your purchase decision on the info obtained 
	    from the Web provided by car companies or dealers?

		a. very much so
		b. to certain extent
		c. very little
		d. not at all

		Your response -> 

	G6. How soon you believe that on line shopping for cars
	    will happen?

		a. within 6 months
		b. within a year
		c. a couple years
		d. in the next five years or so
		e. never

		Your response -> 

	G7. If on line shopping does happen eventually, do you believe
	    it will make car shopping easier?

		a. definitely
		b. to most part
		c. partially
		d. not at all
	
		Your response -> 

	G8. Do you believe for on line car shopping (if it indeed happens)
	    face to face contact with dealers will still be necessary?

		a. Definitely
		b. to most part
		c. partially
		d. not at all

		Your response -> 

	G9. What kind of role nowadays car dealers will be playing if
	    we can even turn to the Web for car shopping?

	    	Your comments ->

Copyright (C) 1995 A & Z Consulting

------------------------ END OF SURVEY.  THANKS! --------------------------

Finally, do you wish to remain anonymous in our final survey report?

	a. Yes
	b. No

	Your response ->