Today's News by Jack Nerad for Driving Today

Men Seeking Cars Increase

Wednesday, September 1, 2010

August is a huge month for young men (and others) seeking transportation. According to the Yellow Pages Association, Americans nationwide will have turned to Yellow Pages local search tools in record numbers this month in an effort to rent or lease a car. 

More than 55 million references are made to automobile renting and leasing in print and Internet Yellow Pages each year, with the highest number of look-ups occurring in August. “Auto Rental and Leasing” is among the top 40 most referenced headings from more than 4,000-plus available in the Yellow Pages.

“Certainly toward the end of the summer, young professionals are looking to get away while they still can,” says Larry Small, director of research for YPA. “Our data show that those making a car-rental purchase are more likely than the average user to be in the 25-34 age range.” 

More consumers looking up automotive rental and leasing information in the Yellow Pages tend to make a purchase after their search than the average consumer, according to Burke, the company that conducted the study. Nearly two-thirds of consumers referencing the automotive rental and leasing heading follow up with a purchase, compared with 49.3 percent for all headings combined. Those most likely to reference the “Auto Rental” heading are 25-to-34-year-old males with a college degree. They also tend to be single and live in the Northeast.

“Many Americans in the Northeast rely on public transportation,” said Small. “It’s no surprise that when people are looking to get out of town or even run errands, they turn to a trusted source of local business information for car-rental listings.”

The study didn’t confirm it, but young single men are far less likely to seek car-rental information from matchbook covers, friends of friends or on the head of a pin. Many single men who live in other areas of the country have their own cars and are probably better marriage material.

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