ACtion Magazine - November/December 2012 - (Page 10)

Leonard’s Law E Keith N. Leonard Esquire lection Day will have passed by the time this column is published and either Barack Obama or Mitt Romney is the next President. A lot of money will have been spent campaigning to get him elected. However, could a lot of that money have been saved by simply surveying the garages, car ports, and streets of America to determine the preferred candidate? Are we what we drive and do we “grade” others by what they drive? Excluding motorcycles, there were over 246,000,000 motor vehicles in the United States registered in 2009. In a recent survey by Strategic Vision, over 75,000 new car buyers were surveyed over a two year period. Of the buyers surveyed, thirty-seven percent identified themselves as Republicans and thirtyone percent identified themselves as Democrats, with the remaining buyers claiming membership in a third party or as unaffiliated. Buyers who identified themselves as Democrats favored the following vehicles as their top five: the Honda Civic hybrid, the Volvo C30, the Nissan Leaf, the Acura TSX Sport Wagon, and the Ford Fiesta sedan. The Republican buyers’ top five vehicles were the Ford Mustang convertible, the Audi A8, Mercedes-Benz GL-Class, Ford Expedition, and Ford F-150. The manufacturers suggested retail price (MSRP) for a 2013 Volvo C30 is between $23,000 and $30,000, while the MSRP for a 2013 Audi A8 starts at $72,000. The Democratic buyers favored small, fuel-efficient vehicles; the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) combined miles per gallon (mpg) estimates for the 2012 model year of their preferred vehicles range from 24 mpg (for the Volvo) to 44 mpg for the Honda Civic. On the other hand, the Republican buyers chose so-called “gas guzzlers,” with combined mpg estimates ranging from 11 mpg (Ford Expedition) to 23 mpg (Ford Mustang). All five of the best selling vehicles among Republican buyers who were part of the 10 ACTION • November/December 2012 Your car, your vote survey have V-8 engines. The surveyed Democratic buyers preferred small and multi-functional vehicles, while the Republican buyers went for large and luxurious vehicles. Even the luxury cars had to be multifunctional to be attractive to the Democratic buyers. The majority of Republican buyers preferred medium and large SUVs, luxury vehicles, and pickup trucks. Convertibles (selling for under $30,000) were strongly favored by Republicans over Democrats, among the surveyed buyers. For the first quarter of 2012, the best selling vehicle in the United States was the Ford F-150. Following that pickup truck were the Toyota Camry, Chevrolet Silverado, Nissan Altima, Honda Civic, Honda CR-V, Honda Accord, Toyota Corolla/Matrix, Dodge Ram, and the Toyota Prius family of cars. Though the President rides in an armored Cadillac limousine, Barack Obama was quoted as saying he will buy a Chevrolet Volt after he leaves office. Mitt Romney has, among other vehicles, a Ford Mustang GT convertible and a Cadillac SRX. Past presidential candidate John McClain drives a Ford Fusion Hybrid, but his then-running mate, Sarah Palin, chooses to drive a Chevy Suburban. There are apparently only three members of Congress who drive some type of plug-in vehicle. The foregoing survey results certainly further the stereotypes of Republicans as the party of the wealthy and energy consumers and the Democrats as the party of green energy and thrift. So, based upon that survey, you would think that luxury vehicles, large SUVs, and pickup trucks are the best selling vehicles in the wealthiest communities in the United States, but it is not entirely true. In two of the ten wealthiest ZIP codes in the United States, the best selling vehicle over the first quarter of 2012 was the Toyota Prius, and it was the second best selling vehicle in another of the ten wealthiest ZIP codes. Three of those ZIP codes are located in California and two are in Florida, a crucial swing state in determining who has been elected as President in two of the previous three elections (and likely also this one). The top five selling vehicles in each of the two ZIP codes in Florida (both are in southern Florida) were all luxury vehicles, with MSRPs ranging from slightly over $36,000 (for a Mercedes Benz C-Class car) to over $95,000 (for a Mercedes Benz S-Class). With a national economy that is still in a state of flux, did voters identify more with the luxury car candidate or the fuelefficient car candidate? Did you vote for a candidate who drives an “American” vehicle while shunning the man driving the foreign one because it is not keeping jobs in America? Did the type of vehicle that a candidate drives (or does he/she walk or bike to work) influence your voting preference? Your first reaction may be no, but would you vote for a candidate spending more on a vehicle than you make in a year? How about a candidate who has had a custom car elevator installed in his home? Now that you have voted, what will be his judgment when it comes to spending our tax dollars? In his speeches he has said that he wants to help the middle class with his proposed policies, but does his vehicle choice send out a different message, at least to you? When voting, did this election come down to a matter of “the economy, stupid,” the campaign strategy that got Bill Clinton elected in 1992? Will you pay more attention to a candidate’s vehicle preference(s) in the next election? ❆ Remember that laws are constantly changing and are often not uniform throughout the United States. Do not place unqualified reliance on the information in this article. Always contact legal counsel for detailed advice. If you have a particular issue, law or problem you would like to see addressed in a future column, please contact me at KLeonard@LeonardSciolla.com, or Leonard, Sciolla, Hutchison, Leonard & Tinari, LLP 215-567-1530. ,

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of ACtion Magazine - November/December 2012

ACtion Magazine - November/December 2012
Contents
Outlook
Expansion Valve
Leonard’s Law
Under the Southern Cross
News & Updates
Meeting the Need
See the Best of the Best
The Bumpy Road to R-1234yf
Virtual View
Association News
Obituary
Quick Check
New Products & Services
Last Watch

ACtion Magazine - November/December 2012