Aussie motorists kept in the dark
Why are carmakers in Australia so unwilling to share information with prospective buyers?
In the United States, consumers can get a huge amount of information about a new car just by reading a sticker on the windscreen.
The US stickers have information on key features, safety equipment, the car’s crash rating, fuel consumption and smog ratings. In contrast, ours only have information about average fuel consumption.
The US labels, which are compulsory on all new cars, even tell you where the parts on your vehicle are sourced from. They also have highway and city fuel consumption ratings and a sliding scale that shows how a certain vehicle compares with competitors in its segment. On top of that, you get a dollar estimate of the annual fuel costs, details of how many airbags are fitted, whether the car has stability control and even whether it has air-conditioning and a CD player.
If that’s not enough information to make an informed decision, the label also has the retail price, including any options that may be fitted.
Which begs the question – why are carmakers in Australia so lukewarm about including crash rating figures on windscreen labels?
Australia’s independent crash test body NCAP has been offering to print safety star rating labels for brands since September last year, but no-one is taking them up on the offer.
While their parent companies have embraced the compulsory safety ratings, the local operations remain suspicious and critical of NCAP.
The same applies to customer satisfaction and quality surveys. While all the major players are happy to have their results published in the US, our results are kept from the public.
I reckon the Australian car buyer deserves a better deal.
What about you?
Richard Blackburn