New Study Finds Women Comprise 38.5% of U.S. Auto Sales

Americans love their cars. Whether it’s a humble family wagon, a muscle car, a luxury sedan or even a minivan: there’s nothing Americans like better than the automobile. What’s that, you say? What about women car owners?

Unsurprisingly for a species with just two genders, half the world’s population is female. And as everyone these days has to own at least one car, automakers obviously spend a lot of money catering specifically to that section of the market.

In a new study by automotive industry analyst R. L. Polk, it was found that some 38.5% of the last four year’s light vehicle registrations were made by – you guessed it – women. In “not-white” households, it’s more like 40 to 45%. It might not seem like much,

So what are the nation’s womenfolk buying? Would you be surprised to learn that nearly half of all MINI sales (47.9%) went to the fairer sex? Okay, so that’s not too surprising, but how are top five market leaders doing? Well, scroll down to see for yourself:

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EU White Paper Proposes to Ban Petrol and Diesel Cars from City Centers by 2050

The European Commission has unveiled a plan for transport in the European Union that will leave many of its citizens dumbfounded. It sets some very challenging goals with a 2050 deadline. The White Paper proposes the ban of conventionally fueled cars in the city centers, along with a 40 percent cut in shipping emissions. Furthermore, the plans envisions a 40 percent reduction in carbon fuels in aviation and a 50 percent shift in middle distance journeys by both passengers and freight from road to rail and other modes of transportation.

According to EU transport commissioner Siim Kallas, all these measures combined would generate a 60 percent overall cut in carbon emissions on the continent. In addition, the Commission wants to reduce deaths caused by road accidents by 50 percent in 2020 and hopes to “move close” to eliminating deaths by 2050.

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8 Out of 10 British Drivers use their Mobile Phones on the Road, Despite the Fact it’s Illegal

A UK website called GoodMobilePhones has polled some 1,859 visitors and found that 81% of respondents admit to using a mobile phone without a hands-free device while driving, despite the fact it’s been illegal to do so in Britain for over seven years.

Of those 81%, 52% use their mobile phones to make calls, 44% use them to send text messages, 31% use them to check their email and 24% use them to look at social networking sites like Facebook and Twitter. Of all the respondents, only 12% said they’d never make a phone call while driving without a hands free kit and just 3% said they’d never use their phone at all while on the road.

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Lincoln Brand and Porsche 911 Top JD Power's 2011 U.S. Vehicle Dependability Study

Ford's luxury division Lincoln moved up one spot in the annual JD Power reliability study to gain the title of most reliable brand sold in the U.S., ahead of Lexus and Jaguar. The industry overall vehicle dependability has also improved compared to 2010, but automakers still have problems with new technologies and features.

The 2011 study takes into account problems experienced in the past 12 months by more than 43,700 original owners of three-year-old cars (2008 model year). JD Power determines the overall dependability by the level of Problems encountered Per 100 vehicles (PP100). A lower score reflects higher quality and the good news is the overall vehicle dependability averaged 151 PP100, the best value since the creation of the study.

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