Study: Never mind the problems, car buyers still happier with hands-free tech

Filed under: Car Buying, Technology, Infotainment

You've seen the opening to Annie Hall, right? Where Woody Allen tells the classic joke about two women grumbling about their dinner? The one complains that the food is terrible, while the other, agreeing, says the portions are too small. That's the automotive infotainment business in a nutshell.

JD Power spells this out in a new analysis of its 2012 APEAL survey. To put it simply, having some infotainment system is better than none, even if the technology occasionally makes you want to push your car into a deep lake.

Power says infotainment, which it calls "audio/entertainment/navigation (AEN) systems" and includes hands-free technology, had the highest average problem count in its 2012 Initial Quality Study. But those owners who had systems of this sort that included hands-free communication were some 12-percent more likely to recommend their vehicles to others. These owners were also "slightly more likely" to repurchase the same vehicle brand, according to Power.

Scroll down to watch the aforementioned clip from the 1978 Academy Award Winner for Best Picture.

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Never mind the problems, car buyers still happier with hands-free tech originally appeared on Autoblog on Sat, 04 Aug 2012 08:59:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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