Almost half of Canadian women are more interested in car advertising than they were 10 years ago, an extensive new study says.

The 1993 Chatelaine consumer council study on women and the automotive industry says a national average of 49% of Canadian women are more interested in auto advertising now than a decade ago.

The study says 7% of women are less interested in it and 43% of them have about the same interest.

To research buying a new car, the study found 40% of women first mentioned magazines as their source of information, 19% of them first mentioned special guides such as consumer reports and a further 19% first mentioned newspapers.

Only 9% of Canadian women first mentioned tv as their source on information on buying a new car.

The study was conducted through Chatelaine’s consumer council.

66% return rate

A total of 2,400 women completed and returned the 32-page questionnaire, a return rate of 66%.

The respondents received no incentive to complete the survey.

The study’s results are considered accurate within 2.5 percentage points 19 times out of 20.

Canadian women prefer domestic cars hands down over foreign vehicles, the study showed.

The national average of women who own or lease foreign-built cars is 29%, with the ownership or lease of domestics a whopping 68%.

Toyota led the field among foreign cars, with a national average of 8%. Among the domestics, General Motors was tops, with 33%.

The study also found about 77% of women influence the buying decision of cars in their households.

Thirty per cent of all respondents indicated they are likely to have sole responsibility for buying a new vehicle in the next two years, and 45% of them reported they expect to participate in this buying decision.

The council, which last studied women and cars in 1985, found a 7% decrease in the number of women who believe dealership salesmen do not take a female buyer seriously, especially if she is accompanied by a man. DC