CRC Investigates Cool-Weather Driveability and Customer Satisfaction

In early 1978, the Coordinating Research Council (CRC) conducted a program to investigate customer opinions of vehicle driveability during cool-weather, 30 to 70°F. About 100 owners of 1973-′78 model vehicles participated in the program and frequently completed a questionnaire about the driveability of their vehicle. For comparison, trained raters also evaluated the driveability of these vehicles. Results show that hesitation is the most frequent driveability problem in customer service and stalls while driving are the most objectionable. Customers found driveability problems were noticeably affected by gasoline volatility and customer satisfaction varied from 62 to 93 percent with the fuels tested. The trained rater results confirm that the Drive-ability Index developed by CRC in 1972, can be used to relate customer opinions of drive-ability to changes in fuel volatility.