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Consumer Reports Index Finds Half of Americans Languish While More Affluent ...

For more affluent households (earning $100K+), economic recovery began as far back as February 2010—when the Consumer Reports Sentiment Index score for this group moved into positive territory (above 50). Since then, sentiment among this affluent group (18% of Americans) has continued to climb to a two-year high (54.8).

During the same period, sentiment levels of lower-income households (earning < ) bottomed out in October of 2009. Since then, sentiment has risen slightly among this group that represents 50 percent of the U.S. population, but remains firmly entrenched in negative territory.  

The Consumer Reports Index, produced monthly by the Consumer Reports National Research Center, is a nationally representative measure of the economy from the consumer's perspective. Each month the Consumer Reports Index surveys Americans about how they feel, the economic problems they encounter and their spending habits through five key measures: the Sentiment Index, the Stress Index, the Retail Index, the Employment Index and the Trouble Tracker Index.      

"We are seeing a tale of two very different recoveries," said , a director of Survey Research at the Consumer Reports National Research Center. "While things have been improving for the wealthiest Americans for some time, lower-income families still have very little to be positive about."

The disparity in sentiment levels may be due to the fact that lower-income households have faced more pronounced and frequent financial troubles throughout the last two years. The Consumer Reports Trouble Tracker Index , which is a monthly measure of eight financial troubles such as the ability to afford health care and missed mortgage payments, shows that financial suffering among lower-income Americans has been three to five times the level of those earning or more, over the course of the recession.

One of the biggest areas of disparity between the two groups in the past two years has been their ability to afford medical coverage and prescription medication. For more affluent Americans, affordability is a minor issue—fewer than 5% reported having difficulty paying. While it has been in decline in recent months, this has been a key problem for lower-income households during the recession—one-in-four at its peak.

Chevrolet Volt: Early adopters are happy

Chevrolet paid a visit to our test track the other day to talk to us about our experience with our Volt, tell us about some running changes they’re making, and to share some information they’ve gathered from the 2,513 owners Volting around the country as of the end of May.

Not surprisingly, the first buyers are self described early adopters and techies, most of whom are crazy about their Volts. Notably, 90 percent are men. Chevy says 66 percent are completely satisfied with their vehicles, as opposed to the average of 45 percent for compact cars as a whole. Some of their primary motivations for purchase are that it’s American made, the idea of reducing our dependency on foreign oil, and that the Volt is technologically innovative.

Chevrolet is happy to report that 86 percent of Volt buyers replaced a vehicle not made by General Motors, with Toyota and Honda being the biggest losers. Some 12 percent of Volt buyers turned in the keys to a Toyota Prius when they signed up. Honda Accord and Civic hybrids have been popular trades. Luxury brand buyers have also been making the switch, with BMW 3 Series being the notable trade. The rest come from Lexus, and Mercedes-Benz models.

Customer complaints have focused on tight rear seat room, a desire for more range on electric power before the gasoline engine kicks in, and the weak cabin heater-a complaint we had with our Volt over the past Connecticut winter. Chevrolet says they’ve addressed the heat issue with improved valving and warmer output.

With Volts having racked up a cumulative total of two million miles so far, Chevrolet says 78 percent of buyers are driving 40 miles or less a day, which is about what the carmaker expected. Two thirds of all Volt miles have been on electricity alone, and drivers are averaging about 900 miles or about one month between fill ups.

So the early reports are in, and the early adopters are happy. It’ll be interesting to see what happens as sales roll out nationally, and if the Volt ends up being just a novelty for techies or a real conquesting machine.

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