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What You Drive May Steer Your Vote
IRVINE, Calif. -- What you drive may affect who you vote for in the upcoming presidential election, according to a new study by Kelley Blue Book. If it's a Mercury, Ford, GMC or Chevy, you'll likely be voting for President Bush. If you drive a Hyundai, Toyota or a Subaru, you're more likely to punch your voting card in the John Kerry box.While Independent candidate Ralph Nader did not carry the vote among any brand, he did garner the most support from drivers of the now defunct GM brand Oldsmobile, the survey found. Voters also tend to support candidates with similar vehicles to their own. The President has made it known that he drives a Ford F-250 on his ranch in Crawford, Texas. That said, it may be no surprise that Bush is finding heavy support from drivers of large SUVs and full-size pick-up trucks like the Chevy Suburban or Ford F-Series trucks.While Sen. Kerry's family owns several cars, he is best known for driving an old Dodge convertible around Washington, D.C. -- and Kerry is snagging votes from just over half of convertible drivers, the survey found. Nader drives a hybrid vehicle, but five of six hybrid drivers participating in this study are squarely in Kerry's corner."Clinton won in both 1992 and 1996 by appealing to 'minivan soccer moms,'" said Rick Wainschel, vice president, Kelley Blue Book Marketing Research. "The fact that Kerry is currently trailing nearly three to one among minivan 'security-moms' in our 2004 poll, should be of some concern to his political camp."Overall poll results show President Bush winning the election among drivers by 20 points. Other survey findings include:58.6% of drivers plan to vote for President George Bush38.3% of drivers plan to vote for Sen. John Kerry2.2% of drivers plan to vote for Ralph Nader0.8% of drivers plan to vote for someone else altogether"We ran this same poll four years ago and correctly predicted that Bush would edge out Al Gore," said Stephen Henson, executive vice president, sales and marketing, Kelley Blue Book. "Bush can win again if he goes into key swing states, like Michigan, Ohio and Wisconsin and gets out the 'big truck' vote."Visit Kelley Blue Book:www.kbb.com"