Car Talk Listener Survey Results

In January, NPR shared the Walrus Research analysis of the power of Saturday and Sunday morning when leading NPR news stations schedule Weekend Edition, then Car Talk and Wait Wait together.

Recently they asked George Bailey to take his work a step further, by conducting a listener survey of attitudes and impressions about Car Talk. From reading, you walk away with a clear appreciation of why Car Talk is still the single largest hour in public radio: because listeners adore it just as much now as they always have.

Some quick take aways from this recent listener survey:

• 88 percent of respondents agree that "Car Talk is just fun, whether or not they talk about cars."
• 70 percent DISAGREE with this statement: "It seems that Car Talk is repeating old shows."

To quote George: "That last finding is a great example of perception vs. reality, because Car Talk does repurpose its best stuff. From the listener's perspective, it is the perception that matters. And if that listener did not hear or recall the original broadcast, it is still fresh."

You can read the full results of the listener survey here.