NEW YORK, June 2, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- With Memorial Day comes various events that signify the start of summer. These range from the first cook-out to opening the swimming pool to planning summer vacations. It also means the beginning of the summer driving season and higher gas prices are having an impact. Half of Americans who own a vehicle (51%) say they have cut back on products and/or services in order to pay the increased price of gasoline. As might be expected, those with lower household income are more impacted. Almost two-thirds (65%) of those with a household income of less than $35,000 a year have cut back on products or services because of higher gas prices compared to 38% of those who have household income of $100,000 or more.

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These are some of the results of The Harris Poll of 2,184 adults surveyed online between May 9 and 16, 2011 by Harris Interactive.

There are many things people are cutting back on because of high gas prices. Almost three in ten of those cutting back (28%) have cut back on dining out while one-quarter have cut back on groceries (24%). One in five say they have cut back on entertainment (18%), while others have reduced driving or are staying home more (11%) and cut back on clothing purchases (10%). Some other things people have cut back on include personal grooming such as hair cuts or manicures (6%), auto repairs and upkeep (5%) and movies (5%) while 5% say they have cut back on everything to pay for the increased price of gasoline.

Who can stop rising gas prices?

In looking at who to blame for the rising cost of gasoline, three things seem to stand out as having the most influence on price. Just under one-quarter of Americans (24%) say U.S. oil and natural gas industry profits have had the greatest influence on rising gasoline prices while 22% believe it is the world crude oil prices and 21% believe it's due to instability in oil producing areas.

So, who can best stop rising gas prices? One-third of Americans (34%) say the oil and gas industry while three in ten (28%) believe the federal government can best stop rising gasoline prices. One in five (19%) believe consumers can stop rising gas prices while 4% say state and local governments, 3% say the automotive industry and 12% are not sure.

Looking specifically at the automotive industry, half of U.S. adults (53%) say American automotive companies are not moving as quickly as they should to build cars that consume less gasoline, while 22% believe that are and 23% say they are not at all sure. This is a large change from 2006 when three-quarters of U.S. adults (74%) said American car companies weren't moving fast enough and only 9% thought they were.

So What?

In May of 1979, one-third of Americans (35%) felt the U.S. auto companies were moving as quickly as they could to build cars that consume less gasoline while 60% felt they were not. Fast forward 31 years, and the situation hasn't improved much as Americans still don't feel car companies are moving fast enough. But, with three in five adults (62%) expecting that gas prices on Labor Day will be higher than they are now, it just may be that nothing is fast enough to help ease the pain at the pump.

TABLE 1 CUTTING BACK ON PRODUCTS OR SERVICES "Have you cut back on any products or services in order to pay the increased price of gasoline?" Base: Owns a vehicle

Total 2006 Total 2011 Income $34,999 or less $35,000 – $49,999 $50,000 - $74,999 $75,000 - $99,999 $100,000 or more % % % % % % % Yes 44 51 65 55 46 56 38 No 56 49 35 45 54 44 62 Note: Percentages may not add to 100% due to rounding.

TABLE 2 PRODUCTS OR SERVICES CUT BACK "What products or services have you cut back on?" Base: Cut back on products or services

Total % Dining Out 28 Groceries 24 Entertainment 18 Reduce driving/stay home more 11 Clothing 10 Personal grooming (haircuts, manicures) 6 Everything 5 Auto repairs/upkeep 5 Movies 5 Weekend trips/travel 3 Shopping 3 Reduce extras, leisure or luxury items 3 Fast food/junk food 3 Gasoline 2 Vacations 1 Utilities 1 Note: Open-ended question, multiple responses allowed.

TABLE 3 CAR COMPANIES AND NEW AUTOS "Do you think that American automobile companies are moving as quickly as they should to build automobiles that consume less gasoline?" Base: All adults

Total 1979 Total 2006 Total 2011 Echo Boomers (18-34) Gen X (35-46) Baby Boomers (47-65) Matures (66+) % % % % % % % Yes, they are moving as quickly as they should 35 9 22 26 20 21 22 No, they're not moving as quickly as they should 60 74 53 50 51 56 57 Not Sure 5 17 23 22 28 22 20 Decline to answer - 1 1 2 1 * * Note: Percentages may not add up exactly to 100% due to rounding. A * signifies less than 0.5% and a - indicates no response.

In 1979, the question was asked by phone and the question text was "Do you think the American automobile companies are moving as quickly as they can to build automobiles that consume less gasoline or not?" and the response choices were "Moving as quickly as they can" and "Not moving as quickly as they can."

TABLE 4 INFLUENCES ON RISING GAS PRICES "Which one of the following has had the greatest influence on rising gasoline prices?" Base: All adults

Total 2006 Total 2011 Region East Midwest South West % % % % % % U.S. oil and natural gas industry profits 39 24 19 21 25 31 World crude oil prices 27 22 21 25 23 21 Instability in oil producing areas 7 21 22 20 22 18 Federal and state taxes 6 7 9 6 7 5 Last year's oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, sometimes called the Deepwater Horizon Blast NA 4 3 5 5 4 Upcoming changes in fuel requirements (such as the addition of ethanol into gasoline) 2 2 2 1 3 2 Other refining costs 2 1 1 1 2 1 Others 12 18 25 20 14 19 Note: Percentages may not add up exactly to 100% due to rounding. NA signifies that the response option was not asked in that poll.

TABLE 5 WHO/WHAT CAN STOP RISING GAS PRICES "In your opinion, who can best stop rising gasoline prices?" Base: All adults

Total 2006 Total 2011 Generation Echo Boomers (18-34) Gen X (35-46) Baby Boomers (47-65) Matures (66+) % % % % % % Oil and gas industry 34 34 36 32 31 39 The federal government 29 28 25 33 30 24 Consumers 22 19 16 15 23 22 State and local governments 3 4 6 4 3 2 Automotive industry 3 3 4 4 1 1 Not sure 9 12 12 12 12 11 Note: Percentages may not add up exactly to 100% due to rounding.

TABLE 6 GAS PRICES BY LABOR DAY "Thinking ahead to the end of summer, how do you think gas prices on Labor Day in September will compare with prices now?" Base: All adults

Total 2006 Total 2011 % % Higher (NET) 75 62 Much Higher 31 25 Somewhat Higher 45 37 About the same 17 22 Lower (NET) 7 17 Somewhat Lower 6 15 Much lower 1 1 Note: Percentages may not add up exactly to 100% due to rounding.

Methodology

This Harris Poll was conducted online within the United States between May 9 to 16, 2011 among 2,184 adults (aged 18 and over), of whom 1,882 own a vehicle. Figures for age, sex, race/ethnicity, education, region and household income were weighted where necessary to bring them into line with their actual proportions in the population. Propensity score weighting was also used to adjust for respondents' propensity to be online.

All sample surveys and polls, whether or not they use probability sampling, are subject to multiple sources of error which are most often not possible to quantify or estimate, including sampling error, coverage error, error associated with nonresponse, error associated with question wording and response options, and post-survey weighting and adjustments. Therefore, Harris Interactive avoids the words "margin of error" as they are misleading. All that can be calculated are different possible sampling errors with different probabilities for pure, unweighted, random samples with 100% response rates. These are only theoretical because no published polls come close to this ideal.

Respondents for this survey were selected from among those who have agreed to participate in Harris Interactive surveys. The data have been weighted to reflect the composition of the adult population. Because the sample is based on those who agreed to participate in the Harris Interactive panel, no estimates of theoretical sampling error can be calculated.

These statements conform to the principles of disclosure of the National Council on Public Polls.

The results of this Harris Poll may not be used in advertising, marketing or promotion without the prior written permission of Harris Interactive.

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Q955, 958, 960, 965, 970, 975, 980

The Harris Poll® #67, June 2, 2011

By Regina A. Corso, SVP, Harris Poll, Public Relations and Youth Research, Harris Interactive

About Harris Interactive

Harris Interactive is one of the world's leading custom market research firms, leveraging research, technology, and business acumen to transform relevant insight into actionable foresight. Known widely for the Harris Poll and for pioneering innovative research methodologies, Harris offers expertise in a wide range of industries including healthcare, technology, public affairs, energy, telecommunications, financial services, insurance, media, retail, restaurant, and consumer package goods. Serving clients in over 215 countries and territories through our North American, European, and Asian offices and a network of independent market research firms, Harris specializes in delivering research solutions that help us – and our clients – stay ahead of what's next. For more information, please visit www.harrisinteractive.com.

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SOURCE Harris Interactive