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Shell Oil Products US commissioned an independent study to better understand how vehicles are cared for and maintained in the United States.  The Shell study evaluated the 50 largest metropolitan statistical areas (MSAs) in the contiguous United States  to identify “America’s Autopias” – where cars would most want to live if they had their way. 

Researchers from Decision Analyst, Inc., a Texas-based independent research firm, compiled and categorized these factors into three areas that have a direct impact on vehicle care and operation – quality of fuel and motor oil, routine car care and maintenance practices, and road conditions/traffic congestion. The variables were analyzed using advanced modeling techniques to form the final “Shell America’s Autopias” Index . 

The Results

Rank	MSA	Score
1	New Orleans, LA	100
2	St. Louis, MO-IL	85
3	Kansas City, MO-KS	84
4	Atlanta, GA	82
5	Phoenix-Mesa, AZ	74
6	Nashville, TN	71
7	Portland-Salem, OR-WA	68
8	Salt Lake City-Ogden, UT	68
9	Raleigh-Durham-Chapel Hill, NC	66
10	Seattle-Tacoma-Bremerton, WA	64
11	Las Vegas, NV-AZ	64
12	Dallas-Fort Worth, TX	60
13	Jacksonville, FL	60
14	Grand Rapids-Muskegon-Holland, MI	60
15	Sacramento-Yolo, CA	56
16	Denver-Boulder-Greeley, CO	56
17	Austin-San Marcos, TX	56
18	Oklahoma City, OK	55
19	Greensboro-Winston-Salem-High Point, NC	55
20	Charlotte-Gastonia-Rock Hill, NC-SC	54
21	Richmond-Petersburg, VA	53
22	Hartford, CT	53
23	Cincinnati-Hamilton, OH-KY-IN	52
24	Columbus, OH	51
25	Indianapolis, IN	51
26	Houston-Galveston-Brazoria, TX	51
27	Memphis, TN-AR-MS	50
28	Cleveland-Akron, OH	48
29	San Francisco-Oakland-San Jose, CA	45
30	Milwaukee-Racine, WI	44
31	Pittsburgh, PA	43
32	Chicago-Gary-Kenosha, IL-IN-WI	42
33	West Palm Beach-Boca Raton, FL	42
34	Louisville, KY-IN	41
35	Buffalo-Niagara Falls, NY	40
36	Philadelphia-Wilmington-Atlantic City, PA-NJ-DE-MD	40
37	Detroit-Ann Arbor-Flint, MI	40
38	Providence-Fall River-Warwick, RI-MA	39
39	Los Angeles-Riverside-Orange County, CA	37
40	Minneapolis-St. Paul, MN-WI	37
41	Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, FL	37
42	Washington-Baltimore, DC-MD-VA-WV	36
43	Rochester, NY	35
44	Norfolk-Virginia Beach-Newport News, VA-NC	35
45	Orlando, FL	34
46	Boston-Worcester-Lawrence, MA-NH-ME-CT	32
47	San Diego, CA	30
48	San Antonio, TX	30
49	Miami-Fort Lauderdale, FL	24
50	New York-Northern New Jersey-Long Island, NY-NJ-CT-PA	23

The results of the study indicate that New Orleans is America’s Autopia, with the highest car care index score of the 50 largest MSAs in the country.  The city ranked No. 1 in the quality of fuel and motor oil category, with a majority of gasolines sold in the market meeting TOP TIER Detergent Gasoline standards.

In fact, according to the NPD Group/Motor Fuels Index, 54.3 percent of all gasoline purchased in the city was sold by a brand that meets the standard (see “Background” section for more on this new gasoline standard).  In addition, nearly 49 percent of all motor oil purchased is in a premium category, such as high-mileage, semi-synthetic or full-synthetic motor oil, with the remainder of motor oil sales falling into the standard, conventional oils category. 

The city was ranked third among all MSAs for its spending on car maintenance products and services, such as oil filters, tires, oil changes, tire rotations and other car care services.  And while the Big Easy only ranked No. 21 for road conditions and congestion out of the 50 MSAs studied, due in part to traffic congestion and the level of spending on roads in disrepair, it was not enough to unseat New Orleans as America’s Autopia. 

In addition, nearly every city that ranked in the top 10 MSAs also ranked in the top 10 in at least one of the three areas that were studied.  Residents in No. 1 ranked New Orleans and No. 3 ranked Kansas City purchase more TOP TIER Detergent Gasoline and high-quality motor oils than residents in the other metro areas that were studied.  Other key conclusions:

Top Cities Based on Quality of Fuel & Motor Oil

• New Orleans
• Kansas City
• Las Vegas

Top Cities Based on Routine Car Care & Maintenance

• St. Louis
• Nashville
• New Orleans
  

Top Cities Based on Favorable Road Conditions and Traffic Congestion

• Atlanta
• Pheonix
• Cleveland

Background

The study was conducted by Decision Analyst, Inc., a Texas-based independent research firm, for Shell Oil Products US. Shell believes practicing routine vehicle maintenance and choosing quality gasolines are important steps to protect what is likely to be the largest or second largest purchase a consumer will make in their lifetime.  Shell is dedicated to researching and developing high-quality fuels and lubricants and recently introduced its most advanced fuel ever, Shell V-Power®.  Specially formulated to actively clean as you drive, Shell V-Power can clean up carbon deposits that minimum detergency gasolines leave behind. 

And, according to the automakers that developed the TOP TIER Detergent Gasoline standard, clean engines help vehicles achieve optimal performance as well as reduced emissions.  BMW, General Motors, Honda and Toyota are so concerned with declining gasoline quality that they recently introduced a new gasoline standard that surpasses minimum government standards for gasoline detergency additives.  The four automakers developed the standard to help keep vehicle engines clean and reduce deposit-related problems. All Shell gasolines meet the TOP TIER Detergent Gasoline standard. 

About Shell

Shell Oil Products US, a subsidiary of Shell Oil Company, is a leader in the refining, transportation and marketing of fuels, and has a network of nearly 6,600 branded gasoline stations in the Western United States. Shell Oil Company is a 50 percent owner of Motiva Enterprises LLC, along with Saudi Refining, Inc., which refines and markets branded products through 9,400 stations in the Eastern and Southern United States. Shell Oil Company is an affiliate of the Royal Dutch/Shell Group of Companies (NYSE: RD/SC).

Learn more about Shell V-Power® or find a Shell station near you.

Questions

Fleishman-Hillard	Laurie Dent: 214/303-6010   Mark Crouser: 214/303-6002
Shell Media Line	713/241-4544

Notes

1.  As recognized by the U.S. Census Bureau.  An MSA is defined as a geographic area that consists of a city with a population of 50,000 or more people, including suburban communities adjacent to the city.
   
2. An index is a numerical scale providing for the relative ranking of the MSAs according to their performance in the relevant category.  In this study, all raw model scores were rebased so the score for the top-performing MSA in any category is 100, with all other MSA scores being proportionately rescored.