Blind-spot alerts were the most wanted driver-assistance feature in a 2026 survey of more than 10,000 U.S. vehicle owners, selected by 42% of respondents, according to The Harris Poll.
The finding comes from the firm's AutoTECHCAST tracking study, which also found that interest in vehicle technology varies sharply by generation. These are reported preferences among people involved in an upcoming household vehicle decision, not a measure of what all drivers own or will ultimately buy.
Which features are gaining interest
The study asked about roughly 40 technologies across driver assistance, comfort, connectivity, vehicle monitoring, security, visibility, powertrains and electric vehicles. Harris said interest was rising for fully self-driving vehicles, extended-range electric engines, in-car payments and connections with smart-home systems.
Some features already found in many new vehicles had declining momentum scores, including built-in media and navigation systems, factory-installed dashcams and full digital rear-view mirrors. A declining momentum score in this survey does not mean the feature has disappeared from vehicles or that current owners dislike it; it indicates a change in the study's interest measure.
Among Gen Z and millennial vehicle owners, 79% said their car's technology made them more likely to buy the same brand again, 14 percentage points higher than in 2016. Harris also reported a 6.5-point rise in Gen Z's average interest in tracked technologies between 2023 and 2026, compared with a 0.4-point increase among boomers.
Blind-spot alerts topped the driver-assist list across age groups. Younger respondents showed stronger-than-average interest in reminders to keep hands on the wheel, while boomers were more interested than the overall average in lane-departure alerts, by roughly nine to 10 points in the study's comparisons.
What the survey can and cannot show
AutoTECHCAST was conducted April 8 through May 11, 2026. The respondents were U.S. residents ages 18 to 80 with a valid license and at least one household vehicle, driving a qualifying North American model from 2020 or newer. Each was at least half responsible for the household's next vehicle decision; most expected to buy or lease within a few years.
The 30-minute survey was weighted by demographics and vehicle segment to represent the in-market vehicle-buying population as defined by the study. That eligibility rule excludes many owners of older vehicles and people not involved in a purchase decision, so its percentages should not be read as shares of every U.S. motorist. The overview did not provide a sampling error or uncertainty interval.
Harris said the wider report also measures familiarity, ownership, willingness to pay and purchase likelihood, and groups features into proposed technology bundles for product planning. The public overview supplies the headline trends, not the detailed price or bundle findings; expressed interest by itself does not establish sales or profits.
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