Gojirra99

By GEORGE P. BLUMBERG
Published: July 3, 2005

THE next time traffic snaps to a halt in a spectacle of brake lights, glance around. There's a good chance you'll see one of those cool hipster-mobiles - the coupes with erector-set spoilers, the hatchbacks in emphatic colors, the boxy wagons that seem more square than a 1950's sitcom.

What's Hot (and What's Not)These sorts of trendy cars, like the Toyota Matrix, the Honda Element and three varieties of Toyota's Scions, were designed and marketed expressly for 20-somethings. But the people at the wheel often look more like Ozzie and Harriet than like the serially pierced offspring of Ozzy Osbourne.

For a variety of reasons, manufacturers of youth-oriented cars are missing their targets. "The original anticipated median age of the Matrix driver was 28.8, but it's actually 42.7," said Art Spinella, president of CNW Marketing Research, a consulting firm in Bandon, Ore., that tracks auto industry trends. "And Element drivers are at 44.7 instead of the anticipated 28.6."

Graying baby boomers have co-opted many of the vehicles intended for buff young people. The median age of those driving the Pontiac Vibe, a small wagon similar to the Matrix, is 48.2; CNW says the anticipated age had been 30.2. The median of actual Dodge Neon drivers is 39.2, compared with the expected 22.7.

CNW calculates the anticipated age of drivers based on manufacturers' demographic projections, analysis of prices and market segments and other information. Data on drivers is considered more relevant than that on purchasers, because parents often buy children the cars they demand, skewing the demographic profiles.

Automakers would love to get the business of Generation Y, but this tribe - loosely defined as the 70 million Americans born from 1977 to 1995 - has proved elusive. While companies exhaustively research Gen Y's tastes and desires, they have run up against an obstacle: relatively few can yet afford new cars.

"The boomers have the money," Mr. Spinella said. "The 50-plus group is responsible for 50 percent of sales, and that grows to 54 percent in 2010." In that same period, he said, the 15-29 age group will never account for more than 9 percent of sales.

After that, the aging Generation Y will make its presence felt. By 2020, these Americans are expected to buy more than six million new vehicles a year. As they grow older and richer they are likely to mirror, to some extent, the boomers who came before.

Therefore, carmakers are concerned with more than selling cheap econoboxes to Gen Y today. The companies hope to draw in young customers gradually, cultivate their loyalty and sell them fancier cars later.

Even the best-researched plans can have unintended consequences, as Honda found. "We pitched the Element to 18-to-25-year-old males as a big box which could be like a rolling dorm room, and hold their stuff," said Andy Boyd, a company spokesman. But the Element's quirkiness - with its wide-open interior space and rubber floor - appeals as much to older hobbyists, families and businesses, who like the utility and the fact that the vehicle can be hosed out.

Bob Van Almkerk, a sales manager at Brandfon Honda in Branford, Conn., says he sells Elements to boomers and empty nesters. "I'm thinking our customer base is age 35 to 70," he said. "A fully optioned model runs about $22,000. How can an unemployed college kid afford that?"

After Toyota tried and largely failed to sell Echos and Matrixes to young people, the company set up Scion as a separate brand with unconventional marketing methods. (For instance, custom versions of the cars are parked near hip night spots, so young people "discover" them on their own.) Toyota also wants to lower the median age of its buyers, which a spokeswoman, Ming-Jou Chen, said was close to 50.

The Matrix wagon and Echo subcompact were influenced by a Toyota program called Genesis, an attempt to research the desires of young people. Yet young people began calling the Echo the "Yucko," because of its frumpy styling and bare interior. Older people liked the frugal, upright car for another reason: it was easy to get in and out.

We learned a lot" from Genesis, said Brian Bolain, Scion's national sales promotion manager. He said the Echo was seen as "too mainstream" because of its Toyota badge, and "we still got older Toyota buyers."

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What's Hot (and What's Not)Andy Turton of TNS, a market research firm that studies the buying patterns of teenagers, said 16- to-19-year-olds did not aspire to Toyotas the way they dreamed of getting a Honda or a Volkswagen. "It's not about practicality," he said of the reasons young people like particular brands. "Teens see the car as an extension of themselves."

Each year, Mr. Spinella at CNW compiles the Stodgy Index, based on surveys in which young people rate the appeal of car and truck brands. Toyota comes off with a lackluster image, but Scion scored at the top. Mr. Turton said his annual study indicated that more than 30 percent of teenagers were aware of Scion, "pretty good for this short time and with such narrow marketing."

More than 160,000 Scions found buyers between June 2003, when the division started selling cars, and the end of May. Jim Farley, the Toyota vice president for Scion, said buyers of the xA hatchback and xB wagon had a median age in the mid- to- high-30's, while the median for the newer tC coupe was in the mid to late 20's. He said 85 percent of Scion customers were new to Toyota, 52 percent were men (versus 60 percent women for the segment), 25 percent had co-signers, and 66 percent configured their cars on the Internet.

Still, Brian Weinberg, general manager of Grossinger City Toyota in Chicago, said his average Scion buyer was 37 years old.

And 160,000 customers do not a self-sufficient brand make. "Right now, there aren't enough Gen Yers in the market for Scion to have an average age in the 20's," Mr. Farley of Scion said. He said the age of the average owner could creep up as more older buyers discovered the cars.

"Looking back, I'd say we should have said we're targeting trend-setters over all, not just youth," he said. Mr. Farley agreed that getting new buyers into Scions was only half the job: "We need exciting product for them to move to," once they are ready for a more expensive car. "It won't happen," he said, "with today's Camrys or Avalons."

Will carmakers continue to be surprised that the youngsters they seek are not buying their cars? "Half my friends are into cars and the other half just cares if a car runs," said P. J. McCombs, a 22-year-old musician who has gained a bit of fame for the car reviews he posts at epinions.com. "But being into cars can mean a 20-year-old Camaro."

Mr. McCombs, who recently graduated from the University of California, Davis, said in an interview that he had noticed a growing number of Scions on campus, though used cars from the 1990's remained most popular. "Ten-year-old Eclipses and Civics are all over," he said.

source : nytimes.com

np20412

I can't tell you how many times I've looked inside a Scion xA and seen a senior citizen behind the wheel.













How come I wasn't surveyed?

mmarshall

None of this surprises me at all. I've made many posts about the follies of trying to " image " market. While there are some people, old and young, who will buy or lease a vehicle just to impress their friends or to keep up with the Joneses, and some people who will by a Suburban just to intimidate other drivers, by and large people are going to buy and drive what suits their needs best and what they can afford....and that's where we at CL can sometimes help, too.

Also...take some of those rankings on the " stodgy " column with a grain of salt. For instance, there are so-called "stodgy " versions of cars the the top of the list and some quite UN-stodgy versions of those at the bottom.


Actually, though, one or two of the charts does surprise me a little....the high median age of both Corvette and Thunderbird buyers (almost 60). I would have guessed much younger than that. Both cars are low and rather difficult to get in and out of, cramped, and stiff-riding...the Corvette more so than the T-Bird. Older buyers are usually turned off by these features, but I guess that the appeal of these two cars makes up for it in other areas.

Gojirra99

Of course there are exceptions, and those are the average rankings of the brands according to 16-24 year-old's only, they may have different tastes than you.

mmarshall

Yes, I understand that. I agree with you.

By the way, congragulations on 7000 posts coming up. I'll be right behind you.

BLK13X

Hrmm.. if I buy a Toyota does that mean I'm more mature?

I'm guessing it's a good thing we don't get Buicks in Australia

mmarshall

Mitsubishi built the Diamante there ( which has been dropped from the U.S.market ).
That car, like the Lexus ES330, is essentially a Japanese Buick...a smooth, quiet powertrain and ride.

Inabj2

Im not its kinda difficult for an average 21 heck even 31 year old to afford a 50+ thousand dollar car that offers limited practically and is at the bare minimum a secondary vehicle at the least.

Faraaz23

Maybe its just where I live... but I am not surprised one bit that the median Corvette driver is pushin 60 years old. Its not very often that I see a Corvette driven around here by someone who looks younger than about mid 50's or so. No offense to anyone who has one, but one of the two stereotypes I very commonly hear the corvette associated with is "an old fart who always drives the speed limit."

I am surprised on the stodgy index how low acura cars were... considering the RSX's that you see everywhere driven by young people. I am also surprised that suzuki cars and trucks were near the top with Scion...... can someone remind me again what car Suzuki even makes??? When I think of Suzuki, I think of these little sub-compact hatchbacks with 9 people shoved in them that litter the streets of Pakistan....

Another surprise was BMW.... i'd think it would have been a bit higher... regardless of how many younger people are able to get their hands on them, almost any high school/college kid I know would love nothing more then to get an M3, or even a regular 3 or Z4.

One place I think Scion went terribly wrong is making the xA and xB so underpowered... i hear many complaints about that. I think if they even used a 130hp corolla motor instead of the ~107hp motor, it'd be more appealing to kids.

This definitely is a really interesting study though.

Lil4X

Re the popularity of 'Vettes and T-birds with seniors, these were the cars we all wanted in our youth. When I got my driver's license, I worked hard to get a well-used '52 bottom-feeder Dodge for $200. It was reliable and solid, but hardly the conveyance of my dreams. Corvettes and Thunderbirds in those days cost twenty times what my old Dodge did - and were practically uninsurable for a 16 year old.

Now that I can afford a Corvette or a Thunderbird, I've considered buying one . . . for about three minutes. Practicality may not have beaten my mid-life crisis, but it has fought it to a stand-off.

mmarshall

I'm with you on that one, Lil....and I know exactly how you feel. Now that I can afford almost any new muscle car I would want short of an AMG, like in your case, they just don't appeal to me as strongly they did 30-35 years ago....when I would have wanted one and couldn't afford one. An arguement can be made that young people usually are just not paid enough for their work and have to wait too long in life before they can buy nice things, but that is another whole issue and probably does not belong in this thread.
I looked at the new Mustang, GTO, and Charger....modern rendition of the cars I grew up with... and was not particularly impressed with any of them, quality-wise......and all three would be worthless on a slippery road.
In the meantime, I've become addicted to quality, refinement, and traction.....in other words Lexus and Subaru.

videcormeum

Well, while the Corvette is a perennial favorite - the T-bird has been something of a bomb. While it is appealing, and the style is well-executed retro - it just doesn't have the performance and modern style/image that would otherwise attract a younger crowd - especially given it's rather rediculous price tag.

As for the Corvette - I think a lot of these purchases occur when the first marriage falls through. Flame on - but that's where and why these sales occur.

M.

mmarshall

There's some truth in that, but for a new 'Vette his alimony and /or child support better not be too high.

technol

theres an old grampa next door with a scion XA... I was like wtf till i read this haha!

mikevogel

looks right. most people just want a car that looks fast thats all they care about