Help Me Rhonda... Lend Us Your Honda
August 6 2003
US teenagers are Getting Around in some new makes of car, and their dreams are by no means all-American, according to new research by NFO Automotive. Honda and VW are top of the wish list and Honda is particularly popular with the girls. A separate study by J.D. Power this week reveals the extent to which used car shoppers are making use of the 'Net.
The automotive industry has been competing aggressively for shares of the teenage market, and not all the high profile ad campaigns are hitting the spot, according to NFO, who gave manufacturers a teen orientation index score based on dividing teens' rating of their brand by their overall market share in 2002. Results are as follows:
| Honda | 217 |
| Volkswagen | 200 |
| Pontiac | 167 |
| Ford | 94 |
| Toyota, Jeep, Nissan | <80 |
For example, Ford's teen score of 94 indicates that 17% of teens express interest in buying this brand's models, but this number is slightly less than its 2002 market share of 18%.
Chevrolet scores similarly to Ford. Brands that fell into the 'weak' category with a ranking of less than 80 include Toyota, Jeep and Nissan - despite the fact that these brands are traditionally considered teen-oriented and have recently been making an effort to market to teens.
'Honda and Volkswagen have clearly gelled with the teen psyche and are punching above their weight in the market, but others, such as the down-to-earth domestic brands, may be trying too hard or not trying hard enough', said Andy Turton, President of NFO Automotive, adding that subtlety is sometimes better than too obvious an appeal.
Respondents were also asked specifically about their perceptions of brand advertising, and picked out Ford, Chevrolet, Hummer and Volkswagen ads as favourites - Toyota have a strong youth drive and are conspicuous by their absence, as are Mazda and Kia/Hyundai.
Teens were also asked to match a brand with their personality. Males like Chevrolet and Ford, followed by Hummer, whereas girls go for BMW, Volkswagen and Honda. Near the bottom are Mitsubishi, Toyota, Jeep and Dodge. Other aspirational brands that made the list are Ferrari and Jaguar with four percent of teens 'expressing purchase interest'.
NFO Automotive interviewed 672 Americans between the ages of 16 and 19, during June 2003.
Used car buying online
Forty-seven percent of used-vehicle buyers have used the Internet during the shopping process in 2003 - unchanged from 2002 levels, according to the recent J.D. Power and Associates 2003 Used Autoshopper.com Study
SM. However, the average amount of time spent shopping for a used vehicle online has climbed 15 percent from 4.8 hours in 2002 to 5.5 hours in 2003. These shoppers visit an average of 10.5 sites throughout the online shopping process, concentrating more on independent sites than on manufacturer or dealer sites.
Buyers are often looking for independent automotive sites rather than dealer and manufacturer sites, according to Chris Denove, partner at J.D. Power and Associates. 'As in the new-vehicle market, price-related information is most important to online shoppers. Used vehicle buyers also place a premium on impartial vehicle reliability information, trade-in values and even new vehicle pricing'.
The study found that 53 percent of used vehicle buyers visit the Kelley Blue Book (kbb.com) site, giving it the top slot. AutoTrader.com continues to gain in popularity among used vehicle buyers, highlighting a growing consumer migration away from published classified ads and toward Internet vehicle listings. Nine percent of used-vehicle buyers now locate their vehicle through an online classified up from only 4 percent in 2000, while the use of traditional classifieds has fallen from 13 to 11 percent.
'The success of online classifieds illustrates the impact the Internet has had on the used-vehicle shopping process,' said Denove, pointing out that successful players like AutoTrader.com / AutoTrader magazine cover themselves by offering both paper and online options.
Buyers of European makes are more likely to be looking online than those of US manufacturers, who have the highest concentration of buyers who do not use the Internet at all. Luxury buyers are more likely than non-luxury buyers to use the Internet for used vehicle shopping and research.
The 2003 Used Autoshopper.com Study is based on responses from nearly 15,000 owners of used vehicles who purchased pre-owned 1998-2003 model-year vehicles.
All articles 2006-23 written and edited by Mel Crowther and/or Nick Thomas unless otherwise stated.
