Transtecha: Study: Younger Generation Seems To Care Less About Cars

Monday, October 12, 2009

Study: Younger Generation Seems To Care Less About Cars

During the first 8 months of 2009, J.D. Power and Associates analyzed hundreds of thousands of “conversations” on auto-related sites and social networks such as Twitter and Facebook. The goal was to gauge the perceptions of Generation Y towards the automotive industry, as well as toward specific brands.

“Online discussions by teens indicate shifts in perceptions regarding the necessity of and desire to have cars,” J.D. Power Associates said (yes, we’re completely surprised as well).

Part of the reason could be economic difficulties causing teens to be less interested in costs involved with maintaining and fueling a vehicle. Another reason could be that teens are spending too much time on social media forms to connect with their friends, resulting in a decrease for the need to “physically congregate” (aka hang out).

“The negative perceptions of the automotive industry that teens and early careerists hold could have implications on future vehicle sales,” said Parker. “Generation Y could have the greatest spending power of any generation-even surpassing that of the Baby Boomers. It will be essential for automakers to earn the trust and loyalty of Gen Y consumers, who are particularly critical of brands and products.”