beamer0821

Was a little taken back by this aticle in the Chicago Tribune. Scion cars did not rank high on a survey of what young people liked. I've looked everywhere at every type of car for one that I liked that was in the high teens low 20s and could not find one. the tC was the only one that impressed me. I'm wondering if the survey was that accurate for the Scions as they are a newer line, and I know alot of my friends and family when I told them I'm getting the tC were like what is that? So...maybe thats why. Not sure...but here's the article. And honda civic had high ratings....honda civic?? i hate that car...its so played out and plain.

I also hate that the journalist says teenagers...I am 25, but I guess thats who they surveyed, but anyhow..

Carmakers are gaining on teens

Published November 5, 2004


Teenagers want a Volkswagen Beetle, Honda Civic or BMW 3-Series sedan.

They don't want a Chrysler Sebring, Dodge Stratus, GMC Envoy, Subaru Legacy or Scion tC.

In other words, all automakers covet teenagers as a pool of potential buyers, but the teens don't covet all auto makes.

That's the finding of a national survey of 16- to 19-year-olds to learn what vehicles are on their wish lists. It was conducted by TNS Automotive, a Greenwich, Conn.-based market research firm.

The survey also was a barometer of how effective the automakers have been in attracting youth to their brands.

"The automakers are improving [in marketing to youth], but still have work to do and would make a mistake in assuming teens have the same preferences as adults," said Andy Turton, president of TNS.

Teens reported the brands they desire most are Volkswagen, Honda, BMW, Pontiac, Mazda and Mitsubishi.

The least desirable are Jaguar, Scion, Kia, Dodge, Chrysler, Subaru and GMC.

Chevrolet and Ford were considered middle-of-the-road choices among teens, not just because their parents drive them, but also because "there's nothing special when it comes to styling," Turton said.

That's significant, he said, because the No. 1 reason teens give for favoring a car is exterior styling (43 percent), far more important than the other top reasons for being drawn to a brand--that their friends will like the car too (29 percent) and that the car gives them mobility (20 percent). Considering that the latter means freedom, you might expect it to be the No. 1 choice.

And that goes along with the top reason teens dislike a brand: that the car blends into the crowd (92 percent).

Another indication that adults and teens don't have the same tastes: Adults have gravitated toward sport-utility vehicles and trucks in recent years and teens favor sedans (37 percent) or coupes (33 percent).

Only 14 percent of teens favor pickup trucks, and 8 percent SUVs.

Turton said Chevy and Ford should pay attention to that because those brands weren't high on the teens' wish list, which means their sedans and coupes "are anonymous among teens."

Not surprising, when it comes to equipping a new car, a premium audio system was the top "must-have" option among teens (68 percent), followed by a six-disc in-dash CD player (56 percent).

When it came to surprises, the Scion brand headed the list. Scion, a division of Toyota, heavily targeted youth and used the Internet to promote its lineup, but is not capturing teens' attention.

While 90 percent of teens say they are aware of the Honda brand, only 30 percent express an awareness of Scion, and even they aren't impressed.

Turton said TNS surveyed teens at the Detroit Auto Show in January, and they found the just-introduced Scion tC sports coupe "boring" and "lacking stand-out styling."

The survey also found that when it came to gender, females favored Saturn because of its no-haggle pricing policy while males favored Ferrari and Hummer for their sports and macho images.

Of note, the survey also set out to determine what, if any, differences there were in buying preferences among Hispanics, who will comprise the largest number of teens within 10 years.

"Hispanics are more influenced by their parents and buying is a family or `we' decision rather than the individual or `me' decision among non-Hispanics," said Loretta Adams, head of TNS' market development division.

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Read Jim Mateja Sunday in Transportation and Wednesday and Friday in Business. Hear him on WBBM-AM 780 at 6:22 p.m. Wednesdays and 11:22 a.m. Sundays.

Obike

In other words, most teenagers have seen fast/furious too often and are ricers. If my son was a ricer, I'd beat it out of him

Otocan

and so you have it, the future generation.....

be afraid....

be very... very.... afraid....

dante

for all the posts on here about "hey, my parents are going to co-sign a loan for me, will that affect my monthly payments" I *highly* doubt that scion's not catching on among young people. also remember that this was only done at the detroit auto show, which means that a) only people in detroit were surveyed and b) only the people who actually went to the show would be surveyed. Plus the survey was done in January, when the tC just announced and wasn't coming out for 6 months!!

Gee, I could be a reporter with that kind of "evidence".

dante

10% of the reporting public was not aware of the honda brand...

yup, these are the kids who will choose your nursing home.

Rivulent

That report probably didn't include the more contemporary design of the tC in the polls (probably just about what teens though of the xA/xB, which don't have a contemporary design style). The tC is much more riceable the and the kids love it .

beamer0821

thats what i think also. the poll should not have included the tC, i don't think it was fairly represented. I think someone who would be impressed with a plain old stupid honda civic would for sure be blown away by the Scion tC

therotman

I bet less than 5 percent of the people know what the tC is-

Scion will do better in a year when people know what they are

JustynTime

thats kinda funny. The main reason I chose the scion was it was the only and I mean only car I found to be good looking. Every car i see I think is ugly. But then again according to this articale, at 23, I am old. Pretty much all cars now look as if a giant came along and smooshed the car together. all the cars I see are as tall as mini vans now. The tC is the only new car I have seen that has been the hieght of a car. Plus IMO the BCP just looks soo sexy.

RanmaP

I would of taken the 05 Civic EX Coupe if it was cheaper... but since its not I got a tC.

As of looks, I still like the 05 Civic Coupe over the tC though. But I wouldn't mind having the tC's more powerful engine in the Civic.

kaypee

Doesn't surprise me...

if you look at scion's marketing, they're hitting 20-somethings. not teens: the club events, the sneaker parties, resfest, dj turntablism, etc. they're all stuff kids get into after they outgrow britney spears and TRL. Scion is carving a niche in that 20's bracket, and that's the right thing marketing-wise. teens are lemmings. if Scion makes it big with the 20's bracket for a few years then the teeny boppers will follow. 20's types will not copycat teens however, and it's the 20's when people start buying cars.

Bakaduin

I also think this survey wasnt very realistic. Teenagers were very receptive to "BMW's", "Hummers", and "Ferraris." Last time I checked a majority teenagers couldnt afford these cars so this poll seems to be more on the lines of what car would you get if money wasnt an option. Heh then I'm sure there would be alot less tC's on the list. Also I agree with yall saying that tC has barely been out and people probably thinking of xA/xB. I used to see them on the road and thought the xA was a mini Matrix and the xB was just plain fugly. First time I saw the tC I wanted to have a child with it. But hey I'm just a college kid!

sindekat

:D Yep very few teenagers looking here. I agree with Kaypee-its the 20-30 year olds that are stopping by. Most teens who do stop by think they can afford a porsche or ask when the new Supra is coming.-They are just not ready to buy. Besides chances are they are driving the old stationwagon/beater thier parents gave them-and they can only dream of something exotic. There are very few 16-19 year old who can just go out and buy their first new car. The ones that can-can afford more than a tC-thanks to thier parents. I wish the research company could see the statistics we have compiled-based on actual purchases and primary drivers.

marcelino

Obike

I keep praying for a new Supra, but I doubt it'll ever happen. The MKIII or MKIV Supra would be my dream car, but I'd want something that I'd have to do a LOT of work to... as a primary driver I'm going to keep with my tC. After ~2-3yrs with me saving my money I'm going to start doing LOTS of performance mods to the tC and invest in a Volvo S40 as a daily driver (it's luxury, functional, safe, and a good family car imho without being TOO expensive... as well as having enough unf to get that speed when I want it :D). I agree that Scion is targetting the 20-30yr old range, and they are doing QUITE well with it.

zoltiz

I wonder why waitlists for tC are 3 months. Damn grandpas buying tCs while poor teenagers are cruising in their brand spanking new 3-series BMWs

What a load of crock that survey was...

TrafficinLA

Uninformed article...with lack of control in data collection. Teens 16-19 were used in the survey and it asked for their dream cars. Now, how many teens get their dream cars as their first ride? While exterior looks may be the first thing they look at, the last thing they face is the price, which will send them back to reality.
90% Honda recognition? Honda have been around for how long compared to Scion?
92% of them say they don't like cars that blend in to the crowd? Well, gee, a Civic will blend right in won't it? I see one every minute on the freeways, riced or not. Lack of demand for Scions? Why do people have trouble finding tCs?

fearturtle44

Then who in the hell is buying the tC? Scion has sold a ton of these cars and I don't think Granddad and Grandmom are buying.

The VW beetle, give me a break......

With the tC, Scion came out with a nice looking, inexpensive car with a better than average sound system. And built with the ever reliable Camry engine. Can you ask for more???

Least it leave more tC for the rest of us....

Kevin

dante

16-19 year olds. PLEASE DON"T BUY A TC!!!! They suck, they're boring, they look like everything else on the road, and your insurance will skyrocket. They're death-traps, bursting into fire if you lock up your brakes on a dry road, and chicks think they're fugly. You WILL NOT get laid if you get this car. The stereo sucks. Your friends will laugh at you. Your parents think it's "cool". It's very practical. Please please PLEASE whatever you do don't buy a tC.

Obike

And with that every single teenager bought a civic

The End

George

Most teens want the same kind of car that I wanted when I was a teen:

One that runs. Preferably with a big back seat.

Since few teens actually buy new cars it is a bit silly to consider manufacturers courting them. Sure, teen boys like Ferraris and Hummers, but how many of them are in the high school student parking lot? Most of the cars I see there are beater Civics and 80s GM and Ford products. Yes, mumsy and dadsy do buy a few new cars, but most of these tend to be conservative Hondas and Toyotas. Anything less boring will kill a teen (or more specifically, their parents) on insurance?

George