Arrow-right Camera
The Spokesman-Review Newspaper
Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

SHOPPING LIFE

For women car buyers, kicking the tires isn’t what it used to be.

A new study conducted by Johnson Controls Inc. found that what women want in a vehicle is as varied as the demands they meet as they balance career and family responsibilities.

The study found women are looking for flexibility in a car’s design, particularly when it comes to having enough storage – an issue of growing importance as buyers increasingly look to smaller vehicles because of gas prices.

The study was conducted last fall, based on interviews and focus groups in Chicago and Boston, as well as Germany and the Czech Republic.

“For women the vehicle plays so many different roles,” said Renae Pippel, consumer research manager, North America, with Johnson Controls.

“It might be the breakfast table when they’re dropping the kids off, and then it might be the commuter vehicle on the way to work, and then it’s a girls’ gossip area because you’re taking your friends out to lunch, and then it goes back to picking the kids up and turns into a homework place or family room. Or it’s an environment for downtime while you’re at soccer practice and can’t commute all the way home.

Many women sacrificed having a car with a style that portrayed their image when they began having children, Pippel said. But with increasing buying power, women today want their ride to be more than a “mom-taxi,” she said.

Some preferences in a vehicle remain universal.

“Everybody wants a dependable, reliable vehicle to begin with, at the highest quality they can afford,” said Gene Cameron, vice president of marketing at J.D. Power and Associates.

Vehicles preferred by men and women alike include best-selling sedans such as the Toyota Camry and the Honda Accord, according to a 2007 analysis of sales by J.D. Power.

But beyond those models, the sales analysis found women tend to prefer more economical cars and smaller SUVs, such as the Volkswagen Beetle and Toyota Prius and Honda CRV, while men tend to buy far more pickup trucks such as the Chevrolet Silverado and Ford F-Series trucks as well as large SUVs.

Women want the latest technology; they want a vehicle that’s environmentally friendly; and they miss the excitement of driving more fun, “non-mom” vehicles, the survey said.

Milwaukee Journal Sentinel