Yahoo Autos Trouble for Detroit? Gen Y’s Favorite Cars Are Foreign
A new study of Gen Y drivers’ preferences looks like more bad news for the Detroit automakers.
Auto pricing site TrueCar.com tracked both the brands and individual models bought in 2009 and 2010 by Generation Y shoppers (ages 18 to 27). The results should strike fear into the hearts of U.S. auto executives: Not a single brand from a domestic automaker made the Top 10 list.
Scion, a brand set up by Toyota Motor specifically aimed at young buyers, was No. 1. (See its Scion tC above right.) Mitsubishi, a name that barely registers with older shoppers, came in second.
Some other brands among the top 10, such as Honda and Volkswagen, have a long record of youth appeal. But even the Korean corporate twins Hyundai and Kia, which have recorded surging sales in recent years, appear to have extended their appeal to young buyers as well as older ones.
