What Can Kids Teach Us About Cars?

Edward Niedermeyer
by Edward Niedermeyer

Scientific studies are all well and good, but sometimes the simplest studies can provide the most fascinating insights. Take, for example, the recent series at Autosavant entitled “ Brand Awareness? It’s Elementary” (part two here). The study was inspired by a simple question: if you ask kids to name their favorite car, what kind of results will you get? Their answers reflect not only the power of automotive brands in popular culture, but also the basic level of automotive competency of the next generation of gearheads. Somewhat shockingly, not a single kid appears to have answered “ Bumblebee.”

But before we get to results and insights, there’s one important caveat to this admittedly unscientific survey: it was conducted at a school somewhere in the metro Detroit area. But even adjusted for an understandable amount of hometown bias, the results are worth noting. Author Charles Krome visited a third-grade and a fifth-grade class, and asked each student to fill in the blank of one single, open-ended question: what is your favorite car? The results from the third-grade class were as follows:

Krome notes that Ford’s victory was no surprise. After all, it is currently the most successful of the Detroit automakers (towards which the Detroit-area schoolkids would presumably be favorably biased), and the Mustang is one of the longest-running sportscar nameplates in the business. Krome notes

I’m a bit surprised at the turn-out for GM and the Chrysler Group. It’s especially surprising that the Mustang was picked by four students and its arch-rival, the Camaro, wasn’t mentioned at all… it’s also worth noting the student who remembered the name of [Chrysler’s] innovative seating system ahead of the moniker for the vehicle itself.

Krome also notes that third graders are remarkably immune to the effects of automotive marketing, in comparison to their fifth grade counterparts. Choosing generic bodystyles like “convertible” or a brand name (as opposed to a specific nameplate) was a fairly common answer for third graders. Fifth graders, in comparison, were far more specific, as none picked generic bodystyles, and far more gave their answer in the form of a specific nameplate.

Choosing specific model years and paint colors to little-known enthusiast icons like the Ultimate Aero, the fifth graders clearly had a more specific grasp of the automotive landscape. And though the Camaro did better (taking second place), the Mustang once again won the day with 7 identifications. Intriguingly, though Ferrari, Maserati and Lamborghini were picked by at least one student in the entire survey, not one student mentioned a nameplate from these “boyhood hero” car brands. Speaking of which, a conspicuous absence in the survey is the Bugatti Veyron, arguably the king bedroom-poster pinup cars (I wasn’t the only kid in my fourth-grade class who knew that a McLaren F1 was the most desirable car at the time… just sayin’). On the other end of the spectrum, not a single Detroit-area schoolkid mentioned a single hybrid, electric or alt-energy-powered vehicle… although one might guess that the same question would inspire at least one “Prius” answer from a California classroom.

In any case, Krome’s quick-n-easy survey reveals an fascinating insight into the world of childhood automotive appreciation. I probably wouldn’t have guessed that the Mustang would be the top choice in both age cohorts, nor would I ever suspect that a fifth grader would mention the GMC Terrain as their favorite vehicle. On the other hand, I don’t spend all that much time with young kids… if you do, feel free to add your insights into the world of childhood automotive awareness and appreciation.

Edward Niedermeyer
Edward Niedermeyer

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  • Jpcavanaugh Jpcavanaugh on Oct 22, 2010

    When my kids were little in the mid 90s, anything that Mom drove was boring because they rode in it every day. Anything that I drove was cool because it was a change of pace. Therefore, late model Hondas and any kind of vans were boring and 85 Crown Victorias were cool. I later pegged the Cool-O-Meter with a 68 Newport, a 84 Olds 98 (rear drive) and an 89 Cadillac Brougham (again, rear drive). The Cadillac was a favorite of all the middle school kids. Its replacement (the 93 Crown Victoria) was kind of ho-hum, although it has grown on them and it is their favorite household car to drive.

  • JMII JMII on Oct 22, 2010

    3rd grade is a bit too young to really have a car option, thus the reason "van" is #2... that is what mommy or daddy drives. When I was a kid I lusted after Lotus, they just looked like the cars I drew in class, especially the Esprit. After that Lambos. TransAms and 'Vettes were a close 3rd place. My dad owned a Mustang and an MG, but neither had the sharp edges and flowing fenders that said "fast" to me.

  • 3-On-The-Tree Same as the Land Cruiser, emissions. I have a 1985 FJ60 Land Cruiser and it’s a beast off-roading.
  • CanadaCraig I would like for this anniversary special to be a bare-bones Plain-Jane model offered in Dynasty Green and Vintage Burgundy.
  • ToolGuy Ford is good at drifting all right... 😉
  • Dave Holzman A design award for the Prius?!!! Yes, the Prius is a great looking car, but the visibility is terrible from what I've read, notably Consumer Reports. Bad visibility is a dangerous, and very annoying design flaw.
  • Wjtinfwb I've owned multiple Mustang's, none perfect, all an absolute riot. My '85 GT with a big Holley 4 barrel and factory tube header manifolds was a screaming deal in its day and loved to rev. I replaced it with an '88 5.0 Convertible and added a Supercharger. Speed for days, handling... present. Brakes, ummm. But I couldn't kill it and it embarrassed a lot of much more expensive machinery. A '13 Boss 302 in Gotta Have It Green was a subtle as a sledgehammer, open up the exhaust cut outs and every day was Days of Thunder. I miss them all. They've gotten too expensive and too plush, I think, wish they'd go back to a LX version, ditch all the digital crap, cloth interior and just the Handling package as an add on. Keep it under 40k and give todays kids an alternative to a Civic or WRX.
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