Weekend Head Scratcher: Why Aren't Compact Cars Youthful?
![Edward Niedermeyer](https://cdn-fastly.thetruthaboutcars.com/resources/imgs-responsive/avatar-letters/avatar-E-1ABB71.png?size=91x91)
Well, the problem isn’t so much that compact cars aren’t youthful… it’s that the buyers of compact cars are surprisingly un-youthful. The C-Segment, compact cars in the class of Honda’s Civic, Toyota’s Corolla, Ford’s Focus and Chevy’s Cruze, are typically thought of as “Kid Cars,” or first-time automobile purchases for younger buyers. That stereotype may still be true, but if it is, the young buyers aren’t actually buying the cars. This week, Ford’s executive in charge of launching compact cars like the forthcoming 2012 Focus turned my perspective on the C-Segment upside down by telling me that Ford’s research showed that the average age of a compact car buyer was… get this… 57 years old. Given that TTAC has questioned the viability of the Buick brand for having an average buyer age in the low-to-mid 60s, it’s worth considering the reasons for the surprising age of C-segment buyers. And while we’re at it, let’s throw another stereotype on the fire, namely the old chestnut that compact cars are “basic transportation” for folks who can’t afford a car in the next class up. According to Ford’s data, 50 percent of C-Segment buyers come from households making $75,000 per year or more.
I wish TTAC had more of this kind of demographic data to share, so we could track changes in compact car-buying demography over time, but it seems fairly clear that the compact class is attracting older, more affluent buyers than it once did. So we want to know: how do you interpret these trends? Will older, richer buyers continue to downsize, or is this a short-term phenomenon driven by gas prices and economic recession? Meanwhile, what impact will this shifting demography have on compact cars themselves?
![Edward Niedermeyer](https://cdn-fastly.thetruthaboutcars.com/resources/imgs-responsive/avatar-letters/avatar-E-1ABB71.png?size=91x91)
More by Edward Niedermeyer
Latest Car Reviews
Read moreLatest Product Reviews
Read moreRecent Comments
- Lou_BC Well, I'd be impressed if this was in a ZR2. LOL
- Lou_BC This is my shocked face 😲 Hope formatting doesn't fook this up LOL
- Lou_BC Junior? Would that be a Beta Romeo?
- Lou_BC Gotta fix that formatting problem. What a pile of bullsh!t. Are longer posts costing TTAC money? FOOK
- Lou_BC 1.Honda: 6,334,825 vehicles potentially affected2.Ford: 6,152,6143.Kia America: 3,110,4474.Chrysler: 2,732,3985.General Motors: 2,021,0336.Nissan North America: 1,804,4437.Mercedes-Benz USA: 478,1738.Volkswagen Group of America: 453,7639.BMW of North America: 340,24910.Daimler Trucks North America: 261,959
Comments
Join the conversation
@ genuine...because many people (such as my mother) have NO desire to worry about the maintenance and upkeep of a 15 year old car. And who says that somebody is automatically financing said car? And sure, while the E320 will do 0-60 in 7 seconds (and the Hyundai Elantra only in 8.7), the fuel economy, reliability, features and warranty more than make up for the relative panache that might come from driving around a 15 year old MB. I can think of many people that place a much higher value on that versus the "privilege" of seeing the three-pointed star out over the hood.
How was the “middle class devastated by the bubble burst”? Mattpete just one question - which planet are you from?