A once-great affair stuck in park
After years of spinning their wheels, carmakers are turning to new vehicles to revitalize the declining youth market
When he was 14, Joe Gildea drove a Chevy up and down his driveway just to feel the thrill of a set of wheels. By the time he was a high school senior, the Quincy native had saved $160 to buy a yellow 1953 Chevy Bel Air with a white hardtop.
Now 62, Gildea has lovingly pieced together a collection of more than a dozen Cadillacs, but he failed to pass down this passion to his daughter, Michelle. To her, a car is just a car. The 20-year-old recently inherited her grandmother’s used 2002
“I don’t care what kind of car I drive as long as it runs and gets me to and from work,’’ Michelle Gildea said.
For many young Americans, the automobile is less a love affair than a way to get there. Even before the recession, the younger generation of motorists had lost their lust for the latest and greatest cars on the market. Some analysts say automakers dropped the ball years ago on designing affordable and swanky cars for young motorists to flash their style. Between 2005 and 2008, sales of new vehicles declined consistently, and consumers between the ages of 20 and 34 accounted for the largest drop, about 30 percent, according to Maritz, a market research firm.
And the wheels that once lured young drivers - the sleek sports car, the muscle car, the used luxury sedan, the souped-up vintage jalopy - have been cast aside or priced out of reach for first-time buyers. It is a development industry analysts attribute in part to Toyota, the first major manufacturer to focus on quality and price instead of design and prestige. American automakers, in an effort to cut costs to stay competitive, followed suit.
“Automakers largely stopped focusing on design. Any kind of emotion was costed out of the vehicle,’’ said Erich Merkle, president of Autoconomy.com, an automotive research firm. “They cut the very thing that made people passionate about cars.’’
Now, with the auto industry in a tailspin, some car manufacturers are trying to restore the cachet of new cars and make them affordable for young drivers.
It is a critical demographic for automakers who hope to cement loyalty early on and retain customers as they age, grow wealthier, and move up to more expensive vehicles. Automakers are offering cars that can make a statement and include customized features that incorporate the iPods and cellphones youths today see as essential, the way previous generations valued hood ornaments, bucket seats, and spoilers.
Ford’s new Fiesta, expected to start around $13,000, will include such options as MP3 players that can be controlled with voice commands and colors like Green Apple, Hurricane Blue, and Orange Peel. Though the subcompact will not arrive in the United States until next summer, the company has been promoting it by giving 100 well-connected Americans a free set of the new wheels so they can blog about the features. The Fiesta’s tagline: “Your style. Your features. Your personality.’’
Mark Schirmer,
“They want to look good, look cool, get attention - but it is not horsepower and muscle as much anymore,’’ Schirmer said. “Practical, stylish, fun, smart - those are the attributes they appreciate.’’
Not to be outdone, Korean carmaker Kia is currently releasing the first limited-edition model of its new Soul line of compacts targeted to young drivers. The special-edition Soul Denim is available in a color that evokes designer blue jeans, with white wheels, a racing stripe, and white outside mirrors. All cars on the Soul line, which start at around $13,300, include USB jacks and offer extra options like stereo speakers that light up to the beat of the music. To keep the brand fresh, Kia is planning to launch special-edition cars with new design elements every few months.
“Everybody wants to attract the youth. Kia Soul really delivers on consumers desire for self-expression,’’ said Michael Sprague, vice president of marketing at Kia Motors America. “It’s all about personalization.’’
Toyota, after years of favoring utility over fashion, was one of the first companies to step up its design appeal to young motorists with the 2003 introduction of its Scion brand. These vehicles include accessories like shift knobs and racing pedals, but car analysts say the brand has attracted an older demographic than anticipated, with a median buyer age of 34.
Auto analysts say these latest attempts by automakers to court the youth seem well-tailored to the times. Technology that is inexpensive and easy for manufacturers to integrate makes cars far more desirable to young shoppers today, according to George Hoffer, an economics professor at Virginia Commonwealth University whose research focuses on the automotive industry.
“The youths of the past were more attracted by style,’’ Hoffer said. “Now it’s not only funky style youths want. They also want to be on the technological frontier.’’
Still, just because automakers are trying to market to young people does not mean consumers are lining up to buy snazzy new cars - particularly during a recession. Michael Kaufmann, a 22-year-old Texan, prefers to spend his money on iPods, laptops, and video games. Now a biotech worker living in Cambridge, Kaufmann rents a Zipcar when he’s desperate for a ride.
His indifference to the automobile is shocking to his car-obsessed father, Leo, whose most prized possession is a silver 2004 Chevy Silverado, customized with rims, a sound system, and exhaust pipes.
“My dad can get flustered when he’ll try to talk to me about ‘car things,’ and I end up just staring back at him with a blank face because I can’t seem to grasp their importance,’’ Kaufmann said. “I once told him, half-joking, ‘Dad, I don’t know a crank shaft from a dip stick.’ That being said, he likes that I keep him on the cutting edge of technology - our family bought him the new iPhone 3GS for Father’s Day - so he’s willing to make the trade-off.’’
Jenn Abelson can be reached at abelson@globe.com. 