Have They Got It Right? Study Tries To Pin Point Ethnic Car Preferences

Each individual consumer has his or her unique preferences, desires and needs when shopping for a vehicle. But according to a recent study from Strategic Vision, the purchasing values or trends of a person's ethnic group are important factors to consider.

"Attitudes, images and personal values ranging from desired security and trust to displaying one's individuality and success are distinctive in that they differ in the strength or magnitude of their importance among ethnic groups," explained Darrel Edwards, chief executive officer and founder of Strategic Vision.

"When the essences of these values are accurately addressed in product, communication and dealership, the best opportunity to capture shopping and purchasing interests and priorities becomes available," Edwards continued.

Strategic Vision analyzed how well various automakers understand these values and desires with its Total Quality Index. According to officials, TQI "captures the more complete experience buyers have with his or her vehicle including rational and emotional connection."

The index calculates an owner's response to vehicles with an overall emotional response and measures it by a 1,000-point scale.

The following are the top brand and model rankings among various groups in 2007.

African-American Buyers:

Luxury Brands

Lexus — 938

Mercedes-Benz — 918

Infiniti — 913

Luxury Models

Infiniti FX — 952

Mercedes R-Class Wagon — 942

Chrysler 300C — 941

Standard Brands

Honda — 895

Ford — 889

Chevrolet — 889

Standard Models

Chrysler PT Cruiser — 929

VW Passat — 912

Ford Fusion — 906

Hispanic Buyers:

Luxury Brands

Mercedes-Benz — 922

BMW — 918

Acura — 911

Luxury Models

Mercedes E-Class — 955

Infiniti G35 Sedan — 940

BMW 3-Series Coupe — 933

Standard Brands

Scion — 902

Pontiac — 896

Saturn — 895

Standard Models

Kia Sedona —  924

Scion xB — 920

Ford Expedition — 920

Asian Buyers:

Luxury Brands

Mercedes-Benz — 909

Audi — 909

BMW — 906

Luxury Models

Mercedes GL-Class — 931

BMW 3-Series Coupe — 925

BMW X5 — 920

Standard Brands

Hyundai — 871

Honda — 865

Ford — 858

Standard Models

Mazda3 Hatchback — 907

Hyundai Sonata — 902

Honda Civic — 896

Strategic Vision also listed the top brands and models sold to buyers from various ethnic groups. The first number is the volume percentage, which the study indicated is the market share of each ethnic group.

The second number (in parenthesis) is the index, which denotes the ethnic representation within each brand.

African American Buyers:

Top Brands

Nissan —13 percent (201)

Toyota —13 (83)

Chevrolet — 10 (89)

Ford — 8 (72)

Honda — 6 (58)

Dodge — 6 (109)

Chrysler — 5 (205)

Mercedes — 3 (173)

Hyundai  — 3 (102)

Kia — 3 (189)

Top Models

Nissan Altima — 4 percent (221)

Toyota Corolla — 3 (127)

Nissan Sentra — 2 (315)

Ford F-Series F-150 —  2 (84)

Toyota Camry — 2 (102)

Chrysler 300 — 2 (504)

Honda Accord Sedan — 2 (69)

Honda Civic — 2 (62)

Suzuki Forenza — 1  (591)

Chev. Silverado 1500 — 1 (67)

Dodge Charger — 1 (273) 

Dodge Ram 1500 — 1 (85)

Hispanic Buyers:

Top Brands

Toyota — 15 percent (95)

Chevrolet — 11 (97)

Ford — 11 (102)

Nissan — 11 (164)

Honda — 10 (94)

Dodge — 5 (91)

Jeep — 3 (110)

Hyundai — 3 (101)

Volkswagen — 3 (153)

BMW — 3 (121)

Top Models

Ford F-Series F-150 — 4 percent (127)

Toyota Corolla — 3 (116)

Chevrolet Silverado 1500 — 3 (128)

Honda Civic — 2 (99)

Honda Accord Sedan — 2  (93)

Nissan Altima — 2 (131)

Toyota Tacoma — 2 (146)

Toyota Camry — 2 (76)

Dodge Ram 1500 — 2 (114)

Chevrolet Tahoe — 2 (167)

Nissan Sentra — 2 (195)

Honda CR-V — 1 (93)

Asian Buyers:

Top Brands

Toyota — 27 percent (172)

Honda — 22 (200)

Nissan — 6 (96)

BMW — 5 (241)

Mercedes — 5 (265)

Lexus — 4 (189)

Acura — 4 (236)

Ford  — 3 (29)

Hyundai — 2 (85)

Mazda — 2 (129)

Top Models

Toyota Camry — 6 percent (275)

Honda Civic — 6 (231)

Toyota Corolla — 6 (235)

Honda Accord Sedan — 5 (181)

Honda Odyssey — 3 (242)

Honda CR-V — 3  (217)

Toyota Sienna — 3 (443)

Honda Pilot — 2 (191)

BMW 3-Series — 2 (299)

Nissan Altima — 2 (105)

Toyota RAV4 — 2 (150)

Acura MDX —1 (307)

"The purchase behaviors of new-vehicle buyers are directly influenced by the ability of the manufacturer and dealer to satisfy their needs and desires. Those who understand the essence of cross-cultural and cultural distinction will be the ones to lead the automotive industry among the innovative and early adopters," the study indicated.

"Also, it is through understanding the desired and chosen imagery connected to personal values that correct messages increase sales, higher advocacy, better retention and greater customer loyalty," officials concluded.

AutoSpies.com is the number one ranked by Google for auto show photos.

The AutoSpies.com 2008 Detroit Auto Show photo gallery is sponsored by Lexus.

2008 Detroit Auto Show Photo Gallery 

 

pushrod27 - 1/17/2008 1:13:26 PM

+7 Boost

I don't know about the other ethnic groups, but speaking as a negro, this study is innacurate.

They ranked Lexus, Mercedes-Benz, and Infiniti, respectively as the top 3 luxury brands according to blacks. WRONG! It should be: Mercedes-Benz, Cadillac, Lexus, in that order. Have you ever met a black man that didn't like Cadillacs? I love Cadillacs. As did my father, all my uncles, and all the men before them.

Lexus is pretty popular too, but at the same time most black guys (Women are another story - all of my female relatives love Lexus) are aware of the connnection between Toyota and Lexus (the parts under the hood are brazenly labeled with 'Toyota Motor Corporation.') This is a negative when compared to a true luxury brand like Mercedes-Benz. To a man, the Lexus is seen as a knock-off of the Mercedes. In the eyes of most guys i know, Lexus is a 'premium' brand. Definitely a step-up, but not quite on the level of MB or BMW. Women, on the other hand see Lexus as God's own car. A guy will buy an Escalade or a Benz for himself, but he'll buy a Lexus for his wife or girlfriend, or baby's mother. If you've only got one car for the entire household, you will end up with a Lexus if you give your woman any say in the purchase.

As far as the Chrysler 300C... We are not ignorant enough to consider this car a luxury car. The reason why they are so popular is because Chrysler practically gives them away. Same goes for Dodge Magnums and Chargers. Every week, i get at least 5 $30,000 checks from Chrysler or one of their dealerships. It's very tempting to go pick up a Hemi Charger, but i know it's really a sucker's deal. The Chrylser 300C is appealing and very popular in the hood because of it's unique combination of bold styling, imposing physique, impressive power, roomy interior, and broad availability. Also, it can easily handle 26" wheels.

I don't believe that race is a relevant factor in people's car buying decisions. In my opinion, sex is a much better way to predict what a person will buy. Guys are guys. We all appreciate pretty much the same things across ethnic borders (money, women, food, guns, fast cars, etc.) The differences among races with regard to purchasing decisions are much like our skin color itself: mostly ornamental, superficial, and ultimately meaningless.

vman1013 - 1/17/2008 1:58:44 PM

+1 Boost

Brother, I couldn't have said it better. I will say though that them 'lacs need to step up the interior quality. The interiors have nothing on the German 3 or ToyLexus.

Anthony - 1/17/2008 2:27:50 PM

0 Boost

That is pretty interesting that you say most African-American men see Lexus as a knockoff, but still love Cadillac, which literally have all been GM rebadges for decades.

Didn't the famous rapper "the Notorious B.I.G." rap about Lexus all the time in the 1990s?

Of course all of this is from a relative perspective, seeing as I am just a "white man tryin' to keed da brotha's down" as one of my African-American friends joked one time.

I agree with your last paragraph. I know plenty of white men who love Cadillacs, white men who love Lexus, white women who like Nissan, and black men and women who love BMW.

lewishamiltonpimp - 1/17/2008 2:44:22 PM

+8 Boost

It's a shame there aren't de-boosting capabilities for the articles. Let me guess who wrote this one.

pushrod27 - 1/17/2008 2:55:03 PM

+2 Boost

You are right, Biggie (and early Jay-Z recordings) talked about Lexus a lot in his records. He made the brand very popular in the hood. But remember, this was back in the day (early to mid nineties) when: a.) Lexus was a new and very novel concept at the time; and b.) Lexus actually had some interesting designs on the road (the original GS300 hunchback sedan, and the SC300 and SC400 coupes)

You can't classify Cadillac's relationship to GM as you do Toyota's to Lexus. The concept is similar, but the perception is different. In my memory, Cadillac has always been around. I remember the day when i saw Lexus for the first time. In my mind, i will always view Lexus as a Toyota spin-off, whereas Cadillac is the top division within GM. It doesn't help that Lexus' parent company shares a name with its mass market brand (Toyota.) There is no brand called 'GM' so it's not like you can look under a Cadillac hood and see 'Chevrolet' or 'Pontiac' embossed on any of the parts.

Lifting the hood of a Lexus and seeing 'Toyota' written on the parts is a turn-off. Recently, Mercedes-Benz has lost some credibility as a brand because of their merger to Chrysler. I had a friend lift the hood of his brand new S500 (in 2003) and recoil in horror to see parts and plates reading 'DaimlerChrysler' all he saw was the 'Chrysler' part and he immediately had less respect for his Benz. Perception becomes reality when people act on it.

TauronB2G - 1/17/2008 2:55:52 PM

+5 Boost

For the most part I agree with you but speaking as a black guy I am not a cadillac fan. Never have been. I drive Mercedes and Hondas, I had an acura once and an audi once and even considered the last gen 3 series but never a lexus or an infiniti.
Skin color is definitely not the way to figure out who buys what cars. This study IMHO is just an study of the pandering to ethnic groups that advertisers do and that people of all races see through.
I also wondered what do white guys buy? And how would you guys react if there were a study that said italians buy cadillacs, polish guys buy lincolns the irish buy chevy's!!! Thats insane right? So why on earth would they study what blacks, asians and hispanics buy?
T

0to60 - 1/17/2008 3:17:11 PM

+2 Boost

Im black and dont care for cadillac. I am a Infiniti/Nissan/BMW guy respectively

w209w114 - 1/17/2008 4:16:43 PM

-1 Boost

Anyone familiar with rap knows Mercedes is by far more rapped about than Lexus and BMW or Audi (which I have never heard rapped about at all)

Anthony - 1/17/2008 5:04:14 PM

+4 Boost

...and you are extremely proud of that, aren't you w209w114?

pushrod27 - 1/17/2008 5:07:30 PM

+2 Boost

People rap about BMW a lot. 'Quarter to eight' is a popular term that refers to the BMW 745Li (7:45, quarter to eight, get it?) It's been used in a lot of songs.

But you're right, Mercedes-Benz by far is the most referenced brand name in all of rap music. Followed closely by Cristal and Gucci.

henbmw - 1/17/2008 7:53:32 PM

+1 Boost

pushrod27-

Thats a nice little diatribe there but I think you missed something. THESE ARE STATISTICS. It doesn't really make a difference that you think blacks like one car or another, apparently they buy these.

Htay7500 - 1/18/2008 12:16:21 PM

+1 Boost

I remember watching a tupac video with a nice-looking maxima.

w209w114 - 1/18/2008 3:32:56 PM

-1 Boost

Anthony,

It shows that they are the best in the business.

pushrod27 - 1/18/2008 3:41:20 PM

+3 Boost

henbmw...

you can start off with any crackpot theory and come up with some STATISTICS to prove it, which is usually the case when you see statistics and support bullshit like this in one place. Who are these multiethnic people from whom this information was gleaned? I'm black, i just told you what i would buy. do i not count because i didn't make it to this particular focus group? Please.

pushrod27 - 1/17/2008 3:05:42 PM

+6 Boost

That's what is so stupid about studies like this, or any person that attempts to stereotype ethnic groups. There is no consensus on what black guys like. We are individuals. It seems to me that white people enjoy personal individuality on a greater scale than others in America.

As the gross majority, the white population is entirely too large to generalize and stereotype. Instead, white consumers are classified by sex, income, geography, family status, etc. You know, things that actually make sense.

Honestly, i think its beyond the abilities of many people to view minorities as individuals. Its easier to assume and declare that all minorities are the same. If people actually stopped to consider that people are individuals, with preferences and habits not connected to their ethnicity, then racism wouldn't exist.

S4cabriofoxone - 1/17/2008 10:39:11 PM

0 Boost

"As the gross majority, the white population is entirely too large to generalize and stereotype. Instead, white consumers are classified by sex, income, geography, family status, etc. You know, things that actually make sense."

If there was an option to make that last sentence bigger, I would...

I absolutely agree with you. Correct on all points. There is no "statistic." What people like cannot be classified.

yrralis1 - 1/18/2008 12:05:18 AM

-1 Boost

A car is simply a machine . While the vehicle itself is not concerned with the race of the driver some marketing stategists apparently make race a point.

By doing so they merely are interpreting the data to profit off those people of all races who accept this ideology and define themselves by those standards .

In my opinion the article does not show a definitive relationship of car buyers but it does reveal quite a bit about those strategists .

MercBasher - 1/17/2008 9:28:33 PM

+3 Boost

I was expecting much more insight than "Strategic Vision" appears capable of delivering. I haven't spent millions of a client's money to determine the optimum segments, but would have expected that age, income and/or wealth, weather & population density & topography where a car-buyer lives, etc. etc. would be more important than race.

BMW995 - 1/17/2008 2:53:38 PM

+4 Boost

I'm disappointed that the study did not include the car buying habits of neo-Pagans of Kyrgyzstan ancestry.
I really don't see the relevance of this type of study. My experience as a white Southerner is that auto enthusiasts have similar auto preferences whatever their background. Number of kids, income and living in urban vs rural locations seem to have much more of an impact.

tundrahq - 1/18/2008 6:28:30 PM

+1 Boost

What would Borat drive??

_43LE - 1/17/2008 4:02:55 PM

+9 Boost

Wow, that's like a brutally ignorant comment.

kablaam - 1/20/2008 6:21:51 AM

+4 Boost

These days, who cares.... Many Japanese cars are made in America. Many American cars are made in Mexico... What's your point?

Times are changing, get with the program.

P.S. # 1 car manufacturer(not including truck sales) in terms of sales in the US is Toyota, there has to be one or 2 white buyers who buy japanese ;-)

chuck717 - 1/17/2008 3:33:58 PM

+5 Boost

I hate to say this but Nazi Germany did the same thing stats on humans, likes and dislikes, this kind of stuff scares me and i hope nobody even considers these stats as nothing more then racial profile and records being kept to sterotype classes of people a totally waste of time and diginty?
Remember just because a person lives on a farm doesn't mean the only thing they want in life is a pick up, of course that is a necessary of the life they choose but they have luxury and muscle cars put away in their barns believe it.

w209w114 - 1/17/2008 4:23:12 PM

-3 Boost

Who puts a car in a barn anymore? Youre thinking waaaay back to the 30s - 70s. This old trend is no longer around.

Barn cars are usually cars that were kept there as a shelter by their owners for a long period of time and were sometimes forgotten, apart from the rat holes all over the interior they make great cars to restore which have been preserved in excellent condition.

chuck717 - 1/17/2008 3:41:53 PM

+5 Boost

PS Why are we seeing a second installment of this nonsense. I think most have made it clear we are car junkies on this site not some agenda bearing think tank who pegs racial groups as if they can't think a lick for themselves on likes and dislikes?

S4cabriofoxone - 1/17/2008 10:41:53 PM

+1 Boost

"I live in Orange County a huge Asain population, 95% of my Asian friends who drive luxury cars, have a BMW."

Not 94%?

w209w114 - 1/17/2008 4:29:03 PM

-4 Boost

The blacks here in Miami, FL LOVE those Chrysler 300C. like 75% of all 300Cs have chrome wheels and bentley type mesh grilles. Monte Carlos & Caprice CLassics are also an all time favorite. At the beach you can find 60s and 70s Chevy's (the Impala most notably) on like 24" color coded/chrome wheels 3" high off the ground with Candy paint. "Chevy Ridin High"

pushrod27 - 1/17/2008 5:05:02 PM

-2 Boost

I didn't say that blacks don't really like the 300C. I like it, but only because it's a robust package at a very reasonable price. I would not classify it as a luxury model, and i doubt that many others would do so. The 300C's value pricing and Chrysler's apparent desperation to move them off the lot is definitely the driving factor behind their popularity, if you ask me. If you're a twenty or thirty something with credit that's not great, then the 300C is probably the nicest new car that you can get financed.

Like the commercial says, 'people that love cars love Chevy.' I don't think there's a guy here, black or white that would deny the appeal of a classic Chevelle 350 or 427 with fresh candy paint.

XYZZ - 1/20/2008 8:08:45 AM

+2 Boost

"Monte Carlos & Caprice CLassics are also an all time favorite. At the beach you can find 60s and 70s Chevy's (the Impala most notably) on like 24" color coded/chrome wheels 3" high off the ground with Candy paint. "Chevy Ridin High"


those sound like favorites for Low Riders too! how many are owned/driven by Hispanics vs. Blacks?

lewishamiltonpimp - 1/17/2008 4:34:55 PM

+2 Boost

I'm from England but live in the US.

What am I supposed to drive?

pushrod27 - 1/17/2008 5:09:08 PM

+2 Boost

Jaguar, of course.

pushrod27 - 1/17/2008 5:11:20 PM

+2 Boost

Haven't you ever seen Jeremy Clarkson's mindlessly euphoric endorsements of all things Coventry?

lewishamiltonpimp - 1/17/2008 7:41:09 PM

+1 Boost

Jag? No thanks.

0to60 - 1/17/2008 8:46:36 PM

+1 Boost

Mini

Rupert - 1/20/2008 6:59:25 PM

+1 Boost

A Morris Traveller.

bmwdrvr - 1/17/2008 8:14:02 PM

+6 Boost

so basically its ok to generalize and stereotype......NOT!!!, and sad part is people are in here supporting it like yeah that is me, or yeah my black or asian freind they certainly would drive that that has to be the most ignorrant thing ever, and this is the exact same person who posted this garbage the first time. Chrysler 300 a luxury car on whos list its not even according to chrysler thats why they were going to make the imperial. But to some a 24,000 car is all of a sudden luxury. This story is racist and bogus, can we get back to the REAL car posts and not this stereotypical garbage alone. Its like going to a dealership and the guy wants whatsup you, and whats good bro, and chief and walks to walk you away from the new car i was looking at and over to the 300c with 21inch rims, "yeah man i got one for you its hot". Stereotyping is not kosher, and no study, or stat can make everyone all the same. or make it ok to want to SIMPLY generalize and stereotype....

cdoke - 1/17/2008 11:22:54 PM

+2 Boost

I don’t have a problem with the use or compilation of statistics for marketing purposes. I will say that sometimes preconceived notions have a grain of truth in them- I don’t mean anything in specific.

I do, however, have a problem with the use of race as a sorting mechanism. A person’s race has no direct impact upon their choices. The single item that does have a rather significant impact, and would show relatively consistent correlations, relates to the particular subculture or subgroup to which that person belongs. There is a caveat lector in that some subcultures are defined through race. This type of breakdown in very difficult to execute in terms of data acquisition and so is simply not performed. The substitute, however, I find to be asinine.

cdoke - 1/17/2008 11:27:29 PM

+2 Boost

I forgot to add: in the end each person is an individual and has their own specific hierarchy of values, and that these values and their place in that hierarchy while at times being a function of upbringing, are always ultimately an act of will executed by a sentient being.

shigeki - 1/18/2008 12:23:58 PM

+5 Boost

Just Die

XYZZ - 1/20/2008 7:55:36 AM

+5 Boost

or capitanamazingIdiot

XYZZ - 1/20/2008 8:05:25 AM

+4 Boost

amazingIdiot--

considering the planet as a whole, one could well say "who cares about whites anyway?" they're just a small MINORITY of the world's people. especially in both the Eastern and Southern hemispheres.

Auto_expert - 1/18/2008 10:36:02 AM

-2 Boost

The thing that jumps out at me the most is the that the TOP luxury brands AND models for Asians were ALL German! Lexus, nope! Acura? Nada. Infiniti? Think again. Why do you think that is?

I think they know better and don't buy in to all that spoon-fed Asian propaganda (garbage). They know Japanese luxury cars and boring and bland. :-P

XYZZ - 1/20/2008 8:18:07 AM

+1 Boost

auto "expert" or "illiterate?"

apparently you didn't correctly read the model section, where all but ONE are asian cars.

and even in the brands section, the top two, toyota and honda, are in excess of 20%. the HIGHEST percentages on the whole chart.

in ALL groups, only chevy and ford among non-asian brands even get into double digit percentages. and just barely at that.

Auto_expert - 1/20/2008 2:19:17 PM

+1 Boost

Hey ZZZ, I was referring to the TOP section. You might want to have a look at it again. It's more interesting than bottom section.

"Strategic Vision analyzed how well various automakers understand these values and desires with its Total Quality Index. According to officials, TQI "captures the more complete experience buyers have with his or her vehicle including rational and emotional connection."

Asian buyers on the whole perceive the top LUXURY brands to be German, but unsurprisingly, like other ethnic groups, end up driving Asian models (bottom section). Asians aren't the only ones buying Asian models. What an epiphany!

No, perception is the most interesting thing here. The Asian buyers do NOT have as great an emotional and rational connection with Asian luxury cars as they do German cars (top section). Try reading sometime.

XYZZ - 1/24/2008 4:55:16 AM

+1 Boost

TQI "captures the more complete experience buyers have with his or her vehicle including rational and emotional connection."


so when the "emotional connection" is deleted (as SMART asians do in disregarding advertising propaganda) and the "rational" reasoning remains, the ratings for ACTUAL purchases of UNRELIABLE german junk PLUMMETS and the choices all strongly favor the more perfect asian brands.

you can barely read (not even getting my SIMPLE 4 letter handle right), so it's not surprising you are totally INcapable of deriving meanings from complex sentences. much less logically parse the significance of statements.

Porschinator - 1/19/2008 4:31:20 AM

+3 Boost

LOL on African Americans liking the R-Class??? I have never seen a Black guy driving an R-Class or know one that is even considering an R-Class. Hell...does anyone want one??? lol Dealerships have them marked down like crazy...lol.

Of course this is very subjective information.

stash84 - 1/19/2008 4:52:16 PM

+2 Boost

im cuban/american and none of my sides would be seen driving that monstrosity

Htay7500 - 1/21/2008 7:40:10 AM

+1 Boost

come to MoCo, Md and theres a ton of porsches, astons, bmws and subies!

XYZZ - 1/24/2008 5:01:14 AM

+1 Boost

huu76, what generation are you? give the fobs a break; their kids will be properly educated and acculturated and not buy propaganda so easily.

i know an fob who has both a beautiful, expensive house AND several nice cars.