Wednesday, May 12, 2010 8:39 am
We've all heard the comments: I don't want to get a Cadillac, that's my grandfather's car!
Well, now TrueCar can tell you what the grandkids are driving.
A new study recently completed by TrueCar.com, showed that Mitsubishi,Mazda and Volkswagen have the highest concentration of younger buyers. The study was completed in May 2010 and looked at the last full year of available data. TrueCar also identified the best deals* on models for this demographic based on current actual transactions.
The list, which shows the brands with the highest percentage of buyers that are 18 to 34, is topped by Mitsubishi (18.3%), with its young skewing list of models that includes the Lancer and the Eclipse. Mazda (18%), with the popular Mazda3 and Mazda6, and Volkswagen (17.6%), which features the list topping GTI and Jetta, were next with Nissan (15.6%) and Mini (15%) rounding out the top 5. The industry average was 10.8%.
On the flipside, the brands that have the lowest percentage of buyers in that age range are Detroit mainstays Buick (3.6%), Lincoln(4%) and Cadillac(5.1%). Those three makes manufacture eight of the 10 vehicles with the lowest percentage of buyers under 34 in the study, with the Cadillac DTS(1.1%) at the very bottom of a list that includes two Cadillacs, two Buicks and four Lincolns.
Making this information more valuable for consumers is TrueCar.com's list of the Top 10 Models for Young Drivers that includes the potential discount from MSRP. Topping the list – which is made up of models with the highest percentage of 18-34 year olds within the make – is the Mitsubishi Lancer which shows a possible discount of 25%†. Both the Nissan Titan and the Jeep Commander are showing potential discounts over 30%.
Make | Model | Trim | % of 18-34 Year Olds | Discount off MSRP |
Mitsubishi | Lancer | Sedan Manual | 18.3% | -25% |
Mazda | 3 | 4dr Sedan Man | 18.0% | -5% |
Volkswagen | GTI | 2dr HB Man | 17.6% | -3% |
Nissan | Titan | 2WD King Cab | 15.6% | -37% |
Mini | Cooper | 2dr Coupe | 15.0% | -3% |
Audi | A3 | 4dr HB MT | 14.9% | -3% |
Jeep | Commander | RWD 4dr Sport | 14.0% | -30% |
Honda | Fit | 5dr HB Man | 13.9% | -1% |
Subaru | Impreza | Sedan 4dr Man | 13.5% | -5% |
Acura | TSX | 4dr Sedan I4Auto | 13.4% | -6% |
.
Just as interesting as these great deals is what TrueCar discovered about actual average age of ownership. While it is fairly well known that Buick, Cadillac and Lincoln are mainstays at the bottom of the list, who would have thought that smart and Hyundai would be over 50 and BMW and Audi – traditionally older, more expensive brands – would be under 50. The whole list:
MAKE | AVERAGE AGE |
MAZDA | 47.0 |
MITSUBISHI | 47.2 |
VOLKSWAGEN | 47.5 |
HUMMER | 47.5 |
AUDI | 47.5 |
MINI | 48.0 |
BMW | 48.5 |
JEEP | 48.6 |
ACURA | 48.7 |
NISSAN | 48.7 |
INFINITI | 48.9 |
PORSCHE | 49.1 |
DODGE | 49.6 |
SAAB | 49.7 |
HONDA | 49.7 |
SUZUKI | 49.9 |
VOLVO | 50.0 |
GMC | 50.1 |
KIA | 50.2 |
TOYOTA | 51.0 |
SUBARU | 51.0 |
MERCEDES-BENZ | 51.1 |
FORD | 51.9 |
CHEVROLET | 51.9 |
SMARTCAR | 52.3 |
HYUNDAI | 52.3 |
JAGUAR | 53.2 |
LEXUS | 53.6 |
CHRYSLER | 54.6 |
CADILLAC | 57.1 |
MERCURY | 57.3 |
LINCOLN | 58.7 |
BUICK | 61.0 |
.
And, in case you were curious, here are the top 30 youngest and oldest make/models. There may be some surprises on both lists, so enjoy the read, check your age and hit up TrueCar for a pricing report on a Volkswagen GTI, immediately.
TOP 30 YOUNGEST
Make | Model | Percent |
VOLKSWAGEN | GTI | 23.4% |
VOLKSWAGEN | ROUTAN | 23.3% |
MITSUBISHI | LANCER | 22.4% |
NISSAN | TITAN | 20.9% |
SUBARU | IMPREZA | 20.6% |
NISSAN | ARMADA | 20.5% |
AUDI | A3 | 20.2% |
MAZDA | 3 | 20.2% |
NISSAN | XTERRA | 19.9% |
VOLKSWAGEN | TIGUAN | 18.8% |
NISSAN | PATHFINDER | 18.7% |
MAZDA | CX-7 | 18.5% |
TOYOTA | YARIS | 18.5% |
MAZDA | 6 | 18.2% |
TOYOTA | SCION | 17.9% |
VOLKSWAGEN | JETTA | 17.9% |
MAZDA | RX8 | 17.9% |
MAZDA | 5 | 17.7% |
CHEVROLET | TAHOE | 17.7% |
ACURA | TSX | 17.5% |
AUDI | A5 | 17.2% |
BMW | M3 | 17.1% |
VOLKSWAGEN | CC | 16.8% |
DODGE | CHARGER | 16.7% |
NISSAN | CUBE | 16.6% |
NISSAN | ROGUE | 16.3% |
AUDI | S4 | 16.3% |
VOLVO | C30 | 16.2% |
GMC | YUKON | 16.2% |
.
TOP 30 OLDEST
Make | Model | Percent |
JAGUAR | XK | 6.0% |
MERCURY | MILAN | 5.9% |
INFINITI | M35 | 5.8% |
MERCEDES-BENZ | E-CLASS | 5.7% |
VOLVO | XC70 | 5.5% |
MAZDA | MX5 | 5.3% |
LINCOLN | MKX | 5.1% |
MERCEDES-BENZ | S-CLASS | 4.9% |
VOLVO | C70 | 4.9% |
VOLVO | S80 | 4.9% |
CADILLAC | SRX | 4.8% |
CADILLAC | CTS | 4.6% |
LEXUS | ES | 4.6% |
AUDI | A8 | 4.4% |
FORD | TAURUS | 4.2% |
PORSCHE | PANAMERA | 4.1% |
CHEVROLET | IMPALA | 4.1% |
HYUNDAI | AZERA | 3.7% |
ACURA | RL | 3.6% |
LEXUS | LS | 3.2% |
LINCOLN | MKZ | 3.2% |
LINCOLN | MKT | 3.1% |
LINCOLN | MKS | 2.9% |
BUICK | LACROSSE | 2.2% |
LINCOLN | TOWN CAR | 2.1% |
CADILLAC | STS | 2.0% |
TOYOTA | AVALON | 1.9% |
MERCURY | GRAND MARQUIS | 1.4% |
BUICK | LUCERNE | 1.2% |
CADILLAC | DTS | 1.1% |
