Carmakers lure youth with gadgets and sleek design
Posted on January 13, 2012, Friday
STANDARDISED: Voice recognition, Bluetooth connections, navigation systems that track the location of Facebook friends, and access to internet radio stations, restaurant reviews, and search engines are also becoming standard fare as automakers sought to keep up with a generation raised in the digital age. — AFP photo
DETROIT: Dashboards glittering with gadgets, turbo-charged engines and sleek designs are on offer as automakers try to attract young consumers who care more about computers than cars.
BMW’s Mini was the most tricked-out car on display at the Detroit auto show this week – offering drivers a way to turn their car into both a video game and a DJ, using a joystick to help navigate the chrome circular display.
The Mini’s dynamic music system shifted sound levels of different speakers and added tracks when the car accelerated, braked or turned.
The car also turned fuel efficiency into a game using a fish bowl graphic that tipped over if a driver wasted fuel by accelerating or braking too quickly.
And the on-board computer was programmed to speak 1,800 different messages, including “yippee, that was awesome!” for a smooth turn and “it’s cold outside.” Volkswagen’s new Beetle featured a Fender sound system that could be turned into an amplifier thanks to a jack for an electric guitar.
Hyundai’s navigation system let parents track how fast their teenagers drove and where they took the car – which might sound a bit creepy and restrictive, but could make it easier to trust kids with the keys.
Voice recognition, Bluetooth connections, navigation systems that track the location of Facebook friends, and access to internet radio stations, restaurant reviews, and search engines were also becoming standard fare as automakers sought to keep up with a generation raised in the digital age.
Car sales among the under-30 crowd had been sluggish in recent years and – perhaps more worryingly– US teenagers were no longer rushing to get a driver’s license the instant they’re old enough for the traditional rite of passage.
“The big thing about the youth market is, do they care about cars at all,” Jeremy Anwyl, president of automotive site Edmunds.com, told AFP.
“Nobody really has an answer because a lot of the data was collected in a recession – if you can’t afford something you don’t give it a lot of thought.”
The 80 million strong under-30 crowd represented 40 per cent of potential US car buyers and had a collective spending power and influence of nearly a trillion dollars. — AFP
“It would be a misstep to paint youth with a broad brush,” said Bob Carter, of Toyota Motor Sales USA.
While some young people were still attracted to muscle cars and performance, others were looking for environmentally-friendly options.
Some wanted a hatchback or sport utility vehicle so they could haul bikes, surfboards or friends, while others were looking for zippy little cars with an urban feel.
“The common thread through all that is (that) we do pack those vehicles with a high level of content, specifically on technology,” Carter said in an interview on the sidelines of the Detroit auto show.
“But we have to do it in a responsible way that’s not distracting.” Toyota developed an entire brand – Scion – to lure young people looking for something more stylish than what their parents drive.
Personalisation and performance had been a big part of Scion’s appeal – it offered a wider range of colors and interiors, spoilers and appliques, encouraging a robust after-market upgrade industry.
Carmakers were also expecting the ‘millennials’ to be more interested in luxury brands once they settled into their careers, and were expanding their offerings of entry-level luxury vehicles, said Mark Templin, general manager of Toyota’s luxury Lexus brand.
“We talk a lot about the democratisation of luxury,” he said on the sidelines of the show.
“It’s a generation that grew up in affluence.
Young people are attracted to buying luxury…
whether it’s kitchen appliances or clothing or it’s handbags or cars, they want premium goods.” But the ongoing recession also had young people looking for value, said Mark Reuss, president of the North American division of General Motors.
That’s why GM was expanding its small car offerings like the Chevy Cruz, Sonic and Spark and designing them to “look confident, expensive and fast.” “Who really knows if it’s possible to make young people fall in love with an automotive brand the way they do with a phone or a laptop or a social network?” Reuss said.
“All I can tell you is, if there’s a way to do it, Chevrolet is going to find it.” – AFP
