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The Ford Mustang has suffered from slumping sales as of late, but if the upcoming generation has anything to say about it, sales will be through the roof-- as soon as today's teens can afford to buy their own Mustang. According to a nationwide survey from TRU, a Research International USA subsidiary based in Northbrook, Ill. TRU concentrates on studying the buying habits of two of the most coveted age groups by retailers and marketers- buyers in their teens and twenties.
In TRU's last survey, they asked teens what car they most wanted to own, but TRU did lay down one law. The cars they chose had to be attainable by saving money themselves or by having a parent buy the car. This knocked all those Lamborghini’s and Maserati’s off the list. With that rule in mind, most teens decided that their attainable dream car was none other than the Ford Mustang.
The results showed little rhyme or reason and no discernible pattern. The Mustang was followed by the practical Honda Civic, the Volkswagen Beetle, the Honda Accord, the Toyota Camry, Corolla and the Ford Focus. The study was further broken down by sex. For example, the Beetle reached its lofty poll status by appealing to females. Males did not list the Beetle in any significant numbers.
Another noticeable trend in TRU's survey was the lack of SUVs like the Cadillac Escalade, which topped the chart two years ago. The Escalade lost its popularity when gas prices soared above $3 a gallon.
Even though the majority of teens covet a new Mustang, parents still have the final say when it comes to deciding what car is parked in the garage. Parents overwhelmingly favored the Honda Civic. The parents surveyed cited gas mileage, insurance costs and safety when selecting the Civic over the Mustang.
"Teens may aspire to the Mustang, but the parents often buy the Civic,” Rob Callender, TRU Spokesman, said. “With 20-somethings, the budget holds the veto power over what they buy, but with teens, parents hold the veto power."
While the teens prefer the Mustang, that preference changes when teens hit their twenties. The twenty-something’s polled by TRU preferred the Honda Civic over any other car. "Mustang pops up as No. 1 among teens because it's a lot of fun and the parents usually pay the insurance and hand the kids their gasoline credit card," said Callender. “Civic pops up among the older 20-somethings because they pay for their own insurance and gas, so function takes priority.”
The study results show that Mustangs are seen by older, more responsible people as impractical. If Ford is to overcome their sales slump, they will have to rehabilitate the Mustang’s image to appeal to a wider cross section of the buying public. The study shows that teens love the Mustang, but when they begin to buy their own cars, they opt for a car with a more stable reputation, better gas mileage and cheaper insurance.
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