Young Car Shoppers want an iPhone on Wheels

For car shoppers under the age of 31, the biggest factors in deciding what to buy are the shopping experience and "cockpit technology.” CNN Money reports that cockpit technology includes things like Bluetooth phone interfaces, attachments for MP3 players, and voice-to-text technologies that can allow people to interact with text messages or emails while driving. Although the study found that Gen-Yers are much more excited about buying a car than Baby Boomers and Gen-Xers, younger car shoppers aren't very patient when it comes to the dealership experience. More than half of those under 31 said a bad dealership experience would cause them to never consider a car brand again. More than half also said the main reason to go to a dealer is merely for a test drive. They don't want to work with a car dealer face-to-face when buying a car, preferring to transact business over the internet instead. Social networking sites are the most popular way for them to research cars, with about two thirds saying they use services like Facebook and Twitter to get information about new vehicles.

Source: CNN Money

- The market has shifted and changed. Consumers buying patterns based on price and convenience has shifted towards Corporate Social Responsibility. Consumers value companies with values and ethics. Corporate Social Responsibility should not be an event. As with many products, the most logical solution does not always capture the consumer's imagination.