Automakers increasingly catering to women
Today's women bring home the bacon and plan the family car purchases.
The automotive industry increasingly is catering to women with advertising, car designs and sales methods, according to a recent CNN story, which also said women bring in half or more of the income in U.S. households and control about 80 percent of household spending -- including car purchases.
When buying a car, women tend to spend more time in the purchasing process than men, seek more advice from an automotive authority than men and are willing to go to about three dealerships to find the right price and service.
Sales manager Josh Young of Lindquist Ford, Inc., Bettendorf, said a recent sale to a single woman definitely fit that profile. "She talked to her brother, her father, researched online and got a lot of good information on it."
Mr. Young said some women are driven to research their purchase because they're detail-oriented or skeptical.
"I think a lot of women who come in to a sales automotive store or dealership may be worried that they're going to be taken advantage of," he said. "They've heard horror stories."
No matter the gender, Mr. Young said sales staff try to determine the personality of a buyer and cater to their needs.
Jeff Helms, co-owner of Strieter Motor Co., Davenport, said women car buyers are no different than men car buyers. Both genders are just there to buy a car.
"A woman with children who's going to be hauling her family, vehicle safety is going to be real prevalent on her mind," Mr. Helms said. "I'm not sure from the same couple, that the dad wouldn't have that concern, also."
Likewise, he said young and single clients without kids probably are going to be interested in something sporty and practical.
"Whether male or female, there's a chance they'll be paying $4 a gallon this summer," he said. "I think priorities toward what is important in a car have more to do with individual situations than a gender."
Mr. Helms said women long have been a direct influence in the majority of car purchases.
However, women haven't expressed much interest in selling cars, he said. "Because of the long hours in this business in terms of nights and weekends, it's not a business a working mother can gravitate toward."
While they may not be interested in selling cars, women are in management, service and body-shop positions, typically Monday through Friday jobs, Mr. Helms said, adding that they also play a key role in vehicle manufacturing and design.
