What's driving us?

September 28, 2003|By William Hageman.

Sometimes you come up on a car in traffic and know what you'll see behind the wheel.

Red Corvette convertible? There's a good chance it's a middle-age guy battling male menopause, comb-over flapping in the breeze.

You get the idea.

Mickey Kaus, "Gearbox" columnist for Slate.com, has a few thoughts on people and cars:

- VW New Beetle Cabriolets: Molly Ringwalds.

- Saabs: Liberals.

- Cadillac CTS: Salesmen of the month.

- Honda Element: Post-menopausal flea-market shoppers who don't realize the car is targeted at 18-year-old skateboarders.

- Honda Civic: 18-year-old skateboarders.

- Subaru: Not all Subaru drivers are lesbians, but the brand does have a large gay female following, so much so that advertising was actually targeted to this group.

We also checked with R.L. Polk & Co. of Southfield, Mich. Analytic consultant Eric Papacek crunched Chicago-area registration numbers for 2003 and found that among 18- to 24-year-olds, the most popular car is the Honda Civic. Kaus was right about those skateboarders.

For 25- to 34-year-olds, it's the Honda Accord, for those 35 to 44 it's the Honda Odyssey, and for those in three age groups--45-54, 55-64 and 65-74--it's the Toyota Camry.

Only when you get to 75 and older do you get a U.S.-made car, the big old Buick LeSabre.

The most popular segment in the Chicago area is SUVs, according to Papacek's numbers, followed by midsize vehicles.