Are you an "alpha buyer"?
Odds are that if you're reading this website, you fall into the definition of an "alpha buyer"; the sort of person who spends an unusual amount of time browsing automotive websites and hanging around magazine racks. According to a recent survey by Forrester Research, only 30% of the respondents put themselves in the "enthusiast" or "strong enthusiast" categories, but this minority has an undue influence on new-car buying patterns because of the tendency to share knowledge and opinions with friends, family, and coworkers. Appealing to us car guys is a way to create buzz in an increasingly difficult marketing environment, and it's pretty obvious that the opposite can also occur. The survey data showed that enthusiasm for cars spans virtually all demographic categories, save one - gender.
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
Joel A 10:25PM (12/18/2005)
Oops. Though I only started last year, they pegged me cold.
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JK 10:25PM (12/18/2005)
I guess because women aren't very mechanically inclined. People don't take much of an interest in that which they don't understand.
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Bryan William Jones 10:25PM (12/18/2005)
One would think that automotive manufacturers would focus more attention on those alpha buyers who in particular, run our own blogs/websites. I've written about this before on my blog, but paying attention to the blogsphere could absolutely pay off for manufacturers.
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FredF 10:25PM (12/18/2005)
I'd rather be an Alfa buyer but they are not available yet in the USA!
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Steve 10:25PM (12/18/2005)
I doubt mechanical inclination has anything to do with it. I fit into the "entusiast" category, and I'm mechanically inept (and male). I know the basics of how various systems work, the difference between variable valve timing and variable induction, etc., but my love of cars has nothing to do with mechanical inclination. Working on cars bores me. Driving cars excites me.
My guess as to why many women aren't car buffs is because they have other interests and are, frankly, more practical than many men when it comes to cars. They tend to look at them as transportation and are drawn to more utilitarian factors (and there's gobs of consumer research that supports that). Those of us who are enthusiasts look at cars from a much more emotional and visceral perspective. Mechanical inclination has little to do with it.
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poulsbo 10:25PM (12/18/2005)
>>Posted Jun 22, 2005, 4:23 PM ET by JK
I guess because women aren't very mechanically inclined. People don't take much of an interest in that which they don't understand.
I call bullshit as well. I'm better at fixing things and with directions than all of my male friends.
Steve - somewhat, maybe, with the practicality factor. Doesn't mean I wouldn't want a car with 300hp, just means I'd rather have one with less hp and better fuel economy since, be honest, how often do any of us need to get from 0-60 in 6 seconds?
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Adam 10:25PM (12/18/2005)
Don't argue that women are as good as men at mechanical systems. I am a mechanical engineering major, there is about a 10 to 1 m/f ratio in my classes.
It's been proven many times over that women are better at the verbal side of the spectrum, and men at math/science. I'm not saying there aren't any good female engineers, I'm just saying there aren't nearly as many.
Funny how you want to kill the guy who says women aren't mechanically inclined, but the guy that says you are more practical, you agree with. You can't only accept the positive steriotypes.
Whatever that is OT. I have to say women just don't like driving. From what I've seen, they view it as necessary, and nothing more. They never really want to drive. I love driving. Women can't justify going 0-60 in 5 seconds, well I can't justify spending 300 dollars on a haircut, and having hundreds of different outifits. So there we go, to each their own.
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David Thomas 10:25PM (12/18/2005)
Adam,
Don't apply for a job at Harvard OK?
Anyway...Alpha buyers are important. some blogs are important to gauge feedback. I think for the most part the big 3 are still too insulated from real-world purchasers. They spend too much time trying to rank well on JD Power, consumer reports et al when those factors aren't always what sells cars.
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Edsel 10:25PM (12/18/2005)
Another useless study.
History buffs should recognize a pattern here. Male infatuation with anything mechanical and transportation oriented pre-dates the reciprocating gasoline engine by thousands of years.
Our appetite for a better/faster contraption is no different now than it was when "Ben Hur" was racing charriots at Circus Maximus. Anyone think chariot makers were selling to women?
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skaedenfeld 10:25PM (12/18/2005)
"Alpha" all the way!
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poulsbo 10:25PM (12/18/2005)
Adam:
1) get a clue. Did I say I wanted to kill him? No. I said "I call bullshit". Somebody has issues...
2) $300 on a haircut, that's funny. I don't think a single one of my *female* friends has ever spent anywhere near that much either. that's an extreme perpetuated by people in major cities (think nyc) that probably don't even have cars anyway. hahahahaha.
3) also, there are not very many men in the field of social work - does that mean they're incapable of being social workers? really now.... come on. stereotypes may be in place for a reason, but does that mean they're a good thing?
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Motorin' 10:25PM (12/18/2005)
I'm not "touchy/feely" or talkative, but I loves me some cars.
I am the alpha male...buyer...whatever.
"how often do any of us need to get from 0-60 in 6 seconds?" Need? Never, arguably. Of course, I don't need to enjoy driving either. Rephrased as "how often do any of us like to get from 0-60 in 6 seconds?" Like? Always.
Cross check then go...don't worry, the gas pedal will stop once it hits the floor. "That's a joke, son." - Foghorn Leghorn
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Robert 10:25PM (12/18/2005)
From casual observation there are plenty of women who love cars, but only their car and don't care much about others. Male enthusiasts love their car, will tell anyone who will listen why they love their car, and will point out everything wrong with any other vehicle.
If sending away for brochures for cars, trucks, and motorcycles you don't intend to buy (yet) makes you an alpha buyer you can count me in.
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thefultonhow 10:25PM (12/18/2005)
This men vs. woman debate is self-perpetuating -- men are interested in what they are interested in, and the same for women, primarily because of cultural stereotypes. There's very little research has corroborated the "women suck at math/science" line of thought. It's all psychological. Women are perfectly capable of being mechanical engineers, but the ratio of mechanical engineers who are men to those who are women is so skewed because women are told from a young age, "you belong in the kitchen making me a sandwitch, or at least some other cushy job." In addition, there generally are bad vibes in higher ed because of the gender divide, and thus many women don't try male dominated subjects.
And yes, I'm a man, I just think Adam's post is complete BS.
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Adam 10:25PM (12/18/2005)
Let me just ask one question. Do you think that women, and men, have exactly identical minds, that every part is the same, except for the part that determines who you are attracted to?
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Steve B. 10:25PM (12/18/2005)
Yes, men and women are predisposed to be more successful or less successful at various tasks as a matter of physiology. The difference in the size of the corpus collosum, behavioural differences influenced by hormones, and the socialization of the two sexes all have some effect. However, the overlap and range are so large that with two specific people, the generalization is negligible at best.
Check into the research of Christine de Lacoste at Yale medical school on the cognitive differences between the two sexes.
In short: not 100% biological, not 100% cultural.
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APK 10:25PM (12/18/2005)
I we are Alpha buyers and our views really did alter what people drove, would the Camry sell as many as it does?
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Eric Bryant 10:25PM (12/18/2005)
For whatever it's worth, my wife is an excellent engineer who posesses more technical knowledge than a large majority of the posters on this site. Still, she doesn't get excited about cars like most of us do. Attribute that to whatever makes you feel good - I don't know if it's nature or nuture, nor do I care all that much. For the record, she's not one for fancy haircuts or expensive outfits - she's just a lot happier running boards across a tablesaw, setting up a wireless network, or brushhogging our field on a tractor than she is working on my Impala or surfing car sites.
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Adam 10:25PM (12/18/2005)
Ok, I have to thank Steve for adding in some big words and sources. I know that for specific people you can't use generalizations to explain everything (or anything for that matter), but we are talking on a whole here, not specific people.
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Bosco 10:25PM (12/18/2005)
I agree with Adam, to an extent. My niece is an industrial eng., and she could care less about the mechanical side of an auto. In fact, most of her female eng friends are the same. I think that most woman that do "like" autos do so from an status symbol perpective. Most would never be caught dead in a corvette; but ask them about a lame MB-SLK and they go bonkers. It is not the eng. that they look at, its' the STATUS!
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