Autoblog

Size matters for male and female car buyers

Scott Burgess — Thu, 26 Apr 2012 13:30:00 EST

The No. 1 car purchased by men was the Porsche 911, while the car with the highest percentage of women buyers was the Volvo S40.

Some stereotypes are true. Men like V8s. Women like I4s. According to the third annual demographic study by TrueCar.com on the car buying habits of the sexes, men continue to fixate on size while women care about efficiency and price.

The No. 1 brand for women - the brand with the highest percentage of female buyers - was Mini at 46.2 percent. Nissan was No. 2 with 45.7 percent and Kia third with 45.6 percent.

Men, as expected, dominated the exotic brands with Ferrari sales being fueled by the most testosterone - 92.5 percent of buyers being male. Bentley was the No. 2 brand with 83.4 percent of its buyers being male and Maserati having 82.8 percent male buyers.

"The price point for many of the cars and crossovers women buyers wanted started at or below $25,000, while men tended to spend more money for their vehicles," said Kristen Andersson, TrueCar.com senior analyst in a news release. Furthermore, women focused on smaller and more fuel efficient vehicles while men gravitated toward fast exotic cars, big pickups or SUVs.

Indeed. The No. 1 car purchased by the highest majority of men was the Porsche 911. The car with the highest percentage of women buyers was the Volvo S40, with 57.9 percent of the customers buying it being female.

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Size matters for male and female car buyers originally appeared on Autoblog on Thu, 26 Apr 2012 13:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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These are the 10 new cars with the highest percentage of female ownership

Chris Tutor — Tue, 27 Mar 2012 15:30:00 EST

Filed under: Car Buying, Honda, Hyundai, Jeep, Nissan, Toyota, Volkswagen, Volvo

If you hear the pejorative "chick car," what comes to mind? Mazda MX-5 Miata? Volvo C70? Would you believe neither made Inside Line's list of 2011 models with the highest percentage of female ownership? No. 1, with 57.9-percent female ownership was the Volvo S40. Considering the female dollar is sought-after, it's probably too bad that Volvo decided to axe the model for 2012.

That means No. 2, the Nissan Rogue with 56.9 percent, could take the top spot for 2012. Or maybe the VW Eos at No. 3 with 56.4 percent. We're also kind of wondering how the new Fiat 500 will fare this year.

No. 4 is another VW that shouldn't surprise. The cute New Beetle has been a perennial favorite among the ladies. It was No. 1 a year ago, but as we know, the newer, more aggressively styled Beetle is enjoying increased interest among the guys. No. 5? The Toyota Matrix, of all things.

Here's how the rest shake out according to Inside Line:

Top ten 2011 models with the highest proportion of female buyers

Volvo S40 - 57.9%
Nissan Rogue - 56.9%
Volkswagen Eos - 56.4%
Volkswagen New Beetle - 54.6
Toyota Matrix - 54.1%
Hyundai Tucson - 54%
Honda CR-V - 53.4%
Toyota RAV4 - 54%
Nissan Juke - 52.7% (tie)
Jeep Compass - 52.7% (tie)

These are the 10 new cars with the highest percentage of female ownership originally appeared on Autoblog on Tue, 27 Mar 2012 15:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Volvo offering 23-hp upgrade for $1,295

Noah Joseph — Tue, 08 Nov 2011 18:29:00 EST

Filed under: Convertible, Sedan, Performance, Wagon, Hatchback, Volvo

Volvo enthusiasts should know the name Polestar well. The performance garage has a long history of tuning Volvos, and was anointed by the factory to run its works touring car program. Based on that success, Polestar launched a radical C30 PCP concept that is tipped to jump-start a new era of performance models from the Swedish auto marque.

Most recently, Volvo turned to Polestar to help tweak its R-Design specs, and had the tuning house start work on an ECU reflash for the S60. Now Volvo has officially announced the availability of the fruit of its collaboration with an upgrade for select models.

For $1,295 (including installation), owners of the C30, C70 and S40 (and soon the V50) with the T5 engine will be able to have an extra 23 horsepower and 29 pound-feet of torque squeezed out of their turbocharged five-pots with a dealer-installed tuning package.

The enhancement is affected by increasing airflow and optimizing spark timing, and while the aftermarket could surely squeeze out more for less, for a factory-backed upgrade, it strikes us as a good deal. Follow the jump for the full press release.

Continue reading Volvo offering 23-hp upgrade for $1,295

Volvo offering 23-hp upgrade for $1,295 originally appeared on Autoblog on Tue, 08 Nov 2011 18:29:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Video: Suzuki pits Kizashi against unlikely competitors

Jeff Glucker — Thu, 23 Dec 2010 19:58:00 EST

Filed under: Car Buying, Sedan, Marketing/Advertising, Videos, Suzuki, Humor

Suzuki Kizashi versus two unlikely competitors - Click above to watch video after the jump

Suzuki is pitting its Kizashi against a handful of surprising competitors for a series of new television ads The spots are set to begin airing on Christmas day. Who are the surprising competitors? An Audi A4, Mercedes-Benz C300 and Volvo S40... as well as a motorized sofa, stretch limo and a man wearing a bubble-wrap suit.

Seeing the Kizashi defeat the odd-ball entries is no surprise, but it is a bit of a shock that it also beats the Germans and the Swede, at least in Suzuki's arranged testing. Suzuki uses the advertisements to highlight the Kizashi's handling, braking, safety and price. The TV spots are part of a larger campaign called Kizashi Kicks. You can head over to KizashiKicks.com for more information, and we've made the ad clips available for your viewing pleasure after the jump.

[Source: Youtube, KizashiKicks.com]

Continue reading Video: Suzuki pits Kizashi against unlikely competitors

Video: Suzuki pits Kizashi against unlikely competitors originally appeared on Autoblog on Thu, 23 Dec 2010 19:58:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Report: Volvo mulling sub-S40 sedan, BMW X1 rival

Chris Shunk — Sun, 03 Oct 2010 14:45:00 EST

Filed under: Sedan, Crossover, Volvo

Now that Volvo is no longer a part of Ford Motor Company, change is inevitable. The Swedish automaker can no longer rely on Ford to supply low-cost global platforms or new powertrains in the future, so that future may include fewer platforms and better model distinction. AutoWeek reports that Volvo will soon go from three platforms to two by adding some new models and taking away some others. On the chopping block are the S40 sedan and V50 wagon. Both have sold reasonably well, but they are reportedly too close in size to the new S60 to be retained. The V70 station wagon will cease to exist after the 2011 model year.

Doug Speck, CEO of Volvo Cars of North America, tells AW that a new vehicle is being considered that will be smaller than the S40. It would do battle against heavy hitters like the BMW 1 Series. The small sedan's all-new platform could also spawn a compact crossover to take on the likes of the BMW X1. Speck cites the feverish growth of the small luxury crossover segment as the main motivating factor to adding a smaller stablemate to the XC60 and XC90. In the short term, the larger S80 and XC90 will also be redone, better positioning Volvo to win sales in China, where large luxury rides are in high demand.

Speck also set expectations for S60 sales in the U.S. Volvo hopes to sell 15,000 to 25,000 copies of the attractive new sedan annually. Volvo sold only 5,895 copies of the outgoing S60 in 2009, though the last-gen model, which first sold way back in 2001, was very long in the tooth.

[Source: AutoWeek]

Report: Volvo mulling sub-S40 sedan, BMW X1 rival originally appeared on Autoblog on Sun, 03 Oct 2010 14:45:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Volkswagen New Beetle still number one with the ladies

Jeremy Korzeniewski — Tue, 15 Jun 2010 19:31:00 EST

Filed under: Car Buying, Budget, Etc., Hatchback, Volkswagen

Volkswagen New Beetle - Click above for high-res image gallery

Men, take note: According to a new survey from research firm TrueCar, the Volkswagen New Beetle is (still) the ultimate car for women. Apparently, its combination of cute-as-a-button looks and affordable pricing make the reborn Bug a total hit with the fairer sex.

This data was determined not by some silly woman-on-the-street clipboard survey, but rather by looking at the registrations of more than 13 million vehicles over the past two years. We could have saved them quite a bit of work if they wanted to know that the New Beetle was a chick car, but whatever. There was some other interesting info gleaned from the research, including the revelation that 64% of all cars are registered by men despite the fact that there are more women (at 51% of the population, just a tad) than men in America.

Rounding out the top five vehicles that scored well with the mono-chromosomed gender were the Nissan Rogue, Hyundai Tucson, (saw this one coming) Volkswagen Eos and Volvo S40.

Gallery: 2009 Volkswagen New Beetle

[Source: The Wall Street Journal]

Volkswagen New Beetle still number one with the ladies originally appeared on Autoblog on Tue, 15 Jun 2010 19:31:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Volvo recalling 82,000 S40 and V50 models

Merritt Johnson — Sat, 02 Feb 2008 15:33:00 EST

Filed under: Recalls, Volvo

Volvo has announced a recall of 82,000 vehicles due to a rust problem that can lead to engine stall. The recall affects My 2004 through 2006 5-cylinder gasoline-powered S40 and V50 models. The majority of the problem cars are roaming the streets of the United States, Sweden and Germany as they are countries considered to be "corrosion markets". The issue stems from fuel pump electronics being exposed to rain, snow and road salt leading to their degradation. If excessive rust occurs it can lead to fuel starvation of the engine and thus, stalling. While markets with volatile climates get the fix, vehicles in more arid countries will receive an extended guarantee.

[Source: CNNMoney.com]

Volvo recalling 82,000 S40 and V50 models originally appeared on Autoblog on Sat, 02 Feb 2008 15:33:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Can you really open a locked car door with a tennis ball?

Chris Shunk — Thu, 12 Jul 2007 19:56:00 EST

Filed under: Gadgets, Etc., Videos, Ford, Volvo

You may remember a video that we showed on Autoblog where someone poked a hole in a tennis ball, lined up the hole in the ball with the key-hole of a car, pressed really hard, and the door unlocked. After reading your comments from that post, we decided that it was definitely worth testing to see if this tennis ball technique works for ourselves. One of the commentors from the last post on this subject used pressurized air to try to unlock four different doors to no avail, and another used a plunger (we wish we had video of that) but nobody tried a tennis ball like the video in question.

Hit the jump to see what happened when we tested the "use a tennis ball to unlock your car" trick. We tried it on four different vehicles, and we used two tennis balls, each with a different-sized hole in it to verify our findings. Check it out, and if you have a tennis ball and a screwdriver lying around the house, try it yourself and let us know in the comments if you got the same result we did. We're guessing you probably will.

Continue reading Can you really open a locked car door with a tennis ball?

Can you really open a locked car door with a tennis ball? originally appeared on Autoblog on Thu, 12 Jul 2007 19:56:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Next Volvo S40 may grow to be 3-Series fighter

John Neff — Fri, 02 Mar 2007 14:03:00 EST

Filed under: Sedan, Volvo

We're fans of the Volvo S40, as it's one of two ways to experience Ford's C1 chassis in the U.S. (the other being the Mazda3). Currently the S40 slots neatly at the bottom of Volvo's lineup, but word is that the next generation will grow substantially and replace both the current S40 and the S60 in Volvo's lineup. German site Autozeitung has whipped up this batch of renderings that preview what the next S40 may look like based on Volvo's current design language and cues previewed on the XC60 SUV concept. The rendering shows the S40 as about the size of an Audi A4 or BMW 3-Series, which means that Volvo may jettison the C1 chassis in favor of Ford's European C/D class platform, also known as the EUCD. Currently the EUCD underpins the Volvo S80, as well as a few European Ford people movers and the Land Rover LR2. It is also the underpinning for Bond's favorite rental car, the new Ford Mondeo. Regardless of whether the next-gen S40 replaces the aging S60, the prospect of Volvo producing a true 3-Series competitor is good news.

[Source: Autozeitung, Carscoop]

Next Volvo S40 may grow to be 3-Series fighter originally appeared on Autoblog on Fri, 02 Mar 2007 14:03:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Volvo C30 to launch in Paris

Erin Mays — Fri, 21 Jul 2006 17:39:00 EST

Filed under: Paris Motor Show, Hatchback, Volvo

AutoWeek's sources say that the Volvo C30 will be launched at the Paris Motor Show this fall. Though smaller than the S40, the Mazda3-based hatch will punch out 218 hp and 236 lb-ft of torque from its turbocharged 2.5-liter inline-five. It will be a little on the heavy side at 3,000 lbs., but with the tires right at the corners of the vehicle, handling will likely be good.

Inside the vehicle will be four bucket seats and an available 650-watt sound system. No official plans have been made for the U.S. market, but sources indicate we should expect it to hit the streets here in mid-2007.

[Source: AutoWeek]

Volvo C30 to launch in Paris originally appeared on Autoblog on Fri, 21 Jul 2006 17:39:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Websites select top new vehicles for young drivers

Joel Arellano — Fri, 14 Apr 2006 12:31:00 EST

Filed under: Car Buying, Convertible, Coupe, Sedan, Truck

Automotive websites Cars.com and DriversEd.com (a drivers education resource) have teamed up to determine the top new vehicles for teens this year. Criteria used included price, safety, size, and 'fun factor.'

The two sites top picks, broken down in categories, are:

Cars:

Honda Civic
Mazda MX-5
Mazda3
Mini Cooper
Scion tC
Subaru Impreza
Volvo s40

Pickups:

Nissan Frontier Crew Cab
Toyota Tacoma Double Cab

SUVs:

Hyundai Tucson
Subaru Forester
Toyota RAV4

[Source: PR Newswire via Seattle Post Intelligencer]

Websites select top new vehicles for young drivers originally appeared on Autoblog on Fri, 14 Apr 2006 12:31:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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