Forget the chocolate: Women deal with life changes by buying a car, survey says

Women shop big when they are stressed out about changes in their lives -- think car-sized big.

A recent survey by CarMax Inc. indicates that major life events like changes in employment and family are the most likely reasons a woman purchases a vehicle, says an article from Business Wire.

“Many personal factors affect women shopping for a car,” said Donna Wassel, Southwest region vice president of CarMax, the nation’s largest used-car retailer. “Changes in family and employment create an opportunity to evaluate your current driving situation.”

The August 2009 survey of 500 U.S. women ages 18 and older asked, “Of the following life events, which is the most likely to prompt you to purchase a car?” with the following options to choose from: new job, retirement, pregnancy, divorce, an empty nest and children becoming drivers.

Sixty percent of the women surveyed indicated that career changes, including a new job (37%) and retirement (23%) would most likely to prompt them to buy a car.

However, women ages 18 to 34 had a close tie between pregnancy (41%) and getting a new job (44%) as motivations for car buying. Eleven percent of all women cited a new child driver as an impetus.

This doesn’t necessarily mean that the next time change rolls into your life you should jump on the bandwagon by buying a new car (though it might help boost the economy). We’re with you in thinking that the chocolate bar might be a little bit better for your wallet.

-- Kelsey Ramos

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Photo: Diana Fana looks at a Hyundai vehicle at a car lot. Credit: Bloomberg

New vehicles score well with consumers, J.D. Power finds, but will it help sales?

Americans may not be buying many cars these days, but they still like what they see in showrooms.

New or significantly redesigned vehicles notched an average score of 790 (on a scale of 1,000) in J.D. Power and Associates latest APEAL survey, which queries car buyers on “how gratifying a new vehicle is to own and drive,” based on such factors as performance, fuel economy and cockpit design.

The results for new and redesigned vehicles were up 11 points from the 2008 survey and 15 points better than the average score for 2009 carryover models.

Seven new and redesigned models ranked highest in their respective categories, including the Dodge Challenger, Ford F-150 (in a tie), Ford Flex, Hyundai Genesis, Nissan Maxima, Volkswagen CC and Volkswagen Tiguan.

Overall, 2009 model-year vehicles had an average score of 779 in the survey, up from an industry-wide average of 770 a year ago.

“Most automakers are on track in terms of designing new models that are highly appealing,” said David Sargent, vice president of automotive research at J.D. Power.

“The greater challenge for manufacturers lies in creating models that launch with both strong appeal and high quality, which ultimately lead to improved sales through greater customer loyalty and advocacy.”

The primary driver behind this year’s higher score was increased owner satisfaction regarding fuel economy, J.D. Power said. That was due in part to lower gas prices, but owners are also switching to more fuel-efficient vehicles — more than half of the vehicles in this year’s survey had four-cylinder engines versus 39% last year -- and popular models such as the Ford F-150 and Dodge Ram pickups, the Cadillac Escalade SUV and the Volkswagen Jetta all debuted more fuel-efficient powertrains.