While this press release does not completely answer that question, it certainly if packed full of enough data to give you some general clues.
SAN DIEGO-(Business Wire)-January 3, 2007 – Why are African Americans purchasing more Nissan Altimas and Dodge Chargers and Asian Americans purchasing more Toyota Camrys and Honda Civics than other vehicles available to them? “While building well-designed, capable and quality vehicles, at the most discounted price, have the ability to generate sales; it doesn’t start there. It begins with understanding the values that direct the decision-making process within the new vehicle buyer,” says Alexander Edwards, president of Strategic Vision’s automotive research group. Various brands and models of new vehicles address cultural distinctions, and answer questions such as why Nissan and Chrysler sales are higher among African American new car buyers while Toyota has market share with Hispanic and Asian buyers. (more…)
Personally, I drive an ‘06 Volkswagen Jetta. It was a tie between this car and a ‘06 Camry. My main reason for choosing the Jetta was because it came with more standard options I wanted for a little extra. The key feature for me was that it came with leatherette seats (black). With two small kids in tow, I need all the help I can get keeping my car immune from spills. After having this car for a little under a year, I still do not regret my decision to go with the Jetta.
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January 3rd, 2007 at 7:50 pm
Long term, you may regret the Jetta because of reliability and the trouble you will run into finding a good mechanic for a VW.
Performance wise, I think VWs are good. But, I think they are overpriced across the board.
January 4th, 2007 at 9:12 am
I just got a new(-to-me) car this past summer. It’s a luxury vehicle that I purchased because I thought it was cute, a good make, and something most 24-year old black women aren’t driving (not because they can’t afford them, but because I suspect they’re not interested). anywho, before that, I had a ‘97 VW Golf (which was my point in commenting, lol). It was reliable as all get out, but YES, it was more than difficult to find parts and mechanics. But she got me through some times! R.I.P. Golfball…
January 4th, 2007 at 10:36 am
So far my VW has been good to me, however reality is starting to smack me in the face as we are planning to have another child. So it may be about a year or so I will be trading it in for something to accomadate more passengers. The Touareg by VW is pretty nice, but again I am stuck with a five seater situation. I can’t stand minivans, but it looks like it might be in my near future.
January 4th, 2007 at 6:25 pm
My guess is we tend to equate size with quality when judging cars and the Charger and Altima (among other models) appear larger than most rival family sedans to the casual observer. If I was really pressed for an answer, I’d say we also tend to prefer cars with more isolated ride/handling than what’s available from comparable Hondas and Toyotas.
The first new car I ever bought was a VW GTI and I still swear by that car. Repair costs were marginally higher than Japanese and American brands, but the GTI’s performance more than made up for the added $$$ in my book.
If you end up enjoying your Jetta and have to move up to something larger, I’d recommend a Passat station wagon over the Touareg.