[kestrel55]

http://www.boston.com/business/articles/2006/02/24/chick_cars/

 

[The G Man]

I still see alot more woman driving the 06 RAV than guys, almost a 2 to 1 ratio.

 

[CornMonkey]

same here...count me as one in the minority, though.

 

[syadasti]

I still see alot more woman driving the 06 RAV than guys, almost a 2 to 1 ratio.

Its a marketing piece, what do you expect :wink:

Its obvious the Toyota marketing people were trying to sell the press the idea "we made it less cute!" but there are only a half dozen or so articles who have regurgitated the marketing spiel. The only real test of remodel is to look at the demographics of the buyers after its been around a year or two...

 

[RAV4HER]

All Righty Then...

The first three posts refute the Article & Toyota's talking points.

Toyota must know they won't change the 70% female ownership statitstics mentioned in the article. I think the 3rd row seat is certainly for the soccer moms. And, Toyota planned only 25% V6 production (for the guys) since the article states that chicks desire cars that are peppy but not too powerful.

Do you think Dodge could rename the RAM truck something cute and cuddly like the Dodge Bunny LUV 16; soften the lines to make it more cute and watch the female buyers line up. - nope - once a RAM, always a RAM; once a RAV, always a RAV.

Syadasti made perfect sense. And, I think Toyota will be hard pressed to erase the history behind the RAV name. ...Maybe in time.

I always thought it was strange how the Mazda Miata became a chick car when it was based on a previous generation's "man" car, the British 2-seat roadster. Maybe the earlier British version's manly appeal was that one had to always be fixing the damn thing.

So, we have learned that if it's smaller than the average vehicle, it is Japanese and so reliable, that all you have to do is put gas in it for 10 years and have the Jiffy Lube guy deal with the oil thingy once in a while...you have a chick car by default!!!

But, there's always hope the next generation will think that rather manly.

 

[tankd0g]

I still see alot more woman driving the 06 RAV than guys, almost a 2 to 1 ratio.

Poor Toyota, they tried to make the Matrix their young crowd product and I haven't seen a single one on the road without someone behind the wheel sporting gray hair Even though their marketing constantly misses the mark they still manage to sell everything they make

 

[progun]

I think it's all a bucnh of horse sheet :shock: ! Chick cars, guy cars, shoot, strap a Harley, metric cruizer or rice rocket between your legs; NOW you have some stuff for a real man but pleases a woman (when she's on the back) and will blow ANYTHING away with 4 wheels, period! :lol: :twisted: :shock:

 

[RAV4HER]

tried to make the Matrix their young crowd product and I haven't seen a single one on the road without someone behind the wheel sporting gray hair

Yes, they are trying to market the SCION brand to the young also. My buddy down at the dealership said that is not working on the East Coast. How 'bout the West Coast?

 

[The G Man]

The only SCION selling well in the east coast is the TC. Seems like the folks in the east coast are alot more conservative than the west coast. I wonder how the SCIONs are doing in the red states.

 

[syadasti]

I think the more manly US small SUVs tend to be real trucks - ie Xterra or now the FJ both with cheesy "EXTREME" styling and features.

There is also the Jeep Liberty - its a little more cute looking than the Nissan or Toyota truck SUVs but the fact its a Jeep and a little better offroad than most CUVs and has the offroading styling that make it happen.

I don't really care what people think of the cars as long as it fits my needs.

Probably 99% of SUV owners don't really need a real truck based SUV - won't be towing, won't be going off-road, the handling sucks, the interior space is inferior to a van/minivan, and mileage blows.

Wagons are ok in my book - look at how popular and decently designed they are in non-US markets but you don't have a good range of choices to choose from here, so you have to go with a trendy CUV. Looking at the V6 RAV4 4WD CUV, you still get performance numbers about the same as the V8 Dodge Magnum wagon, so its nothing to complain about...

Even the Minivans are cooler in other countries - this is the Honda Minivan based on the Euro Accord (acura TSX) you can get in most other markets:

 

[The G Man]

I think the more manly US small SUVs tend to be real trucks - ie Xterra or now the FJ both with cheesy "EXTREME" styling and features.

I would not say the FJ is a small SUV, it looks impressively big in person.

 

[syadasti]

I would not say the FJ is a small SUV, it looks impressively big in person.

Nevertheless both the old/newer Xterra and the new FJ are classfied as compact SUVs just like the RAV4.

American market cars are bloated, especially the new generation...

 

[nouse4aname]

Eh...they dropped the stick shift.

It's even more of a chick car now.

 

[nouse4aname]

I still see alot more woman driving the 06 RAV than guys, almost a 2 to 1 ratio.

Poor Toyota, they tried to make the Matrix their young crowd product and I haven't seen a single one on the road without someone behind the wheel sporting gray hair Even though their marketing constantly misses the mark they still manage to sell everything they make

The only vehicle that Toyota offers now that I'm interested in is the v6 6-speed Tacoma. But my commute's too long for a truck's mileage.

 

[Zeoth]

Poor Toyota, they tried to make the Matrix their young crowd product and I haven't seen a single one on the road without someone behind the wheel sporting gray hair

Should come to San Francisco. They are all over the place driven mostly by people from 16-early 30's.

 

[RAV4HER]

Our dealers around here hardly bother with the Matrix.

As for a post about the chick VW bug and that bud vase on the dash...I think it had another connotation as well...at least as an inside joke.

Well, marketers plans can easily go askew. I remember an ad for the VW that said "if you sold your soul in the 80's here is your chance to buy it back" Quiet clever giving that most hippies grew up and joined the system they once rebelled against. Of course they really didn't have a choice. The "system" is a big thing to buck. Still, the fun was nice while it lasted I'm sure. But like the song said "a little voice inside my head said don't look back, you can never look back"

Thus, yesterday's hip car became today's chick car.

Maybe today's RAV4.3 can shake the image if they sell enough V6's and/or make the Sport model look mean and aggressive. I think that is Toyota's best hope. That makes sense to me and how easy it would be to give it that look. After all, The Mustang somehow manages to attract loads of female buyers to the V6 while holding on to the muscle car - macho V8 male buyers.