This should give pause to marketers who rely on purchasing-behavior research: The top-line finding of Vertis’ “proprietary Customer Focus 2005: Automotive Study” reveals that “the number one reason for many consumers to buy a new car is simply because they want one.” Uh ... yeah?! (Other reasons listed include “need one for work” and “current auto mechanical problems.”) Other findings by the Baltimore, Md., researcher are less obvious and more suspect. For instance, the report says 24 percent of single Gen Y men plan to purchase a new vehicle in the next year. Sounds promising, right? But the study defines Gen Y as those born between 1977 and 1994, which would seem to mean much of the sample includes kids 11-15 years young. Presumably this is the (hopefully still single) target that “wants” a car partly because they can do little except want one. But how can the authors be sure they’re not just lusting after Hot Wheels?

—Posted by Gregory Solman