Kelley Blue Book recently released the results of its annual back-to-school car-buying poll. Whether heading to high school or college, the 2006 study found that 43 percent of drivers ages 16-25 would like to arrive in a Ford Mustang, making it the No. 1 choice among younger drivers for the second year in a row. Parents, however, chose the Honda Civic as the car they would most like to see their child drive. Four of the top five picks were Asian manufacturers, including small sedans from Toyota, Honda, Nissan and Mazda. Coming in at No. 5 on the parents list was the compact Ford Escape SUV. The Mustang ranked No. 8 among parents.
“As you would expect, parents’ primary concerns today revolve around safety and reliability,†says Jack R. Nerad, editorial director and executive market analyst for Kelley Blue Book. “Young people look for vehicles they can personalize or one that defines their personality,†he says.
What 16- to 25-year-olds want to drive to school:
1. 2001 Ford Mustang 43 percent
2. 2002 Mitsubishi Eclipse 37 percent
3. 2001 Honda Civic 34 percent
4. 2001 Jeep Wrangler 32 percent
5. 2002 Jeep Liberty 23 percent
What parents of 16- to 25-year-olds want their children to drive:
1. 2001 Honda Civic 43 percent
2. 2002 Toyota Corolla 41 percent
3. 2003 Nissan Sentra 13 percent
4. 2003 Mazda Protege 12 percent
5. 2000 Ford Explorer 11 percent
Source: Copely News Service
id rather have a 96 f250 then be caught dead driving some stupid ricer, i wanna kill those morons with the bass and those stupid mufflers you could stick a grapefruit up. id rather have $80 in gas and an engile that could pull a house away and thatll last me a couple of days than a $5 tank full of rice and an engine with no guts thatll last me 3 weeks
By 460Ford. November 1st, 2006 at 3:18 pmWhen I was in High School (mid 90’s) the ricer thing hadn’t caught on locally as big as it has now, so most of the guys I knew were into muscle cars. At that time I had a 1990 TransAm GTA (ya, I know, A Shivvie, but I was young and stupid and hadn’t seen the light yet), and there were one or two Camaros, but there were a good number of Mustangs ranging from one guy who had a ‘66 GT to several ‘71-’73s, an SVO and assorted Foxes. I remember there being lots of Mustangs in the auto shop and the parking lot of school.
By Tyler. October 19th, 2006 at 8:18 amThats pretty screwy? I was under the impression that me and my fellow highschoolers wanted to drive Ferraris and Porsches to school. There is not a single mustang and only one ford explorer at my highschool of 400 students (in Northern California). There are quite a few BMW’s, tons of jettas, a couple Audis, and a way too many subarus. One lucky b—–d drives an insane red Porsche 944 turbo. It has all kinds of engine and suspension mods; he says it’s set up to for open track events. I wanna kill the guy every time I hear him fire it up to leave during my last period.
By THEBOB. October 17th, 2006 at 1:50 pmI’m curious how old that poll is; wouldn’t most high school & college people prefer a ‘05-’06 Mustang over the ‘01? Something’s a bit “fishy” about this artical…..
By Anthony Dalrymple. October 16th, 2006 at 7:32 amThe teenager poll adds up to 169% and the parent poll adds up to 120%… what gives?
By Motrhed. October 16th, 2006 at 7:12 amThis poll must have been done in California.
By Wildo. October 16th, 2006 at 6:25 amI wish parents weren’t so hung up on the idea that the only cars worth buying are from Asia. I drove a Neon through college, and it’s now approaching 200,000 miles; of course, I sold it to a family member and bought an AWD Eclipse for the winter (Cobra for the summer)!
By Travis. October 16th, 2006 at 5:29 amLooks like parents are the source of turning kids into ricers…
By bassman97. October 15th, 2006 at 7:42 pm