Abstract
The automobile industry is one of the complicated industries because consumer preferences differ distinctly and the purchasing trends are often unpredictable. To enhance understanding of the automobile industry, this paper investigated attributes that attract sport car owners by interviewing 10 sport car owners in the streets of New York. Simple closed-ended questionnaires designed with a Likert scale were useful in collecting responses from participants. The results show that men consider engine size, car price, car speed, and exterior design, while women consider the interior design and brand reputation.
Significance of the study
It is important to understand that different consumers have different preferences for products or services offered in any market (Marc & Barbara, 2013). Both consumers and manufacturers of automobile sports cars may benefit from this analysis. By establishing the attributes that attract sport car owners to purchase certain racing cars, the manufacturers can tailor certain attributes of cars to a specific gender, and thus, enhance their sales volume. For the businesspersons, manufacturers, distributors, and assemblers of sport and racing cars, analyzing the attributes would make them understand the most desired sports car features.
Review of Literature
A considerable body of literature reveals that the consumption trends are changing dramatically as the automobile industry undergoes a transition. Georgano (1985) analyzed the transition in the automobile industry from the elegant limousines of the 1930s to big and small cars in the 1960s. The Sport Utility Vehicles (SUVs) industry emerged in the 20th century, with most cars made for racing events emerging from these innovations and spreading instantly across the world (Ahuja, 2011).
The developing notion is that car preferences have changed in the automobile industry. With the increasing technologies that have shaped production techniques, the sports car automobile industry is receiving mixed views from consumers (Giucci, 2012). Many luxury car buyers experience anxiety while making purchasing decisions.
Among factors that influence the decision-making of consumers in the purchasing of sports cars are the brand reputation, the reliability of the vehicle, the driving performance, safety attributes, design, and the car price (Ahuja, 2011). In the year 2000, the United States consumer survey showed that 30% of consumers have remained more concerned about the fuel efficiency of Sport Utility Vehicles (SUVs), 23% others claimed that the car price is an important factor, and 27% stated that the interior of exterior appearances matters on the purchasing of SUVs (Marc & Barbara, 2013). Moreover, 19% of the respondents claimed that the brand reputation of a car matters, while the remaining 1% was unsure about their purchasing habits.
Methodology
The study mainly focused on the main attributes that attract car owners to purchase sports cars. The study employed closed-ended questionnaires (appendix 1) with Likert scales to collect quantitative data. The analysis entailed the use of the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) software in performing cross-tabulation and chi-square test (Dallas & Grimmer, 2007). In the selection of 10 participants, 5 women, and 5 men, the study used a purposive sampling method to ensure that all participants are sport car owners.
Research/Findings
Gender * Car Price
Gender * Car Speed
Gender * Brand Reputation
Gender * Interior Design
Gender * Exterior Design
Discussion
Car price stands as one of the elements that influence the purchasing decisions of consumers regarding a sports car. Based on the SPSS findings, 60% of men agree, while 40% strongly agree, meaning that most men consider price in purchasing sports cars. The Pearson Chi-square value is -0.119, which indicates that gender is insignificant in influencing purchasing decisions based on price. Car speed is also an attribute that sport car buyers consider. Cross tabulation reveals that the majority (100%) of the men claim that car speed is a key feature, while only 80% of women agree with this notion. The chi-square value is -0.040, which means that the attribute of car speed varies according to gender.
Buyers also consider the engine size, as the results indicate that 80% of men consider engine size, while only 40% of women consider car engine size. The chi-square value is -0.119, which means there is an insignificant gender difference in the preference of engine size. The results reveal that there is a significant difference in preference to attribute of brand reputation according to gender. Over 80% of men disagreed that brand reputation is a considerable attribute of a car, while exactly 100% of women agree that brand reputation is essential.
Notably, marketers believe that the interior design of a car attracts sport car owners, especially female car owners. From the results, only 20% of the male sport car owners considered interior design, while all women (100%) claimed interior design is an important factor in their car selection. In contrast, cross-tabulation shows that all men (100%) agree that the exterior design of a sports car influences their purchasing decision, while 80% of women disagreed.
Recommendations
From the analysis of car attributes that influence decision of buyers, the most important feature that sums up almost everything is the engine size. Consumers consider the influence of engine size on fuel efficiency, car speed, and performance of the sports car.
Limitations
Few people within the streets manage to acquire Sport Utility Vehicles due to their maintenance costs. This notion was a reality because the greatest limitation to the study was to find SUVs car owners since they are scarce and belong to the high class, hence, uneasy to approach them.
References
Ahuja, P. (2011). Luxury cars: a new definition of necessity in India. International Journal of Scientific Research and Management Studies, 1(2), 1-11.
Dallas, H., & Grimmer, M. (2007). The mix of qualitative and quantitative research in major marketing journals (1993-2002). European Journal of Marketing, 41(1/2), 58-70.
Georgano, G. (1985). Cars: Early and vintage: The Golden Era of Coachbuilding: 1886-1930. London: Grange-Universal.
Giucci, G. (2012). The Cultural Life of the Automobile: Roads to Modernity. Texas: University of Texas Press.
Marc, P., & Barbara, C. (2013). An exploration of factors influencing car purchasing decisions. International Journal of Retail & Distribution Management, 41(10), 738-764.