Ford, Honda Brands Most Requested: Women’s Auto Site

WomanMotorist.com has released the results of their “Most Requested Cars” study for the first six months of 2004. The data represents the accumulated vehicle price-quote requests sent to dealerships by WomanMotorist.com readers during the car buying process. The table below depicts the top ten most requested brands, and the percentage of requests commanded by each.

RankManufacturerPercentage of Requests
1.Ford 11.5
2.Honda 9.2
3.Toyota 8.2
4.Nissan 7.1
5.Chevrolet 5.6
6.Jeep 4.4
7.BMW 4.1
8.Dodge 3.9
9.Volkswagen 3.5
10.Acura 2.8

This data gives a precise assessment of the automakers successfully communicating their brand to women, and Ford is the most requested brand according to the data. The study also shows a significant increase in interest among women for very high priced vehicles.
“Honda and Toyota fell many points behind Ford. This was a surprise to us, given the Japanese automakers’ reputations for quality, and seeming preference among women. One would think they would have commanded a higher percentage of the women’s interest,” commented WomanMotorist.com Editor-in-Chief, Sandra Kinsler.
“Chevrolet was also a surprise,” observed Kinsler. “Chevrolet sells a variety of products in the economy segment, yet captured only 6.5% of women’s attention during the car shopping process. Considering how many products they sell, it was a surprise to see them fall so far below Nissan. Also surprising was tiny BMW beating gargantuan-brand Dodge by three tenths of a percent. That’s a huge difference in the effectiveness of the company’s communications when comparing the size of their respective ad, and marketing, budgets.”
“Nissan, BMW and Volkswagen, all foreign automakers, have made the most strides within the women’s market. Clearly Nissan is the big winner coming in only one point below Toyota, and over half a percent higher than Chevrolet – it’s amazing how much progress little Nissan has made, and how much effective market communications can swing car shoppers,” commented Brian Leshon, Publisher of WomanMotorist.com.