What Compact-Performance Enthusiasts Drive and Modify
 

SEMA eNews, Vol. 9, No. 13 – March 29, 2006
WHAT COMPACT-PERFORMANCE ENTHUSIASTS DRIVE AND MODIFY


So what cars do compact-performance enthusiasts drive? Young Jin, Research Director of CarDomain InsideTrack, took a look at the 300,000+ U.S. vehicles on the company’s website to create a list of the top ten cars, which comprised a total of 58,738 cars (on January 18, 2006). “On CarDomain, the sport-compact vehicles profiled in this article (see table below) were 111% more likely to have a strut bar, 83% more likely to have aftermarket springs and 53% more likely to have modified their intake, compared to the average ride on CarDomain,” says Jin.
Many of the cars that made the top ten list are no longer in production but remain high in popularity. The Honda Civic and Accord top the list of cars on CarDomain.com (see table below), and some of the most popular modifications performed on these rides include new intakes, tires and stereo equipment.

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SEMA research shows that compact-performance enthusiasts are more inclined to purchase a used vehicle and modify it than purchase their vehicle new—62.2% indicated they purchased their vehicle used. Young consumers in the compact-performance have a limited income, which helps to explain why buying a used vehicle is preferable.
According to Young Jin, “The owners of sport-compact cars on CarDomain were also almost three years younger than the average CarDomain user. As these young auto enthusiasts who characterize the sport-compact market grow their earning power, I believe you will see them continue to carry their passion for individuality and performance over to other auto segments.” Also, nearly two-thirds (63.8%) of compact-performance enthusiasts have a four-cylinder engine powering their rides versus only 13.4% of all other automotive enthusiasts surveyed. With this in mind, the composition of the vehicles listed on the table above should come to no surprise.
The data in the table above was provided by InsideTrack—a research service that CarDomain provides to its business partners and clients. It utilizes CarDomain’s database of more than 1.5 million members and over 380,000 rides to provide comprehensive information and analysis of automotive aftermarket and related lifestyle trends. CarDomain is an auto enthusiast community whose membership is 92% male and has an average age of 23. For more information on CarDomain InsideTrack, visit www.cardomain.net/insidetrack.


Source: SEMA Research and Information Center

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