Hot on the heels of last week’s disturbing revelations of soaring levels of dissatisfaction among younger Britons about the poor standard of driving services delivered by their parents, comes news that fewer than 38% of kids get to have a say in what cars their parents purchase.
Fresh research from car buyers’ bible Auto Traitor found that although 78% of parents claimed their children had attempted to influence their car buying choices, only 37% took account of their offspring’s wishes. These shocking findings help to explain the puzzling dearth of monster trucks, diggers, and princess pink convertibles on Britain’s roads today.
Auto Traitor’s survey found that dads (39%) are more susceptible to pressure from kids than mothers (33%), possibly due to their retaining essentially similar tastes to those of their (male) offspring, while mothers are more often influenced by such mundane considerations as the practicalities of transporting large quantities of children and/or shopping.
One area in which children’s views are widely heeded is in the choice of car colour, with 26% of vehicles selected partly or wholly on the basis of childrens’ colour preferences. Thirteen percent of “comfort level” decisions are influenced by kids, along with 10% of in-car entertainment choices. The latter, incidentally, are unlikely to include serenading by parents (see previous story).
“If one of the kids doesn’t like the shape or colour of your next car, or it doesn’t come with plug-in for an iPad, then you’d better be prepared for some serious pestering,” warns Auto Traitor’s Nathan Coe.
But, frankly, who cares what he says.
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