Michiganders Say No to Purchasing Cars at Target or Meijers

These days everybody talks about Target excursions like they're the highlight of the week. Friends swap information about how much they spent on their lamps, kitchen supplies and new bathing suits and enjoy bragging about the deal they clinched. However, Target may not be the best place to shop for all purchases.

According to the Brogan Survey, 53.7% of Michiganders would NOT be willing to purchase an automobile from Target or Meijers.

What's even more interesting, though, is the distinct difference in responses provided by 25-34 year olds as compared to Michiganders in other age groups. 25-34 year olds was the only age group whose majority answered "yes" when asked, "If Target or Meijers sold automobiles produced especially for them by GM, Chrysler or Ford for a fixed price, generally speaking would you be willing to purchase an automobile from these stores?" In fact, 54.5% of them said yes and only 36.4% said no. All other age groups had between a 48.3% and 67% "no" response rate.

It seems that the 25-34 year olds are confident enough in their experiences to know what they're doing, to not need a dealer, and to be hip and trendy by shopping at Target or Meijers. The other extreme is the people in the 65 and older crowd who were significantly more likely to answer "no" than any other group. 67% of them would not consider purchasing an automobile from the retail stores.

How about you? Would you purchase your next car from Target or Meijers? Why or why not?

Younger Adults Enjoy Negotiating Car Prices, Brogan Survey Says

Despite what many people believe, just as many women as men prefer negotiating the purchase price of a car. Both genders were split pretty evenly when asked if they prefer a negotiable or fixed price, according to the Brogan Survey.

What many people don't even think about, however, is whether a price preference difference exists based on age. Turns out, it does.

An unexpected 89.7% of 18-24 year olds enjoy negotiating the purchase price of a car. Nearly twice as many of them answered this way as compared to the other respondents, who had only 42.7% to 48.9% saying they enjoy negotiation.

What do you think about this? Is there a reason for the difference in preference? It would seem as though the more experience you had in making big purchases, the more confident you would become, the more enjoyable getting a good deal would be. Michiganders say otherwise. Are young adults seemingly invincible in their negotiating capabilities? What are your thoughts?

Importance of Car Manufacturer Varies By Age

Purchasing a car requires consumers to consider many different automobile qualities. Interestingly enough, the Brogan Survey found that the importance of where the car is made varies greatly by age.

When asked, "Would you say it is very important, somewhat important, not very important, or not important at all that the automobile you purchase be made in the United States?" the older population of Michigan was much more likely to respond "very important" than the younger population.

In each age group that included people over 35, over half responded "very important" to the above question; from 54.6% of 35-44 year olds to 71.3% of the 65+ crowd answering in such a way. On the other side of the age spectrum, only 34.5% of 18-24 year olds and 30.3% of25-34 year olds said it was "very important" for their car to be made in the U.S.

Approximately double the portion of the 35 and over population felt purchasing an automobile made in the U.S. was "very important" as compared to the 18-34 year olds. Click here to view crosstabs.

Is there a generation gap in the way we buy? What does this mean for different industries? Or is there just a change in what Generation X values? What do you think?

Michigan Residents Split on Chrysler Sale

New data from the Brogan Survey shows that Michigan residents are decidedly split on what the sale of the company from Daimler to Cerberus Capital will mean.

• The highest number (39.5%) felt it would make no difference
• Second place, at 33.3%, were those who thought it would help the company perform better
• 17.8% said it would make the company perform worse

So, you could say that most (57.3%) feel that it won't make it any better. Or you could say that most 72.8% feel that it won't make it any worse. Or you could say that optimists outweigh pessimists by 2:1, as we chose to in our press release.

As you can see, it's relatively easy to spin these things. We're working hard to not spin this data, but to provide it as clearly as we can, showing what we find interesting about it and then sharing the details so you can decide for yourself.

What do you think? Is the Chrysler sale good or bad for Michigan?