Cars for Women | 07/27/2009 9:25 am

Toyota, Honda Make Girly Cars to Attract Women Buyers, But Will It Work?

Hoping to stem the decline of car sales, Japanese automakers try to make owning a car — even minivans — ‘cool’ again, especially for women.

By The Staff at wowOwow.com

Would you be more likely to buy a car if it were painted candy-apple red, and decorated with heart-shaped stickers? What about if you can decorate your own seat covers? Well, Toyota and Honda are hoping Japanese women will be, and that it will put the "cool" factor back into cars.

As Bloomberg reports on how to lure women into car showrooms amid declining car sales, Toyota has introduced the "DecoPrius." Honda Motor Co. has gotten some help from Cozy Tomato, a book and magazine illustrator, for storytelling events centered around cars for young moms and their kids. What type of cars are there for a big family? Minivans, of course! And because many women control the bank accounts of their households, they hold even more power when deciding what kind of car to buy.

"If we don’t challenge ourselves and do something that may seem weird, there’s no point," said Tomio Tsukagoshi, a spokesman for Amlux Toyota Co., to Bloomberg. "We need to be attracting these types of people."

They just might be onto something. In the United States, for example, women either buy or influence the purchase of 85 percent of all new cars and trucks, according to Edmunds.com. Should carmakers be paying more attention to what women want? Tell us below what you think.

Read more about: Car Sales, Economy, Honda, Japan, Minivans, News, Prius, Toyota, women, World

29 Reader Comments (so far…) Sign In or Register to comment

"Girly" is right! Heart shaped stickers? Sounds like a Barbie car, not a car for adult WOMEN.

By DeBúrca obj on 07/27/2009 9:30 am

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I think it is a great idea, but I can definitely see countless reporters, writers and bloggers with their hands perched just above their keyboards ready to pounce and denounce this as sexist.

In America for YEARS car makers have catered to the sensitivities of men. We even have a phrase used that screams masculinity "muscle cars" and most people know what that means. The Hummer when it first came on the market was marketed to men, a big, powerful piece of equipment that would make all the other cars on the road coward at your massiveness. If that’s not a loose metaphor for the old "pull your pants down and let’s see who is bigger" mentality, I don’t know what is.

I’d love to see cars marketed to and for women, my only concern is that it will be coming from a male perspective of what "they" think we would like. The very same men who are 45 years old and show up at your door with a teddy bear on Valentine’s Day because after all if your a female, no matter how hold you are, you’re suppose to swoon for a stuffed animal. The condescension could be an issue.

By Belinda Joy on 07/27/2009 9:39 am

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Belinda, after many many hours spent in the original "Hummers" - the ones fielded to the Army - I have nooooo desire to ever own one. They are NOT comfortable and besides, I’d probably get flashbacks or something. Granted, the civilian versions are much cushier, but still… yuk. But I did enjoy fast driving in civilian vehicles on the German autobahns. No hearts or teddy bears, though, please.

By Lila Kuh on 07/29/2009 8:27 pm

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I wish I could be excited over this but for some reason I am with Belinda on this one - its going to be from men thinking they know what a woman would like and there going to miss the mark completely. I dont care about flowers give me safety for my family & myself. Give me a real metal car back not fiberglass that dents if you touch it too hard…

By C Hardy on 07/27/2009 9:52 am

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Car designers should be thinking about what a woman … not a teen… would want/need in a car. One thing that needs to be addressed is seat belt comfort. It was clearly designed with a man’s height in mind. There are also too many blind spots in cars.

Too many mini vans do not have good stats when it comes to roll overs. I know young moms hauling soccer players around town need this type of vehicle, but rather than concentrate on hints from Cozy Tomato, go with the safety experts first.

The number one factor for me is safety. I don’t want stickers and don’t much care about color.

By Maggie W on 07/27/2009 9:52 am

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You have excellent points. Depending on the different styles, they can have different models for different stage in life groups. One for teens and early 20s. Most of the girls, correction… ALL of the girls that work for me are in this catagory. They would love it. They have already tricked out their cars to be candy cars and it looks terrible… like patch jobs. If they made the car from scratch with it.. it would look ok.

However, myself, I wouldn’t dig it too much…. too much of a tom boy myself and would stick with the male car. But thats the beauty, it’s all about choice. This is a car company trying to cash in on a demographic that hasn’t really been marketed to yet. And it shows that they are thinking and trying to get the auto industry back on its feet.

By aud b on 07/27/2009 10:01 am

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Hi Maggie,

I’m with you and the other posters on this. They should not adjust seat belts but the seats period. I’m a petite woman and I have to scoot the seat all way up until the airbag is almost in my chest. What’s wrong with that picture?

However, men think that we just want stickers and cute colors. I’m too friggin old to be worried about colors and stickers!!

By Kristy B on 07/27/2009 11:42 am

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Kristy, that’s my number one test in choosing a car. Sit in the driver’s seat and adjust it. If it’s not comfortable or can’t adjust to a safe and convenient position for me, the car is an automatic no-go, no matter how great it is otherwise. We spend too much time in the driver’s seat these days to compromise on comfort or safety.

By Lila Kuh on 07/29/2009 8:31 pm

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I’m with you Maggie…it’s a freakin CAR not a purse!

Make us a car that is safe, easy to work on, affordable. We want to get where we are going with our families, safely. If we break down on the way, we want ANYONE to be able to work on it for less cost. Then when we get where we’re going, we want to have enough money left in our accounts to actually AFFORD a leisure time with our families….

This just goes to show how STUPID these companies think that women really are…..

Heart shaped stickers…good gawd…

By Kelly In Texas on 07/28/2009 1:58 pm

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As a car fanatic and a feminist, I am suprised that I am not offended. I know a lot of "girlie" girls who would love it. I mean, they already buy all the fairy, flower, dragonfly decals for their car now. While I, myself, will stick with a non-descript silver muscle car, I think that an artistic touch to the candy car ideal (candy being the term for the toy/candy color accessories we see depicting fairies, dragonflys, rainbow colors, beads, faux fur, etc) would be a cash cow - as long as they market it correctly and not leave out the important stuff such as power, safety, affordability, etc. I know Dell tried to do this with their note pads but in their advertising failed to address the fact that the fem note pad was an accessory to the hard core note book, and this caused a huge uproar in the feminist community. A lot of women in IT took as a set back to the advancement of women in the IT industry.

By aud b on 07/27/2009 9:55 am

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First and foremost I want dependable.I also want fuel efficiency. Give me something that won’t roll over and is well built. I can make my own vehicle tricked out if I wish. Personally practical that will get me there and back safely is more important.

By S G on 07/27/2009 10:04 am

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Oh please! Girlie car. That’s about as sexist as anything I’ve heard in a long time. Safety, economy, comfort—those are the elements that will appeal to all people.

By Diana T on 07/27/2009 10:05 am

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Have to agree with all the posters, especially Belinda. I’d love a car designed "for women." However, my guess is that my wants would overlap with those of the men I know who also shlepp their kids around—room for backpacks, briefcases, and food; chargers for the various electronic items; adjustable seats for the family members who range from just over 5’ to 6’3”. The idea that appealing to a woman is all about appearances is mildly offensive.

I get that some women want fairies and hearts. I drive a lot for work, and am alone most of the time. Frankly, such decorations would make me worry that I’d be a target.

By Joleen Knits on 07/27/2009 10:11 am

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Women want cars that have high safety standards, seat belts that do not cut across their necks, buttons for all equipment easy to find and figure out (we generally do not get off on complicated gadgets we need to study in a booklet before each use). We want them car seat friendly, and doors that are not so heavy that they bang against other cars when we’re opening them. In fact, we would like to be able to open the hood easily too. Keep it simple, functional, safe and sized to our general body size and THEN you can call it a car designed with women in mind. You can keep your heart shaped stickers thank you very much.

By DeBúrca obj on 07/27/2009 12:09 pm

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Based on these comments I think most readers have missed the fact that this marketing proposal is for the Japanese market - the home of Pokemon and Hello Kitty - not the North American market.

By Karen R on 07/27/2009 12:19 pm