Ok, I know this is a random post, but I want to show a friend what I was talking about. I am thinking of upgrading to an S2000 and we got into a long debate. He essentially told me it was a dumb decision, which, quite frankly, I didn't appreciate.

Anyway, those of you who know your stuff about marketing and in general how to sell cars, please tell me if you think the target market for an RSX is different than that of an S2000.

He got really mad when I told him, on average (by definition, some values will fall below the mean and some will be greater, and there are always outliers in the data) that the S2000 is catered towards older, more professional people, whereas the RSX is geared more towards an age range of approximately 20-26.

Any input would be appreciated. This isn't for an immature "I told you so" session; rather, it is to show him that I am not biased, and my statements were based more on raw marketing data.

 

Actually I'd say the RSX is catered to the ages starting at about 25 up to about 35, a lot of kids like them but with the RSX-S manual starting at 23 and change not a lot of college students can afford one on their own. You'll notice a lot of young working professionals and even older females in their 30's drive RSX's because it's slightly more upscale than a civic but isn't 35 grand like a G35 or BMW 3 series.

You'd actually be surprised the average ages for buyers of cars is higher than you think. For instance, the average buy of scion is 25 not 16 and toyota is actually in their 40's not 30's and the average lexus buyer is 55+. I did a market research study on average age and gender of different makes/models.

The S2000 is still in a different market though, one is obviously for a front drive coupe that seats 4 one is for a rear drive roadster that seats 2 and costs 10 grand more. S2000 competes with the MS and NC miatas, Lotus Elise, Pontiac Solstice/Saturn Sky etc.

 

I'm 19 years old and drive an RSX-S, up from a Civic SiR.

RSX-S is a fun car.

Speed wise i must say its very close to an S2000.

Target Market... I would say the S2000 is obviously marketed to an older gen than the RSX-S, but also because of its price.
New to New, the S2000 is a lot more expensive.

With them being available every where used now, the price different isnt THAT much at all.

I would say the RSX-S is a younger car, but i see plenty of older people driving them here in MTL because yes its a big time up scale civic with some pep. Its got everything you need, be it; sunroof, leather, heated seats, bose sound system, 200hp, fun to drive etc...

The S2000 is not as practical as the RSX-S and I think that is where they majorly diff. Also the fact that the S2000 isnt a winter car doesnt help the situation.

Its not everyone that can afford two cars, one for summer and one for winter/rainy days.

I know when I get my S2k in Feb/March, I will not drive it in the winter, but my winter car will not be anything crazy/special which kinda sucks.

Anyways S2k = 25 - 30
and the RSX-S = 19 - 24

But again it depends on what you are looking for, and i know a couple people (4) to be exact that are between 20 - 22 that have S2k's here in MTL, same goes for RSX-S.

 

S2000 was originally marketed towards 40+ years old married men with $80k+ incomes, as a third car in the household after Accord and Odyssey ( all numbers off the top of my head ). Which might have been true for the first year or so.

I think that the actual owner demographics has shifted a lot towards people under 30. This car is more appealing to younger people. An average 45-50 year old would be more likely to go for something more respectable like BMW Z4 or Mercedes even if it's more expensive and/or less powerful. 350Z struck the last blow. Nowadays S2K buyers are probably 40% yuppies, 40% college kids or recent graduates who buy it (in part) with parents' money, 20% everyone else. But that's just my estimate, not based on any hard market research. I tried to find some in the past, and failed.

There's a topic here with a poll of people's ages and occupations. IIRC, median age over the last few months is 25.

 

I know two RSX-S owners - one early thirties and the other late twenties.

The S2000 owners I know range from early twenties to retired. Most younger owners purchased used S2000s. The majority of new ones seem to be purchased by the mid-thirties and up crowd.

 

I fit in the 40+ range, this is my mid-life-crises car.

Its so refreshing to be worrying about cops again!

 

Interesting... thanks, guys. It's about what I thought, and I have seen younger individuals purchasing the S2000 (I am 24, so I suppose I fit into the Yuppie crowd).

The other thing that is still bothering me... I am really on the fence about this. There is something about the S2000 that I really love, but I also enjoy my RSX.

Anyway, thanks for the input.

 

The average buyer age data us really useless. It goes by age of whom the car is registred to. So a 16 year old kid driving an RSX-S had his 40 year old dadbuy the car for him. Or the 18-21 year old kid living at home but earns enough money to have a $500+ car payment has his parents co-apply for an S2000 - also skews the age data.
The intended market for the S2000 is for people around 29-55 years in age. The car is a Halo car...Honda markets them to more mature professionals and enthusuasts. Honda knows thaat most people who walk into the Honda dealership will be drawn to it, sit in it...even see themselves in it. But not everyone can buy it for affordability reasons or practicality reasons. It helps sell sportier versions of their other cars (i.e. Accord V6 6MT sedan, TSX, RSX, Si, etc) Avg. Income is north of the $100K's, and the buyer is predominantly Male (over 80% in 2004) - but that data will change soon...more women are buying the S2000 citing it's good looks and "Finally Honda has a convertible!!" wants. But most women say "If it had an automatic, sign me up!" So Honda really drew the line when they created the S2000.

 

I'm in the 50 plus crowd. My son can't believe that this is me .

You are so right about looking out for the local cops.

 

I understand your point with why you feel the data is skewed. However, marketers don't care who paid for the car or who registered the car. What the marketing dept. cares about is who made the decision to buy the car. This may have been the kid or it may have been the parent. On average I would say it's probably more the kid than the parent. The important part of a marketing program is influencing the person who makes the decision to buy. Where the money came from is not relevant.