Dodge No. 1 Among Early Careerists

"Dodge" and "No. 1": Wow, there's a combination of words you don't see too often. I mean, unless they're separated by the phrase "has a long way to go before it ever reaches." Yet according to the folks at J.D. Power and Associates, Chrysler's newly rejiggered sporty-car division, Dodge, is the brand that gets "the greatest volumes of online discussion ... among early careerists."'

In other words, when people aged 22-29 go online to Facebook, Twitter, etc., the vehicle brand they are most likely to discuss is Dodge, followed by Chevrolet, Toyota, Land Rover, Mazda, Jeep, Lexus, Honda, Ford, Buick.

In this strange alternative world that J.D. Power is reporting on, most of the Dodge and Chevy discussions tend to revolve around NASCAR. In fact, Chance Parker, vice president and general manager of Power's Web Intelligence Division, flat-out says: "When the NASCAR drivers they sponsor win, domestic automakers also win in terms of recognition among many social media users in their twenties."

Other big parts of the Dodge/Chevy story are the continued interest in retro vehicles like the Dodge Challenger and Chevrolet Camaro, as well as the Camaro's cinematic starring role in the "Transformers" franchise. The Power people also say the "Online mentions of these brands [Dodge and Chevrolet] tend to be largely positive."

Of course, this leaves me wondering how Ford can be down so low on the list. I mean, the Blue Oval has its own retro muscle car (Mustang) and NASCAR teams, and it didn't endure a government-assisted bankruptcy. Oh, and Buick? On any kind of top 10 list reported by people under the age of dead? Whoever helped achieve this deserves a promotion — which perhaps explains why the General recently decided to replace outgoing U.S. sales head Mark LaNeve with Susan Docherty, until now general manager for Buick (and GMC).

On the other hand, the study of these early careerists also shows some lingering resentment over the bailout, a situation that this demographic blames on the domestics' lack of innovation and inability to design appealing vehicles.

J.D. Power also ran the numbers for teens (aged 12-18). Here, the top 10 went like this: Toyota, Honda, Audi, Cadillac, Chevrolet, Jeep, Mercedes, Volkswagen and BMW. But with the youngsters, the data "indicate shifts in perceptions regarding the necessity of and desire to have cars." That is, because of how they view the costs of vehicle ownership during the economic downturn, and the fact many of them are just as happy getting together online, instead of having to drive somewhere, today's teens just don't have the same burning desire to own their own vehicles as past generations.

Now, predicting the future is tricky business, but it's also a lot of fun. So, let's put everything together here and see if we can glean any random hints about what tomorrow may bring for the industry, just on the odd chance any of this data actually means something.

First off, the perception gap — consumers' belief that domestic products trail imports in terms of quality and innovation in the same way they did in the 1980s — is still a factor. But it's one that can be effectively minimized by such key strategies as, uh, getting your cars featured in blockbuster movies involving giant robots and Megan Fox.

Next, maybe Chrysler isn't in quite so bad a situation as some have thought. The automaker's decision to split off Ram as a truck-only brand, and re-position Dodge as its division for car enthusiasts, may resonate with those early careerists so interested in the Charger and Challenger. And Jeep, which appeared on both lists, remains in amazingly good shape.

Chevrolet, Toyota and Honda were also on both of the lists; while the three divisions may appear to be going in different directions now (Chevy up, Toyota down and Honda staying the course), all still have good relationships with younger consumers. Which is better than starting from scratch.

It's also better than being in Ford's position. I mean, solely looking at this particular study, I would have thought all of the Blue Oval's recent marketing efforts and vehicles — and combinations thereof, such as the campaign behind the new Fiesta — would have meant a higher spot on the list.

Finally, looking ahead to when the teens are making a bigger impact on the market, I see price becoming a much bigger part of ye olde consideration process. This might be worthy of a future Krome on Cars column on its own, but the short story here is that, a few decades from now, people might not want more and more e-accessories packed into their vehicles for thousands of dollars on top of the sticker price. Instead, they might prefer relatively stripped-down cars for just the little bit of driving they absolutely have to do.

Relying on cars for transportation? What will these young whippersnappers think of next.