WOMEN AND THEIR LUXURIES

J.D. Power just revealed the luxury vehicles women like to buy the most. By surveying hundreds of dealerships across the United States, JDP could calculate which vehicles women lean towards. This isn't about which vehicle women buy or lease the most of, but which vehicles women buy a higher percentage of. Put another way, if ten Chevrolet's are sold and five are bought by women; that's equivalent (in this survey) to 1000 Pontiac's sold to 500 women.

Which luxury car came out with the highest percentage of female ownership so far this year? Volvo's small sedan, the S40. Also ranked in the top 10 were the S40's wagon-mate, the V50, as well as the S60 sedan.

We often hear data showing the percentage of vehicle purchases over which women hold sway, but the numbers in this study seem smaller. 42.5% of Volvo's were sold to women; that's 6.7 percentage points above the typical luxury car ratio. Over half the S40's sold were bought or leased by women - 53% to be exact - that being the highest proportion of female ownership for any luxury car. The highest percentage of male ownership amongst luxury cars is seen under the Audi banner, with the exclusive and high-powered RS4.

Other female car-buying tendencies: 58.3% of Volkswagen New Beetle sales are to women; Suzuki's were bought by women at a rate higher than any brand; and Lexus is ranked second behind Volvo for luxury-car female ownership.

Don't be scared off, oh ye male readers, by the vehicles that women tend to buy more commonly. As can be judged by the Volvo propensities, women make safe purchases. Not just in terms of occupant health, but relative to their investment.