KT's version:
Who Buys the Chevrolet Spark? - KickingTiresThe bow-tie brand's smallest car is gaining a big following with the in crowd. According to GM, the new Spark is attracting every automaker's dream demographic: young buyers new to the Chevy brand.
The subcompact hatchback has been on sale since summer of 2012 and Chevy says that 29% of its customers are younger than 35 and 51% of Sparks are purchased by women — the highest percentage of all the brand's cars.
More important is where the buyers are coming from. GM says around 54% of Spark buyers are new to the brand and more than one in five are decamping from import makers' vehicles. Chevrolet spokeswoman Annalisa Bluhm told us that "Nissan is the import brand we are conquesting most from." She noted that Chrysler is No. 2 on the conquest list.
According to the automaker, the two main reasons owners list for buying a Spark are price and fuel economy; Cars.com agrees that those are two of Spark's strongest points. In his review, Managing Editor David Thomas said that the Spark is "a well-rounded, affordable and shockingly roomy microcar with top-flight technology." At $12,995, including an $810 destination charge, it's one of the most affordable cars on the market. It delivers the MPGs too: Manual models are EPA rated at 32/38 mpg city/highway and automatics at 28/37 mpg.
What Spark shoppers aren't drawn to, however, is pink. Cars.com's test car was Techno Pink, which Bluhm told us only "accounts for 10% of all Spark's sold — and they are not all to ladies, either!"
So far, the Spark is available in only 18 states, but GM says it'll be on sale in all 50 states later this year.
