From cell phones and MP3 players to computers, pre-teens, teens and young adults have tremendous influence on various markets, and cars are no exception. It seems as if the days of working three summer jobs to save up to buy a re-furbished junker are long gone. Today, young people begin eyeing their dream cars before they’re old enough to drive and they will do anything to own it, including talking Mom and Dad into helping out with the purchase.

But, today’s hottest car could be yesterday’s old news when it comes to keeping up with trends. Cynthia Cohen, founder and president, Strategic Mindshare, has come up with marketing and selling strategies to ensure the automotive industry doesn’t miss out on the money these young people so willingly shell out for something they really want. Cohen presented the findings of her marketing research yesterday at the 2007 GAAS in Chicago.

Cohen refers to this emerging consumer generation as “Speeders.” They fall into the group of ninth through 12^th graders. According to Cohen, this group has “cognitive skills on steroids.” They have a need for speed and a Baby Boomer’s ADD is their norm. She also refers to this group as “Multi’s.” This group is multi-ethnic (over 35 percent minority), mulit-tasking, multi-lingual and multi-processing.

These kids are plugged in 24/7, emailing and texting on their cell phones to stay “in-touch.” They also have a need for expressing individualism by customizing their style. They’re also overscheduled with activities.

“These kids zoom through a wide array of interests and are constantly networked,” Cohen said. “What does this mean? It means that they don’t have time to do things like work on their cars. They are going to be a big part of the DIFM market,” she continued.

Fifty percent of these Speeders have cars in their parents’ driveways before they have driving permits. Generally, these cars are not used, they’re new and they’re very important to these teens’ identities. According to Cohen, teen identity is most widely expressed in their bedrooms first and in their cars second. Their cars have genders and personas. Teens are known by the brands they display on their tee-shirts, purses, shoes and especially on the cars they drive and the accessories that make their car unique.

So, how can automotive businesses profit from this growing consumer group? It’s all in the marketing.

Businesses must pick their sweet spot and focus. There must be a focus on gender dominance and style-identity. Cohen reminded the audience not to forget about women, because they buy more than 50 percent of new cars on the market. Next, businesses must produce products that personalize and use technology. Business owners, managers and consumer research teams must become “Multi” people themselves. They must research current teen and young adult trends and making sure their business name is picked up by popular research engines. Finally, businesses can put Speeders on their teams. Ask them what they want and what they expect from your product. This group has thousands of ideas and they’re the group that can help automotive businesses increase their speeds of change.