Study reveals big differences in favorite vehicle colors and types

Phoenix men and women have completely different preferences for car colors and models, according to new research by iSeeCars.com. The study analyzes automobile data from 1.2 million consumer inquiries and 17 million sales to identify local preferences by gender.

The findings reveal men’s favorite car color is black and women’s is blue. For car models, men’s top favorite is the Chevrolet Impala compared to the women’s favorite Toyota Camry. The automotive data and research company also recently released the results of its national Car Color Preferences by Gender study.

“When it comes to car colors, our national results show that men have much stronger preferences than women,” said Phong Ly, iSeeCars.com CEO. “But in Phoenix it's more even. Local preferences for specific cars are actually stronger than favorite car colors.”

Car Colors Men Prefer More Than Women in Phoenix

Car Colors Women Prefer More Than Men in Phoenix

Favorite Car Colors in Phoenix

“If you compare prices for pre-owned cars in Phoenix, the average price for men’s favorite colors is 12 percent more expensive than women’s favorite colors. The national average for the same price comparison is higher, at 22 percent more for men’s favorite colors,” said Ly.

Phoenix men have a stronger preference for more colors than Phoenix women do – six compared to four. The top three favorite colors women prefer more than men are blue by 28.5 percent, followed by gold (10.3 percent) and gray (8.7 percent). Men have a stronger preference than women do for black cars by 19.2 percent, followed by beige (12.7 percent) and red (11.5 percent). The top-ranked national favorites (yellow and orange for men, and teal for women) did not rank in Phoenix because the sample sizes were too low. The average used car price for the colors men prefer is $19,340 compared to $17,336 for the colors women prefer. Average prices for men and women’s national favorite car colors are $18,196 and $14,938, respectively.

Top 5 Favorite Cars in Phoenix

National data shows that men have stronger preferences for coupes, convertibles and pickup trucks, while women prefer wagons, SUVs and minivans. Local preferences for car models are listed below.

Phoenix men like the Chevrolet Impala 95.2 percent more than Phoenix women do, followed by the Honda Civic (78.4 percent) and Chevrolet Silverado 1500 (53.0 percent). The top three cars women are more interested in are the Toyota Camry by 92.9 percent, BMW 3 Series (51.7 percent) and Ford Explorer (50.5 percent). Cars women prefer are 10.4 percent more expensive. The average used price for women’s favorite cars in Phoenix is $16,243 compared to $14,711 for men’s favorites.

Cars Men Prefer More Than Women in Phoenix

Cars Women Prefer More Than Men in Phoenix

*Averages are based on local used car prices.

A copy of this report is available to download here: Phoenix Car Favorites Study.

Methodology

iSeeCars.com analyzed data from more than 1.2 million consumer car inquiries on iSeeCars.com between March 2009 and August 2017. It categorized inquiries as coming from male or female consumers based on their first names, and calculated the share of male and female inquires for each color. The difference in share between male and female inquiries was expressed as a percentage of female inquiry share and male inquiry share to calculate male and female bias toward each color, respectively. In addition, the same analysis was repeated for car models. Only data from Phoenix was included in the final analysis. Colors with fewer than 30 total inquiries and models with fewer than 40 total inquiries were excluded from the analysis. iSeeCars.com also analyzed more than 17 million used car sales between September 2016 and August 2017 for used car prices.

About iSeeCars.com

iSeeCars.com is a data-driven car search and research company that helps shoppers find the best car deals by providing key insights and valuable resources, including the iSeeCars VIN Check report and Best Cars Rankings. iSeeCars has saved users over $406 million so far by applying big data analytics powered by over 25 billion (and growing) data points and using proprietary algorithms to objectively analyze, score and rank millions of new cars and used cars.