WOMEN MOVE INTO DRIVER'S SEAT IN CAR SALES

H. Blomstrom Motor Co. knew years ago what it has taken many auto manufacturers decades to discover When it comes to new car sales, women are moving into the driver's seat.

The Blomstrom Co., which produced "The Queen" automobile just after the turn of the century, directed much of its advertising toward women, featuring pretty ladies at the wheel of their horseless carriage. This occurred as early as 1905.

The place of women in the auto marketplace has grown to the point that as many women as men buy cars these days.

Women bought 49 percent of all new cars sold in the United States in 1991, according to figures compiled recently by Ford Motor Co. and supported by industry analysts. Statistics for last year have not been compiled yet.

"Women follow that pattern here, too," said Bob Neff of Ford Groves Motor Co., 1501 N. Kingshighway in Cape Girardeau. "Not only do women buy 49 percent of the cars, they are very prominent in the decision making on many other sales.

"From statistics I have seen, women are looking for safety, reliability and style in their cars," said Neff.

ome of the popular Ford cars sought out by women include the Probe, Taurus, Escort and small pickups, added Neff.

Auto experts say that the upward trend of women buyers is likely to continue, extending to higher sales of trucks and luxury cars, where women still only account for about a third of the market.

"There's only one way the numbers are going - and that's up," says Lynessa Jones, a salesperson who counts many women in her list of customers with Coad Chevrolet, 606 S. Kingshighway in Cape Girardeau.

"More and more women are buying cars," said Jones, one of a growing list of female salespersons in Cape Girardeau. "Women are cautious buyers. They look for a value for their dollars. They're also very safety conscious."

Jones and Sue Pierce, both of Cape Girardeau, say they enjoy their positions as car salespersons.

"I've been selling cars four years," said Pierce, salesperson for Crown Cadillac Oldsmobile Nissan. "Each day is a whole new challenge, and I really enjoy working with the public."

ones agrees.

"I enjoy selling cars," she said. "Every day is different. Everybody is a little different, and the job gives me an opportunity to work outside."

Jones, who has sold vehicles in Texas and the St. Louis area, said the potential was also there for a good salary.

"You have to work at it," said Jones. "The hours are terrible sometimes, but I like it."

"You have to have a lot of true grit for the job," added Pierce. "But, I enjoy working with the public."

Pierce and Jones also agree that women, like men, look at the major points of a car performance, styling and drivability.

Some dealers are surprised that women purchased only 49 percent of new cars.

"I was really surprised that the percent was that low," said Chris Adkisson, sales manager at Cape GMC Pontiac Inc., 755 S. Kingshighway. "I thought it would be more like 60 percent."

Adkisson agrees that many more women have a say when family cars are purchased.

"Women may buy only 49 percent of the cars sold, but they probably make the final decision in 75 percent of vehicles sold," said Mike Dean, business manager at Cape Toyota-Suzuki, 755 S. Kingshighway. "We get a lot of women buyers here."

Dean agrees that women look basically for safety features, economy and styling.

Toyota has three models high on the list of women's purchases the Celica, Paseo and Tercel.

The 49 percent figure is up almost 15 percent from a decade ago when 36 percent of car buyers were women.

The increase in women buyers has produced some subtle changes in automobiles geared toward the ladies.

Some of the changes made in recent years include lower trunk lifts, easier lifting hoods, better adjusting seats and more comfortable seat belts. Among the added safety features are air bags, antilock brake systems and remote door locks.

Two studies last year bore this out. A Woman's Day magazine survey of 1,000 women showed that the most-wanted feature, by 86 percent of respondents, was a driver's air bag. Passenger air bags and antilock brakes followed at 84 percent.

Like most of the efforts, the changes have benefited both sexes, analysts and industry executives say.

If you improve the lift of a rear door or hood, isn't it better for a man, too?" said one industry analyst. "They gain just as well."

But the trick in attracting women buyers is in not crossing that very thin line between sensitivity and sexism.

Early attempts to capture the female market largely failed because some automakers appeared condescending or overemphasized the differences between women and men, analysts said.

"The notion that all women want is a pretty car and don't care about things like performance and mileage - that's all old-school mentality that's gone away," said Thomas O'Grady, chief executive of Integrated Automotive Resources Inc. in Newark, Del. "When you treat people as too much of a separate group, you can't understand them and they can't trust you."

Still, O'Grady said, automakers lost out by not making enough changes earlier on when trying to attract the women's market.

For instance, he said, automakers had known for years that the mini van would replace the station wagon as a favored family car. Yet they still designed them with truck beds that were too high for anyone lugging lots of packages - especially for someone wearing a skirt and high heels, he said.

Like other problems, that has been corrected, he added.

But most of the corrections came from automakers reacting to criticism rather than anticipating women's needs, O'Grady said.

That's why the automakers have been depending more on women's advisory committees. Chrysler and Ford have separate women's groups, while at least one General Motors Corp. division, Pontiac, has marketing units that look at buying segments, including women.

Chrysler's Advisory Committee on the Women's Automotive Market was behind the changes in seat and door adjustments on several models.