Company Car: Meet the real car buyers

It doesn't seem that long ago that the buying of the family car was the sole responsibility of the man of the house. In today's more politically correct times women have come to have much more say over that decision.

But now there is--quite literally--a new kid on the block when it comes to deciding which car will sit on the drive. Kids are the real decision makers when it comes to the family runaround, according to a global survey of 5000 drivers in countries such as the USA, UK, France, Germany and China.

So just how are these little munchkins exerting this force over their parents to get the cars they want? Well, it seems that their parents are actually asking them!

In the UK, 81% of respondents admitted that their kids held some sway over which car they bought while 53% of them said that they allow their children or grandchildren some involvement in the decision-making process.

Perhaps today's kids are planning to take over the earth! Haven't their parents ever seen Village of the Damned?

Now I can understand that kids have to spend a lot of time cramped in the back seats so perhaps they should get to test a car before their parents have to spend the next three years listening to them whinge and whine on every outing.

But should kids really have this much control over your life? After all, what's next? Are you going to ask your children if the house you're about to buy is suitable? Or that dress? And is that widescreen TV big enough? Better check with Junior!

It's perhaps not that surprising that, according to the same survey, kids also have a big influence over the accessories fitted to their parents' cars, especially in the UK. But what is surprising is that few have ever requested in-car video entertainment.

My guess is that it won't be long before DVD players and the like are de rigueur for all cars owned by someone who has children. It seems that the days of playing I-Spy as a way of detracting your kids from the dreaded question of "Are we there yet?" are long gone. The only way to keep them quiet is to slap in the Shrek DVD or load up the latest Playstation blockbuster and hope that they won't start a fight over who controls the remote!

With all this in mind advertisers should think about their target audiences. Indeed, Vauxhall has already had the idea of aiming more at the younger generation if the latest TV ad for the Meriva and Zafira is anything to go by. You know the one, where the children talk like adults about their 'family'.

With kids wielding so much power, the news that young children have been able to open gambling accounts on the internet should come as no surprise. After all, it was a child who hacked into the CIA and how old was the person who spread the recent email virus?

But no matter how advanced these children become, they still can't legally drink or drive cars until they reach their teens.

Kids today have more of a say in the car they're going to be chauffeured around in than their parents ever did. They may not be able to drive it themselves but the chances are that they will tell you how to!