Sat-nav and ‘baby on board’ signs epitomise the noughties
London, 22 December 2009 – The Ford Focus has been voted the UK’s most popular car of the decade, according to a new poll by Auto Trader. This small family car trumps sports, SUVs and city cars to take pride of place for the noughties.
Despite the company being rocked by financial issues in the past ten years, Ford has remained an iconic motoring brand, with two of its other cars – the Ford Fiesta and Ford Mondeo – also coming high in the list of most loved cars by the British public.
The Auto Trader poll, designed to analyse the key motoring trends over the past ten years, looked at categories including ‘greenest’ car and ‘beyond your wildest dreams’ car as well as top motoring personalities and popular car accessories.
Sat-nav topped the list of optional ‘extras’ that most symbolised the noughties. Although alloy wheels and sound systems still epitomise the boy racer of many a man’s youth, the inclusion of TV screens and iPod docks in the list is a sure sign that technology has allowed cars to come a long way in the past ten years!
Range Rovers have become the ultimate celebrity car in the past decade, with the likes of Katie Price and Gordon Ramsay taking a shine to the 4×4 despite living in cities. Other celebrities such as Julia Roberts who are keen to show their ‘green’ credentials have been seen driving the Toyota Prius, considered the most eco-friendly car of the noughties.
The Bugatti Veyron – of which only 200 models were made and are now owned by the likes of Jenson Button and Simon Cowell – topped the list of both the ‘beyond your wildest dreams’ and ‘most overpriced’ car categories. David Beckham’s beloved Rolls Royce Phantom takes second place with Jay Kay’s Ferrari Enzo lagging in fifth. Perhaps unsurprisingly, Jeremy Clarkson was considered the decade’s best motoring personality, ahead of racing legends Michael Schumacher and Lewis Hamilton.
Matt Thompson, Marketing Director, Auto Trader, says: “From the emergence of eco-friendly cars as a viable option for consumers to the replacement of maps and asking for directions with in-car sat nav, the noughties have provided some interesting changes to the way consumers think about and drive their cars.”
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Auto Trader cars of the decade
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| Most popular car
|
1.
2. 3. 4. 5. |
Ford Focus
Ford Fiesta BMW 3 Series Ford Mondeo Vauxhall Astra
|
| Most ‘value for money’ car
|
1.
2. 3. 4. 5. |
Fiat Panda
Skoda Superb Toyota Aygo/ Citroen C1/ Peugeot 107 Kia Ced Citroen Xsara Picasso
|
| Most ‘green’ car
|
1.
2. 3. 4. 5. |
Toyota Prius
Volkswagon Polo BlueMotion G-Wiz Honda Insight Toyota Aygo/ Citroen C1/ Peugeot 107
|
| Most ‘beyond your wildest dreams’ car
|
1.
2. 3. 4. 5. |
Bugatti Veyron
Rolls Royce Phantom Maybach Pagani Zonda Ferrari Enzo
|
| Most ‘overpriced’ car
|
1.
2. 3. 4. 5. |
Bugatti Veyron
Rover CityRover Lamborghini Reventon BMW M3 CSL Bristol Fighter
|
| Biggest ‘celebrity-mobile’ car
|
1.
2. 3. 4. 5 |
Range Rover
Bentley Continental GT Toyota Prius BMW X5 Ferrari Enzo
|
| Best motoring personality
|
1.
2. 3. 4. 5. |
Jeremy Clarkson
Michael Schumacher Lewis Hamilton Ross Brawn Jenson Button
|
| The decade’s top car accessories | 1.
2. 3. 4. 5. |
‘Baby on board’ sign
Car fresheners Nodding dog Football memorabilia Fluffy dice |
| The decade’s top option extras | 1.
2. 3. 4. 5. |
Sat nav
Alloy wheels iPod dock TV screens Sound system
|
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Notes to editors:
- The poll was conducted by eDigital Research on behalf of Auto Trader. 1,889 responses were collected between 09.12.09 and 16.12.09.
- Details of the most searched-for cars of the decade on the Auto Trader website are available on request.
About Auto Trader:
Visit the new website at www.autotrader.co.uk!
AutoTrader.co.uk is the UK’s no 1 motoring website, with over 10.3 million monthly unique users, who carry out over 106 million searches on new and used vehicles*. The brand is building a competitive position across all effective channels including online, mobile and magazine. (*Source: Auto Trader Audit, January 2009).
AutoTrader.co.uk is owned by Trader Media Group, one of Europe’s largest specialist multi-media groups and provider of market leading websites and their associated magazines, including Top Marques, Bike Trader, Truck & Plant Trader, Ad Trader, Motorhome and Caravan Trader, Farmers Trader – all with the largest reach in their sectors, through web visitors and magazine readership.
Trader Media Group operates in the UK, Ireland, Italy and South Africa. The Group is looking to expand on its winning formula: giving trade customers the opportunity to choose all effective channels to market; building the service and relationship with dealers and manufacturers; and strengthening its portfolio of automotive and specialist classified titles.
Trader Media Group is jointly owned by Guardian Media Group and Apax Partners.
Contact details:
Heather Forty
PR for Auto Trader
0207 608 4658
