Introducing: The Urban DINK
The automotive business is a strange place sometimes. One of the main focuses of this blog is to break down all the marketing terminology and advertising double speak so car shoppers can get the straight story about the new car market. One of the oddest terms we hear over and over when listening to PR and marketing folk is “DINK” — Dual Income, No Kids — to describe an ideal car buyer who is married, or otherwise seriously committed, with no children.
You may never hear this term during your day-to-day car shopping but believe me, the car companies spend a lot of time thinking about DINKs. Supposedly, DINKs spend more on car purchases and there are a lot of DINKs out there, including me.
So, to complement our ongoing Suburban Dad posts, I’ll be blogging each week as The Urban DINK as I look at new models that come into the Cars.com fleet for reviews. Cars.com’s Expert Reviews are purposely general, but there are certain car models that appeal to one group more than another, and that’s why we’re continuing to explore these subsets. That way, we can offer comments and discoveries that are of particular interest to those groups, like suburban parents and city-dwelling DINKs.
During the course of the series we have to be aware that a DINK can become a DEWK — Dual Employed, With Kids — at any time and, believe it or not, the auto companies think that way as well. Check out the Mercury ad below for an example of DINK marketing in practice. Obviously the picture of the well polished couple above is not me and the missus.
One more thing … my better DINK half and I are in the market for a new car and we’ll be scrutinizing some more than others as we look to replace our 2004 Jeep Grand Cherokee. This is one of those rare times when an automotive journalist will actually put his money where his mouth is, and take his own advice when buying a new car.
We'll kick off the series with a look at the new 2007 Acura RDX later this week.
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2004 JGC?
I was expecting better from a car critic;) I mean its unreliable, drives badly, has bad crash-test scores, no ESP etc. Maybe it was styling. I my mind the 99-04 JGC is still one of the best styled SUVs.......
As for DINK cars. I guess thats everything out there minus minivans, Yukons and pick-ups (maybe not...this is the US afterall).
Tor,
Yeah...ummm...the JGC...not my first choice by a long shot. Long story and besides the fact that the wife still loves it despite almost a dozen trips to the service bay of our local dealer I'd have to agree with you.
As for what cars make the list we'll try to focus on the stylish a bit more and since its an Urban DINK no full-size SUVS.
The Jeep is mine and I leased it four years ago, prior to being married. I have a company car allowance and the other cars I wanted would not fit into my budget...mainly the Subaru: Forester. As many problems as we've had with the Jeep, there are still many features we like, especially when it comes to cargo room and the folding seats, that we have a hard time finding in other cars.
Another thing Dave won't say out loud is that I am not very respectful of my cars. As the primary driver of this car, let's just say I am not deserving of leather.
From one DINK to another, I don't put THAT much faith in safety. I figure if I'm driving the chances of having an accident go way down.
I don't get SUV's at all but I need at least one "haul" car, so a wagon or hatchback is always in the fleet. Now I have to wagons and I want another sexy 2 door.