This little snippet was snagged from the Wall Street Journal. Quick summary. To GM, Black Males with 20″ rims are the style setters, and the new customer for Buick……… Yeah let’s see where this is going to go……. Looks like my Dad is a style setter (we just need to get him some Dub Deuces)

The average Buick buyer is a man in his mid-60s. That is not the type of consumer inclined to “trick out” his car with 22-inch wheels, a lowered suspension and tinted windows. But a Buick Lucerne with those modifications was on display recently at a party hosted by General Motors that also featured actress Vivica Fox, and hip-hop star Jay-Z.
For 2006, Buick’s sales were down by almost 15 percent compared with 2005. Now, the brand is trying to expand its appeal among young, urban consumers – who are essential if the automaker is going to reverse its fortunes and build sustainable sales.
“The idea is that the urban market sets the trend for the mainstream market,” says Heather Waszczenko, Buick’s national advertising manager. Buick currently is re-examining its advertising and studying car-customization trends.
And Buick is not alone in trying to court a younger, urban buyer. Ford’s Lincoln and Volvo luxury lines, and Toyota’s Lexus are among the other auto brands that traditionally appeal to a more mature demographic and have been seeking younger buyers.
To learn more about what Buick could do to appeal to the young, urban and mostly black men who hold so much sway over popular tastes these days, Buick hosted an “Urban Media Roundtable” in Atlanta in June 2006, bringing together about a dozen journalists, most of them African-American, from publications from hip-hop magazine XXL to luxury lifestyle Web site eCityofStyle.com. The goal was trying to understand the pacemakers and what they think is hot, says David Darovitz, of Buick’s communications team, as well as figure out how to market new Buicks to them.
One of the first tests of Buick’s new strategy came last November at the Specialty Equipment Market Association (SEMA) show in Las Vegas, Nevada, the largest car customization and accessory show in the United States. As the hip-hop-hybrid music of violin-playing duo Nuttin’ But Stringz played to the crowd, Buick unveiled 11 Lucernes tricked out by 10 customizers and Rides magazine. The cars were styled with “black cherry” paint, lowered suspensions, 22-inch wheels, souped-up sound systems, suicide doors (paired side doors that open away from each other) and alligator-leather upholstery. One of these customized vehicles also was displayed at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas.
“We have found a newfound interest in Buick among a certain community, and the Lucerne especially,” says Steve Shannon, the brand’s general manager. “And we think we can capitalize on it.” (The Wall Street Journal)

Scott Digital