By Leftlane Staff
Thursday, Jan 12th, 2006 @ 8:04 am

Can U.S. automakers tap young people’s desire for car customization as a way to sell more vehicles? Jones Soda founder Peter van Stolk seems to think so. “When you customize things and make it theirs,” van Stolk said, “that’s the key to making an emotional connection.” That means vehicles need to have the specific features they crave and be compatible with the products they buy in the aftermarket, explains the Detroit News. “We’re seeing a whole generation of consumers that’s accustomed to having things exactly the way they want them.” But it’s not necessarily custom hoods and neon lights that young people desire for their cars. One of the ways many automakers are already making their vehicles more customizable is through in-vehicle technology, a huge draw for drivers in recent years. That could mean integrated computers with upgradeable software. (See our recent reports on many Mac mini installations in cars).

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