Generation Y car shoppers between the ages of 18 and 27 prefer Scion, Mitsubishi and Mazda according to TrueCar. Their research has shown that the three top selling brands from the past three years were (in descending order) Scion, Mitsubishi and Mazda. "Generation Y buyers want vehicles that look distinct and can be tailored to their individual tastes," said Kristen Andersson, TrueCar analyst.

He continued: "Buyers from this generation are also looking for vehicles that have the technology features they are accustomed to build into the vehicle at an affordable price." In 2009 and 2010, Scion was able to capture 21.2 percent of the Gen Y car buyers. Mitsubishi was close behind with 20.3 percent of that market, and Mazda was third with 10.7 percent. The top trims were the Scion tC, Mitsubishi Lancer and Honda Civic Si. The cars are available at affordable prices, starting from $18,995, $20,670 and $22,975 respectively. They were also the cars that offered the greatest amount of customization.

"Generation Y buyers are very important to automakers because they help set trends from popularizing social media sites such as Facebook or Twitter or technologies such as the iPhone and iPod," said Jesse Toprak, Vice President of Trends and Analysis at TrueCar. "It's also important for an automaker to get a young buyer into their vehicle from the beginning in hopes of continued loyalty to the brand." Labeling themselves 'the authority on new car pricing and trends,' TrueCar's study reviewed the purchasing behavior of more than four million car buyers from 2009 and 2010.