Friar vehicles are newer and larger than the national average, From December 9th through the 12th, a survey of student drivers was conducted at Malvern. The survey asked 85 juniors and seniors about their vehicles.

Seventeen juniors and 68 seniors were sampled across a period of four days. The goal of the survey was to represent the automotive trends of Malvern students. The survey took into account a student’s vehicle’s make, model, color, model year, fuel economy, body type, and whether the vehicle has a manual or automatic transmission.

In most cases, the automotive trends of Malvern are similar to those on the national level. There are, however, noticeable differences including large popularity of Jeeps, lower percentage of sedans, and an absence of compact cars in the Malvern lots.

The most popular brand was Ford, with a total of 17.6% of vehicles, followed by Toyota and Jeep, both with 11.8%. According to the automotive information website Edmunds.com, Ford has a market share in the US of 13.9%, Toyota has a market share of 11.8%, and Jeep only has 4.2%.

Over 9% of the 85 students sampled drive Jeep Wranglers.

Besides Jeep, the only other noticeable discrepancy is in Chevrolet. At Malvern, 4.7% of the student vehicles sampled were Chevies, while the national figure is 11.7%.

The average fuel economy of the vehicles sampled at Malvern is 20.76 miles per gallon. According to the Environmental Protection Agency, the average mpg of all vehicles on the road in 2014 is 20.

The most common colors at Malvern were black with 27.1%, silver with 18.8%, and grey with 17.6%. Blue and white then both scored 11.8% According to Kelley Blue Book, the most popular car colors in the US are silver with 23%, white with 15%, black with 12%, and grey with 10%.

The popularity of model years at Malvern declines steadily, with the exception of a noticeable drop to only one 2008 vehicle. According to the publishing company IHS automotive, the average age of vehicles on the road in 2014 is 11.4 years. The average age of the vehicles sampled at Malvern is 7.9 years.

According to autotrader.com, 5.5% of vehicles on the road today have manual transmissions. 4.7% of the 85 vehicles at Malvern have manual transmissions.

The most common body styles at Malvern are the SUV, with 25.9%, and the sedan with 24.7%.

According to Auto Alliance, an association of 12 vehicle manufacturers including Ford, GM, Volvo, BMW, Chrysler, Toyota, and Volkswagen, SUVs only account for 6.7% of the US market.  Sedans make up 20% in the national survey.

The most popular type of vehicle on the road, and the largest segment of 2014 sales, are crossovers with 25.5%. Of the vehicles sampled at Malvern, only 7, or 8.2%, were crossovers.

Compact cars, which make up 12% of the US market, did not appear in the survey done at Malvern. None of the vehicles sampled were considered compact cars. The survey conducted at Malvern used the body style as defined by the manufacturer. Priuses, for example, are defined by Toyota to be hatchbacks, although they are commonly considered to be compact cars.