Several years ago, there was a buzz in the automotive industry about a possible new trend among the millennial generation. People speculated that the generation was just not going to buy cars. Unlike previous generations, Millennials took longer to get their driver's licenses and many Millennials were okay with public transportation or carpooling.

Well, it's been a few years and automakers now realize that was nothing but a theory. Now that the economy has made a comeback, Millennials are going to college, getting jobs and they are purchasing cars. As Millennials begin stepping into dealerships, auto makers and researchers are noticing many differences between the newest generation and the older generation of baby Boomers. These differences are not only in the types of cars that each generation is interested in buying, but also the way they shop and the features they want.

Research

According to a study done by OEM Solutions, Millennials spend more time than any other generation when doing car research and it's no surprise that Millennials mostly use the internet to do that research. However, word of mouth and traditional media are still a major influencers. A majority of Boomers use the internet to research as well, but typically baby Boomers rely less on word of mouth than millennials and rely on traditional media more.

Generally, Boomers have a better idea of the car they want and do research on those one or few vehicles, whereas Millennials tend to feel as if they need to exhaust all their options before making an official and final choice on a vehicle to purchase.

Vehicle Features

The vehicle features Millennials look for are very different than the features that the baby Boomer generation seeks. It should come as no surprise that millennials are all about tech features in vehicles because they are the most tech savvy generation yet.  

According to the annual Auto Techcast report by Nielsen, 53 percent of Millennials were interested in connectivity, which was more than any other category, but safety wasn’t far behind -- 51 percent of Millennials found safety as the most important feature. While the percentage of Boomers that found connectivity as the most important feature was much lower than Millennials (33 percent), it was only second to safety, which 35 percent of Boomers found most important.

This means the most important features to the Millennial group include connectivity features like navigation and Internet systems, driver assistance and comfort and the focus and concerns of the Boomer generation were safety and connectivity.

Best of Both Worlds

Well, no matter your style or generation, Chevy has combined the best of both worlds into all of their new car models. Chevy is dedicated to preventing accidents and protecting drivers and passengers at the same time. There are plenty of modern entertainment and connectivity options available on the Chevy lineup.  

Chevy’s commitment to safety has helped the company earn four spots on the IIHS 2016 Top Safety Pick list. Available safety features on all Chevy cars that help prevent accidents include  lane keep assist, automatic braking, adaptive cruise control, front park assist and pedestrian braking.

Additionally, in the unfortunate case of an accident, all Chevy vehicles have OnStar functionality. If the driver or passengers are unable to speak or respond in case of an accident, an activated OnStar system can send out your coordinates to responders and will get them to you as soon as possible.

Entertainment features that come standard in Chevy vehicles include the Chevrolet MyLink system, which has both Apple Play and Android Auto, as well as a 7-inch color screen, and features like 4G LTE WiFi and wireless phone charging are available.

Whether you are a Millennial or a Boomer, Chevy cars are safe, reliable, tech savvy and stylish. Ranging from performance vehicles to work trucks to family sedans and SUVs, the Chevy lineup has something for everyone. Build your own Chevy today at NowCar.