Autotrader / KBB surveyed Gen Z about cars and, as reported today to the Automotive Press Association, found dramatic differences between the responses of this group (12 to 17 years old) and those of 18-to-34-year-old “Milllennials.” While cars are often an image-driven purchase for Millennialls, who rate Audi as their favorite brand, they’re largely seen as transportation appliances by the younger group, which favors less expensive brands, primarily Chevrolet, Ford, and Honda.

Gen Z badly wants to have a car–even more than they want social media–but for freedom and convenience, not as a way to express their identities. According to Isabelle Helms, head of research and market intelligence at AT/KBB, for Gen Z “a car is a gateway to experience, it’s not the experience itself.” Given this focus, it’s not surprising that, when asked its priorities, Gen Z cares a great deal about affordability, safety, and fuel economy, but little about styling and brand image. While it’s notoriously difficult to get accurate responses to direct questions about the importance ascribed to styling and brand image, it’s telling that older generations expressed more interest in both when asked the same questions.

Helms attributes the differences in attitude to different formative experiences and parenting styles. Millennials were reared by helicopter parents who shielded them, and they emerged as optimists. In contrast, Gen Z’s parents have exposed them to the real world rather than sheltering them, and they’re emerging as realists rather than optimists. Then again, this group hasn’t started buying cars in significant numbers yet, and their attitudes could shift as car buying goes from a future possibility to an actual activity. But Isabelle Helms has seen attitudes remain constant for Millennials, who were also surveyed a few years ago, so she expects the same for Gen Z.