Car buyers are much more inclined to purchase the same brand of car their parents recently chose, a new study says.

A group of researchers including Michigan State University economist Soren T. Anderson found that children are 39 percent more likely to choose a given brand if their parents chose the same brand, The Washington Post reports.

Even though automakers spend around $33 billion a year on advertisements, marketing just doesn't have the same effect as driving in your parents' car.

People tend to stick to the brands that their parents relied on, the study shows. They may also develop a nostalgic association to the car they rode in day in and day out.

"If your parents bought the Escape, you are more likely to buy the Focus. If they chose the CRV, you are more likely to buy the Civic," said The Washington Post. "It turns out that car preferences are, in some measure, a learned behavior."

The researchers relied on the Panel Study of Income Dynamics, a long-running survey that follows multiple households of the same families through the generations, to draw their conclusions, the outlet reports.

The study's findings suggest that established brands have an advantage over upstarts. If automakers can sell cars, the next generation of auto buyers will be inclined to stick to those brands. People also tend to be loyal to brands.

Examples of brand loyalty's influence on automakers include when Toyota sells compact Corollas as well as more-upscale Avalons or when newer brands in the American market, such as Hyundai, move from Accents and Sonatas to also sell the luxury Genesis and Equus models.

"The stronger are brand preferences, the more valuable it is to keep consumers within the brand as they move through their life cycle and demand different types of cars," the study said.

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