X ways: Generation X's consumer identity isn't easy to pin down, but a large aspect of...

Generation X is the undefined generation, the unknown and unpredictable quantity that remains outside the corporate ken (the name comes from a 1991 novel, Douglas Coupland's Generation X: Tales for an Accelerated Culture). At least, many Xers think of themselves this way, disloyal to brands and skeptical of big business. Boldness, youthful rebellion, and benign anarchy remain the hallmarks of the generation, even as it begins to have families and start businesses.

However, Gen X is not so inscrutable as it would have us believe. The art and science of demographics is de