This week I would like to play the game of word association, only I want it to be car marque association. I'd like you to say the first thing that comes to mind when I mention a car marque name. I was doing this with a couple of friends last week and I must say I was surprised at the results. But then when I thought about it afterwards, I wasn't so surprised at all. So let's start...
Volkswagen. Did you say "Beetle"? That's a common response. Did you say "Where's the Golf?" That response is common only with VW enthusiasts. It's been on sale for two years now in Europe and nowhere to be found in the U.S. VW Europe even introduced the R32 recently and have no plans to bring it to the U.S. Somebody ought to remind them that the 5000 they brought here recently sold very quickly with no incentives and a price of $30,000. VW is suffering in the U.S. with no clue in Germany. Oh there was one response to this marque which was "Toyota Corolla" which I didn't understand until the guy said that was what a new Jetta looked like.
Pontiac. This one caused the group to have blank faces and just look at each other. Finally someone said "GM junk" which is overstating the case a bit. These people weren't car enthusiasts (except for one, in addition to me). I expected "GTO" or "Solstice finally", but that didn't happen. I think Pontiac really needs to reinvent their image -- and they need to do it quickly, at least for the Los Angeles market. I've seen a few new privately-owned G6es running around recently. These are probably ones that were given away at fire-sale prices in the last month or so.
Toyota. Oops. I probably shouldn't have been the person doing this quiz because a couple of the people involved were familiar with this web site and quickly said "Refrigerator". That caused a round of laughter. When that was done, the serious replies of "boring reliability" and "anonymous styling" were volunteered. My reply probably would have included "luxury at a reasonable price"... but then "refrigerator" sounded pretty good to me.
Ferrari. This one caused a bit of consternation too, but it seemed to be more in trying to pick the right words. Finally someone said "a race car for the street". Then the addition was made, "a really expensive race car for the street". This started a discussion about who really bought Ferraris and why. Ferrari certainly has created a great image to produce high-performance high-profit cars in limited numbers. I asked the group if Formula 1 racing helped sell Ferraris. Only a couple of people knew what Formula 1 was, but those agreed that it was a necessary part of the Ferrari image.
Mercedes. The immediate response was "German luxury". I guess the image of Mercedes hasn't been as tarnished as I thought. The discussion that followed, however, brought up "anonymous styling" and "unreliable". It was interesting that the aspiring Mercedes owners in the group didn't know that the current models weren't very reliable. One thing that surprised me that never came up in the discussion was "AMG", "power", "sporting", or anything like that. Apparently the difference between a standard Mercedes and an AMG Mercedes hasn't penetrated the non-enthusiast group of people.
Mercury. Staying with the same first letter, I tried this one. One reply with a bit of laughter, was "Do they still make them?" Finally someone volunteered "a fancy Ford". On the other hand, when was the last time you saw a Mercury on the road in Los Angeles?
Nissan. Silence. Nobody had anything to say. I guess nothing really stands out with the Nissan marque. Finally someone said, "Japanese.... ummm. Japanese... nothing else." That pretty well sums it up, doesn't it?
BMW. The immediate response with this one was "The ultimate driving machine." Ha! BMW has done a great marketing job with their phrase invented in the 1970s. One of the group looked at the one who said that and added, "And it is!" I'm sure BMW PR people would have loved this. I do love the very clever current radio commercial that uses the line, "The car Icarus would drive if he really wanted to fly." It appeals to an intelligent consumer who actually knows who Icarus is (or was in mythology).
Chevrolet. The group responded with "oooh", then "cheap GM product" and "who wants those?" Nobody thought of the Corvette. I did restrict the discussion to cars only at the beginning, so perhaps the thought of Chevy trucks was there, but not commented on. I think GM PR people really need to work on Chevy's image in Los Angeles.
Honda. This caused a bit of consternation, but finally "kids race cars" was stated, but immediately followed by "now bland and boring". At least the first thought wasn't "refrigerator"! I would have added "engines" because that is what Honda is supposed to be famous for. After all, the V-6 that is in the Accord also is available as an outboard motor!
Dodge. Here the response was more specific. The first out of the mouth of a woman was "I don't want a car that looks like a truck." Hmmm. That brought up "I don't want a squashed station wagon, that looks like it was in an accident." Nobody said "hemi" or "cute Neon". I wonder what Chrysler PR would like the Los Angeles person to think of when Dodge is mentioned. I don't think it would be the two statements I got.
This was where it ended. The group was getting restless. I would like to have continued with Lexus, Saturn, Porsche, and Audi. Maybe that will happen next time I have an opportunity like this.
