Another Viewpoint
I had a very interesting conversation with a friend last Saturday. For the car companies out there which make every decision with a focus group or perhaps the high-powered executives sitting in Dearborn, Auburn Hills or the Detroit Renaissance Center (a.k.a. "The Tubes"), you may want to listen to a real customer:
Profile:
Male
Single
Age 30
California native, lived in LA for many years now
Employed full time
Disposable income - yes
Four year college degree
Current ride: Toyota RAV4, about 3 years old.
He considers himself a car enthusiast and attended the LA Auto Show a couple weeks ago. He had some interesting observations.
Best in Show: His favorite car in the show was the Bentley Continental-GT. He didn't even know it was a Bentley even though the Bentley Le Mans race car and an Arnage were both sitting in the same area. Let's just say that there is nothing ugly about the C-GT and it's a home run for Bentley's first all new car under new parent VW.
Ford and Chevrolet: Do they make anything else besides huge trucks? All he saw in those areas was trucks. I guess the cars weren't that memorable. Speaking of huge trucks, he also associated the mammoth Escalade with "gangsters" and wouldn't even consider touching one. He looked at the 2005 Mustang and didn't like it!
Jaguar: His father owned an old Jaguar when he was very young. Two things stuck in his mind: (1) the car was always in the shop and (2) it was beautiful. The only Jaguar he likes today is the S-Type. He had no idea that the S-Type shares platforms and powertrains with the Lincoln LS and Ford Thunderbird. His favorite element on the S-Type is the oval grille and round headlights. The big Jag, the XJ, looks too bland to him and the small X-type looks too cheap.
Saab: He just didn't like the new Saabs. He didn't know that GM has owned Saab for quite a while now, but he thought the new Saabs looked very bland. Humm... GM has been making bland cars much longer than it has owned Saab!
Toyota: He thinks the Echo and Corolla are cute and distinctive. He didn't like the Camry and thought it was boring. He used to like the Celica and really dislikes the current version. It made no sense to him why Toyota would take a perfectly fun little car and make it so unappealing. He does think his RAV4 is a good, reliable car. The new Prius also was a hit with him. He thinks it now looks much cooler than the first Prius.
Honda: There is almost no difference between a Civic and an Accord. Both models are totally boring and he thought that some of the older designs were much better. He kind of liked the Insight because it looked like the old CRX which he really liked; however, the skinny tires sucked. This young man liked and wanted Honda to bring back the hatchback Civic to the US. I don't think he knew that Americans won't buy hatchbacks, or at least so say the focus groups. The one Honda he though was great is the Element. He liked the idea of being able to hose the whole thing out and carry lots of stuff. He also liked the look of the car with the cool colors and contrasting fascia.
Nissan/Infiniti: The big favorite here was the Infiniti FX. He thought my Murano looked like the FX, but the FX styling was better. He was a bit disappointed that the new Z doesn't look more like the original 240Z car, although the new one is pretty good. His best compliment was that Nissan a good image now -- it's unique and not boring like Honda. He had a strong identity with the new Nissan/Infiniti corporate look.
Chrysler: Chrysler fared better than its Michigan rivals. He remembered the Crossfire coupe, but not its name. He liked the unique exterior and even the interior. He was aware of Chrysler's German parent company, but didn't know that the outgoing SLK is the chassis for this Chrysler and that the engine, transmission and most of the dash, electronics and switchgear is from the Mercedes parts bin.
Mercedes Benz: The only Mercedes he liked was the SLK! The size and retractable hardtop were the main attraction. It's interesting that he liked the coupe Crossfire and the SLK (a convertible) -- both with the same DNA.
Mazda: We discussed the RX-8. He just didn't think the 4-door concept worked and it didn't look as sporty to him as previous RX-8s.
This precipitated a discussion about what size a sports car should be? He liked the Porsche 911 because it had a small back seat. There is enough room to throw some groceries in the back (unlike the quirky Toyota MR2 which has zero storage space anywhere) and in a pinch, if he had to take a third person home or give her a ride, that person could be shoved in the tiny back seat for a short time.
Porsche: Speaking of Porsche, he thought that Porsche should dump the 911 name because it has a bad connotation now in the US with the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001. I never thought of it that way; but perhaps that indelible date has more meaning to a younger person rather than someone older who has been aware of the vaunted 40 year history of the 911. I breathed a sigh of relief when he agreed with my dislike of the Cayenne.
Volkswagen: He liked the Touareg but wasn't aware that both the Cayenne and Touareg started out together in the same VW factory in Germany. Both cars share the same transmission and now, the Cayenne V6 comes from Volkswagen. The VW he likes most is the New Beetle Convertible; however, he wouldn't buy one because it was a girl's car. Interestingly, he had the perception that a VW wasn't very reliable. I doubt he read this fact in the automotive press, rather, this information came from friends/family. It's well documented that VW has had reliability problems in the past few years and that it's been difficult for VW to correct. Once this type of information is in the general ether of knowledge, it's hard to market your way back to a customer's good graces. Honda and Toyota have been hammering the reliability thing into the minds of customers for years; however, all the building blocks can tumble down in just a few years if reliability and quality are lost.
I told my friend about the VW Concept R sports convertible that has been shown in Frankfurt, Tokyo and Detroit, but not LA. Originally VW had kicked about the idea of reviving the Karmann-Ghia. He lit up at the idea of a new KG as he had always loved those from when he was a kid. Unfortunately, I doubt VW will bring the KG back after its experience with the New Beetle that sold well in the US (at first) but wasn't very popular in the Fatherland. I sent him a link to the VW website photos of the Concept R. His comments were that it was "cute" he wasn't in love with it. He wanted more "sensual curves" and maybe a little more nostalgia. (I happen to think the Concept R is great!) He was excited about the upcoming Microbus revival, but was disappointed when the gentleman at the VW display told him that it probably wouldn't be here until 2007. I'm pretty sure the VW Board approved production, but it's pretty far off in the future. The Concept Microbus has been shown everywhere for a few years now. Promises, promises...
Lotus: The Elise looked like a little go-cart to him. He doesn't see $40,000 there.
Saleen Mustang: Never liked the "aftermarket" look of it.
Morgan 8: Hated it.
My Observations: I found that my friend was focused on form and function rather than issues like horsepower, technology and safety. He liked cars that were modern, but had a retro look. Even a "quirky" car got his attention. Reliability was very important. Fun to drive was also on his list, but he wasn't a "car enthusiast" in that he wasn't as interested in the traditional performance and handling features of a car. I think he was typical of most LA drivers in that he didn't want a refrigerator, but he wanted a car with a good image, good to look, functional and fun to drive.
The Murano Files
No statistics this week as I didn't have to put gas the car.
