rsedmak

I was out for a walk the other night on a bustling avenue of restaurants and shops, when it hit me:  99.9% of the population doesn’t remove the hood ornament or automaker badge on their cars.  But who would?  Would we really expect the guy who paid an extra $10k for a Lexus ES over a Toyota Camry (the ES is built on the Camry), or the woman who paid $300k for a Bentley (which looks an awful lot like certain $20k Hyundais), or even the loyal Suburu or VW owners, to take the badging off of their vehicles?  No, absolutely not.  We’ve reached the point where cars are a form of ‘self-expression’ (as the automakers love to phrase it), or more bluntly:

Cars = Status Symbols

They are one of the few possessions that you take with you to work, or out on the town.  This is why I think automakers are spoiled – they have it easier than almost any other industry that I can think of – they’ve boiled the auto sales and marketing processes down to an emotion-evoking science. All they have to do is pick an emotion and stick with it:

-Your ego (mostly all)

-Fear for your safety (Mercedes, Volvo) (Self-preservation)

-Your intelligence (All the Japanese, and now the Koreans – make the smart choice!)

-Your individualism (Scion, others)

-Your greed/sense of urgency/social proof (All the Americans)(Extensive use of rebates, limited time offers, and claims of ‘best selling’)

As you can see, they all play the game – though the American automakers seem to have had an identity crisis, and I recommend that they move into one of the others slots – either pure ego, safety, or intelligence. Rebates, limited time offers, and social proof (‘best selling’) are indirect motivators and lack the longevity of a strictly ego-based motivator, a much better place to be positioned for the long term. (Also, you’re not constantly damaging your price integrity every season).

Maybe all of this explains why car ownership is so high – total overconsumption to fulfill our emotional needs. When you step back and think about it, it’s insane how many cars are sold every year – it’s in complete disparity with true needs. With that said, who knows?  Maybe it’s time for a market “correction” in car ownership.

[Photo: Flickr/Rasidel Slika ]