Ancient Wisdom Confirmed By Loyalty Survey

Edward Niedermeyer
by Edward Niedermeyer

The thesis that name and form are inseparable, a truth endorsed by both the Theravedan Bhuddist text Visuddhi-Magga and Paul Niedermeyer, has found new support in the recently-released Polk Loyalty Study ( PDF) (via PR Newswire). Studying brand repurchase and defection rates in Q1 2008, Polk and Co found that 55 percent of owners whose model was discontinued prior to re-entering the market defected to another brand. That compares to 47 percent defection for owners of non-discontinued models from the same brand. The elder Niedermeyer was particularly prescient in pointing out how this dynamic has hurt GM in particular, thanks to its pathological renaming of mid-sized and smaller offerings. This “same name dividend” is as high as 12.7 percent for compact cars according to the report, but fades to a “negligible impact” for large cars and pickups. The Cavalier to Cobalt transition in specific is said by the report to have cost GM “millions in potential sales.”


Edward Niedermeyer
Edward Niedermeyer

More by Edward Niedermeyer

Comments
Join the conversation
4 of 35 comments
  • Menno Menno on Mar 11, 2009

    Some of my favorite car series names (with marque in parenthases) Lark (Studebaker). A play on words; Lark means both a bird, and "a carefree romp or prank" (i.e. "fun") Hawk (Studebaker). Another bird, which matches the personality of the car. Powerful. Fast. Often supercharged. Not TOO showy, but by-God down to business, just as a Hawk snags its prey in nature. Ambassador (Nash, then Rambler, then AMC). Is this not a good name for a middle-class marque's top-of-the-line vehicle? Dignified. Used from the 1930's through 1974. Corvette. (Chevrolet). Named after a fast light gunship. Perfect name for what it is, really. One thing that GM has managed NOT to mess up. Mustang. (Ford). Freedom. American. The one thing Ford has managed NOT to mess up. Continental. (Lincoln, it's own corporate division under Ford, then Lincoln again). What idiots at Ford renamed Lincolns with letters, again? Morons. Civic. (Honda). Look it up. It's a good word and meaning. Honda are extremely intelligent and have used this since 1973. Accord. (Honda). Again, same thing. Look it up. Used since 1979. Believe it or not, Ripley: Sonata. (Hyundai). A musical word, with a nice "tone" to it (pun intended); you also have to apparently understand the fact that South Korean mothers exhort their daughters, particularly, about practicing sonatas on piano, so it's a sort of play on words in the country of origin, I gather. Point is, despite not being top-drawer cars, Hyundai had enough stick-to-it-iveness to continue on and not just change names for the sake of change. Here is my random list of car series names which were most valuable (go look up the sales numbers for goodness sake!) and were dropped in the US for no good reasons: Falcon (Ford) (though the early cars were drek) Fairlane (Ford) Dart (Dodge) Valiant (Plymouth; itself, dead) Riviera (Buick)(don't you think "exclusive - luxury" when you hear that? I do) Roadmaster (Buick) ("master of the road?!") Grand Prix (Pontiac) Bonneville (Pontiac) LeMans (Pontiac) (Do you sense a "speed racer" theme here?) Now go look at pontiac.com and seek out a G3 "Aveo clone" and see where Ponticrap is now... Or how about a Vibe? (Do they offer a Dild, too?)

  • Wsn Wsn on Mar 11, 2009

    I think Ford has some of the coolest names: Focus, Edge, etc. They are generic and sharp. All they need is another 20 years of Camry-grade car making to make these models truly iconic. As for luxury brands, I like the old Acura Legend and NSX. Legend is, of course, legend. NSX is probably what started this whole capital-letter-model-name thing in the first place. It sounds like a mad scientist's lab project and does fit the futuristic and exclusive sports car.

  • Kristjan Ambroz Kristjan Ambroz on Mar 11, 2009

    Just keeping the same name is no guarantor of success either. The Honda Legend is still called that in Europe, yet it's sales can hardly be described as anything but abysmal. Same with the Camry, only it was removed from most European markets because it sold so poorly - there were years when more Enzos were sold in the UK than Camrys. Changing the Opel Kadett name to Astra did not seem to harm the franchise, either. The renaming of the Rekord to Omega, though, might have harmed on the other hand.

  • SCE to AUX SCE to AUX on Mar 11, 2009

    I don't like numerical names, particularly if they don't follow engine size. I can never keep track of M-B's ever-changing list, for instance, but everyone knows what a "Gullwing" is. BMW has stayed somewhat under control with its 'series' designations, but they are all sterile. But again, everyone remembers the "M1". Lotus names confuse me worse than most. I'm glad Porsche is using real names for things like Cayenne and Panamera, instead of 9xx. I think Chrysler does a great job naming its vehicles. One exception is the use of the retro "Charger" for the current 4-door: "Charger" good, 4-door bad.

Next