Survey: 80% of Public Considering American Brand for Next Car Purchase. Or Not.
I hope our good friends over at Autoblog don’t mind me stealing their headline, but it illustrates my point about domestic automakers and their camp followers: they are seriously deluded. While you can’t fault New GM, New Chrysler and Mortgaged-Up-to-Their-Logo Ford for seizing good news like an iron chef stumbling over a plump, truffle-snuffling pig, the future’s not bright and they’re still wearing shades. While surveys like Consumer Reports headlined above may contain a kernel of truth and rally the troops, taking them as gospel instills, reinforces, and engenders company-killing complacency. I invite TTAC’s Best and Brightest to data dive this bad boy. Meanwhile, Michael Karesh: “ Automotive News [sub] notes that, while Asian brands’ market share is 48 percent so far this year, only 47 percent of survey respondents reported that they would probably consider an Asian brand car in their next purchase. Two steps up the purchase funnel (might consider ⇒ do consider ⇒ buy), the percentage should be much higher than the final percentage. That it’s not suggests a sampling error.” Also, define “considering.”
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I have a deposit on a new TR40 Mahindra. Does that help?
Make that n+1 atheists. Maybe the first queer one tho. Well, I have put in (through my bank's car-buying service) a bid on a 2009 Nissan Frontier V6 4x4 manual, which is about $5,000 off MSRP. I really don't expect that such a truck even exists in the entire northeastern US but WTF, I want. Anyway, point is: it's made in Smyrna, TN. Some part of that money goes back to Japan, but it's doing as much, maybe more, for US workers as buying a Mexican-made Ford or soon, cars from China with a GM label pasted on. Whee. Brand is no longer relevant and companies are, uh, spinning their wheels chasing non-existent brand loyalty. That died a long time ago. I've never owned a Nissan, but I want a small(er) truck, and the deals are far better than what Toyota's got, the Ranger is an absurd dinosaur of a truck that nobody should buy, and the GM/ChryCo offerings are lame, thirsty, unpleasant, and ugly.
Remember that US consumers buy about 15 million new cars each year. That's 300 million consumers buying 15 million cars (10 million this year). The statistical error is enormous, considering that more than 95% of Americans will not buy a new car this year, and most will never buy a brand new car.
I believe the Supreme Being prefers American cars, specifcally Plymouth. After all, it is written: He drove them out in his Fury!