Top 10 Reasons People Reject a Car

To reach younger age groups, Ford is playing up its line of Sync products that incorporate voice recognition and wireless connectivity. It’s also investing in marketing efforts like the sponsorship of R&B singer Chris Brown’s concert tour. During the concert, Brown works the Sync product into his show, making phone calls and using other functions.

A recent Chrysler advertising campaign, called “The New Chrysler: Get Ready for the Next Hundred Years,” features three babies in car seats, representing Chrysler, Dodge, and Jeep; they’re meant to suggest that the automaker is ready for a new generation. To assure consumers that the company is focused on quality and reliability, Chrysler is also offering a lifetime warranty for engines and transmissions for as long as its cars are owned by their original buyers.

Marketing experts say that these efforts still might not be enough to turn skittish consumers into confident buyers of domestic vehicles anytime soon. “The perception, the one that says ‘the Big Three suck,’ wasn’t built overnight,” says Wes Brown, a marketing consultant for the Los Angeles-based firm Iceology. Once a brand diminishes in the eyes of consumers, it can take years to bounce back, he says.

“The Big Three to me seem to be advertising to construction workers who want trucks, or minivans to people with families,” says Cheng, the 30-year-old Porsche owner.

Tomcsik, who drives the Toyota Prius, also feels like American automakers don’t speak to her. “Domestic auto ads don’t seem to be aimed at women,” she says. “There’s lots of Jeeps driving around in the mud. I’m not really into that.”

General Motors does have a campaign for its new Chevrolet Malibu targeted specifically at women, called “Chevy Malibu shops.” It features the music of R&B singer Mary J. Blige and positions the Malibu as an accessory to coordinate with things like a purse or boots. “It’s well done in that the product is right, the message is good, and it’s expressive,” Global Insight’s Wolkonowicz says.

On a broader scale, GM is touting quality by playing up 100,000-mile warranties and employee test fleets designed to root out glitches in new vehicles before they go on sale.

Ford is also working hard to convince consumers that its vehicles are reliable and high-quality. “We’re trying to give the perception that we’re not the company that was known to be more traditional than other manufacturers,” says Janine Fruenhan, GM’s spokesperson for quality improvement and marketing efforts. “We’re doing that based on our own level of confidence in our vehicles. Our quality is what we can offer to consumers.”

Ford’s recent “Swap My Ride” initiative, which included a series of high-profile television commercials, gave recent car buyers a competing Ford model to drive for a week without telling them that it was a Ford. The feedback from the test drivers was overwhelmingly positive, Ford says. “The promotion is about getting back on peoples’ consideration list when they are looking to buy a car,” says Whitney Drake, Ford’s car communications manager.

Robert Passikoff, founder and president of Brand Keys, a New York-based marketing consultant, says that the Big Three will do well to move their marketing messages beyond commoditized factors like vehicle pricing, reliability, and warranties. “When you say ‘Mercedes,’ people know it’s going to be about luxury, they connect with that. You really need to be able to sell the brand. You aren’t just selling metal, tires, and an engine,” Passikoff says.

And in that regard, it’s important to note that the perception problems go beyond the foreign/domestic divide, according to J.D. Power’s Avoider Study. For example, the Hummer H3 was rejected by more customers than any other vehicle in the midsize utility vehicle class, with 21 percent giving poor gas mileage as the reason. “However, EPA fuel economy estimates for the Hummer H3 are very similar to those of other midsize utility vehicles, such as the Jeep Commander and the Chrysler Aspen, which have much lower rates of avoidance,” J.D. Power’s Osborn says.

The study also found that consumers often avoid certain purchases because of information they’ve gleaned from the Internet, especially consumer reviews, expert reviews, and information on manufacturers’ websites.

So while engineers are a vital part of an automaker’s staff, webmasters should be quickly moving up the corporate ladder.

In Pictures: Top Ten Reasons Why Consumers Reject a Certain Car

Top image Credit: Jupiterimages Corporation

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