Well here’s something I think everyone in the automotive industry knew, American car buyers perceive American made cars to be inferior to imports.
CNW Market Research conducted a study in which they took all the brand logos off the cars and told some people it’s a domestic car and some people it’s an import. Their reactions would greatly different depending on what they were told.
For example, CNW would take off the badges of a new Chevy and tell people it’s an import. The people’s reactions would be positive to the car. However if they said it was an American car, the people would react negatively to the car.
Art Spinella, vice president of the Bandon, Ore.-based firm summed it up by saying:
“If they think it’s an American car, the perception of the vehicle falls dramatically. Detroit really gets a bum rap in the U.S.”
For years the Big 3 pretty much ignored the car market and focused on trucks and sport utilities. Now with gas prices up and the push to go green, they’ve really started making better cars. But no one really is looking at the Big 3. They’re still paying for cars they made years earlier.
But all is not lost. Just look at the transformation Hyundai is in. For a long time they were known as a cheap automaker. Now they’ve upped the ante and created better cars coupled with better advertising.
However, perceptions change over time. The Big 3 need to continue producing quality products and really advertise them.
Ford seems to have gotten the message.