How Do We Develop Car Brand Perceptions?

:eek6: Fiat is rated higer than MINI! Screw that! They didn't come to MA and talk to us. Come on all you edjamacated MINIacs, wade in here PLEASE!:mad2::mad5::incazzato:

Jason

 

I didn't read the article; ever since Consumer Reports panned my Volvo S40 for being "too noisy" (did they even TEST the damned thing?), I don't tend to pay much attention. :devil: (There's nothing even slightly noisy about the car.)

In any event, I was going to buy a Fiat 500 last summer. Then I figured out that the MINI "justa" is 4% heavier—but 20% more powerful, with economy that is either just as good, or if memory serves, slightly higher than the Fiat. Being in the US market for 10 years vs. what, 1 year? — also weighed into the decision. As did the comments of my indie shop I've had servicing my cars for nearly 20 years.

Each to his/her own I guess.

 

BYTE me Fiat . . . That's all i have to say about that . . . :incazzato:

 

Maybe the Charlie Sheen commercial swayed their vote.

 

To me, the MINI is a good, all around, do anything, have fun kind of car, where the Fiat is a commuter, with retro appeal. Many folks only need or want a commuter. I think there is room for both.

Jim

 

Love thy neighbor....

^ Oh no!!! I'm going to agree with you Jim. :smilewinkgrin:

I do not understand all the hate for Fiat 500's coming from MINI folks? They are OK for what they are. Nice to know there are more small car choices out there. For every 500 seen puttering down the road there is one less Mongo SUV out there, good thing in my book. Justa maybe MINI is taking notice of those 500's & improving the MINI to keep folks buying them? Another good thing me thinks. As small car owners I think we should all stick together, like in the old days when folks in sports cars waved at each other no mater what the brand. It was a sports car brotherhood. Couldn't we have a small-car / sports-car brotherhood too? Share the love. :donut1:

 

Sadly I think more and more of the MINI sales are going to people who consider them to be justa cool commuter... The average age of the MINI buyer is raising.. as per my local MINI dealership.

 

^^ I agree. Back in the days that Chuck mentioned, weren't they all referred to as "Foreign Cars"? Like "I see you bought one of those cool foreign cars". :biggrin5:

Jim

 

Furin cars FTW! :cornut:

N2MINI sadly MINI's are reaching JAC staus with many folks. JAC? That's just a car.:nonod: Not sure that age has anything to do with it, at least old age. I pass many MINI's driven by people 1/2 or 1/3 my age & when I give them a wave I get a look of wonderment from them. I guess they justa don't get it or maybe the sight of a happy grey-beard in a MINI confuses them.:biggrin5: Most of the waves that get returned are from folks of an older vintage. Go figure? :crazy:

 

I only heard about and observed the "MINI wave" fairly recently (past couple of months). I immediately loved it and started doing it myself. But I've had the same observation: It's mostly started by or returned by those more or less around my (middle-ish) age.

Of course, given that I see a lot of MINIs that look like they've not been washed in the last year (or six), clearly not all MINI owners are as engaged with the ownership experience as we are! LOL

 

Amen, Crash... While I still think I made the best choice in picking my justa over the 500, they still have a major cute factor, and as you just said so very well—it's one less mongo SUV on the road...

It really does give me a good feeling that I can drive my justa roughly 2-1/3 times farther down the road for every gallon of petrol than a massive Cadillac Escalade. (Not to mention I could buy 2-1/3 very well equipped justa's brand new for the same price!)

 

Once again, CR conducts a carefully executed double-blind controlled test, with painstaking numerical accuracy, which is entirely meaningless. What can we learn from this survey? How will it inform our next car-buying experience? It won't. A Mazda buyer, upon seeing this report, isn't going to hit the Tesla showroom because it rated higher in this survey. I'm not saying that CR has no influence on the car-buying public--just that it's generally limited to non enthusiasts. Those who have the same emotional reaction to a car as they do to a microwave my very well select a Toyota over a Mazda based upon this survey. But who cares? They're soul-less gingers. Those of us who care have other criteria for selecting a car than a meaningless survey.

Enjoy your soul-less mag, with your soul-less car.




How's that for vinegar?

 

^^^ Uck, that picture justa about put m....:sleep:

 

Enjoy your soul-less mag, with your soul-less car.



How's that for vinegar?[/QUOTE]


AMEN Eric ..... well said - BRAVO .... MiniAttic's Unite .... We RULE !:cornut:

 

But it has a spoiler!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!:cryin:

 

If FIATS are so great than why do people keep abandoning them on my lot?

It's like every weekend these things show up.

 

Maybe it's because it is no long the new & hip. They get a MINI drive for a while & drop it in a different lot at a different brand. If you'd ever done a search you'd be amazed at how many used MINI's are on lots. Most just out of or about to be out of warranty. Go figure?

Furin cars FTW!

 

I found the survey to be...a little off putting, regardless of the results.

Brand image is comprised of these seven elements. Says you. Reliability not sampled, presumably inferred from "Quality". Design? Of what? And so on. So that seemed a bit flawed to me already.

Some things MINIsta value: uniqueness, fun, camaraderie. I'd submit these are some key factors in the MINI brand, but these weren't sampled.

Then: the survey itself. From the write up, apparently the phone survey went something like: "What brand(s) do you associate with quality / design / value / environmental consciousness / etc." and they took down answers. Points were scored for frequency of mention. As we see from the results, MINI wasn't mentioned often. And: given that they were calling some thousand(s) people at random, not surprising.

Asking instead / in addition: Which auto brand do you associate with "uniqueness"? With "fun"? With "camaraderie"? Those aren't Toyota, Honda, or Ford. But all are part of MINI marketing / branding.