This is the first part to my very long winded theory.

A few things to note before I start.

Car makers design and manufacture their models according to the market they want to sell to or penetrate into.

they will build and eventually sell it at a price point with the necessary augmentation that is needed and wanted by the targeted market.

the target market are are made up of consumers who fit a set of similar profiles and traits.

these consumer of a same target market, or market segment generally behaves in a similar way when they are expose to a similar stimuli. eg. sale = rush to buy. free buffet = family day for the whole family. etc

this similarity in their behaviour are consistent in their daily actions. from the time the set the critiria for buying a car, to the info search stage, to the decision making process to the collection/inspection/handling/complaints/feedback stages and eventually to the way the drive, search for bragins, and mod their rides.

so an example would be. Mr A set a list of critieria to buy a car, he then went in search for a car, gather info, decide, bargain, ask for more feebies, sign on the dotted line and eventually get his csar.

He will then move on to personalise the car according to his traits. and eventually the car will reflect his personality even more.

His driving habit will also bear common traits to that of the market segment. ie. kiasu driving or cheapo mods or not-fast-act-fast etc.

So my motioon is as such:

The majority of a group of people driving a similar car model will generally behave in a similar way under similar conditions, both in terms of faults and virtues. Therefore it is useful to use the driver's car model as a quick judge of his driving style and temperments. This, of course is still targeted at drivers and not car brands and is based on a majority rather than the monority behaviour pattern. ( ie, there will be drivers that does not fall intro a stereotypical class - outside the confidence majority)

for now ....

what the hell rookie. heheh instead of people reading my crap and slamming me with letters, now i get to laugh when someone takes his clothes off in public... i digress.

so frustrating though, but i think marketing execs have severely limited bandwidth to handle the broad spectrum of people, so they must assume people are alike, of they create boxes that people, being the brand whores that we are, will change themselves to fit in!

so what kinnda people drive es?

yo sf!

actually you sort of took my "theory" backwards.

It is not wrong for marketers to segmentize a market. and then target one. afterall, a car, just like sany product, has a certain cost of production and so the finished good with all its augmentation will only at beat appeal to a certain group. trying to achive anything more will disatrous. imagine selling giodano clothes with diamond studs option and advertsing them in both 8 days and tastler. it will stick on neither side eventually.

so targeting is essential.

but as u target. u also end up rounding people that behaves to certain stimuli in similar ways.

so u sell a honda, u just can't get away with taking about vtec. and u sell a merc, u will talk about prestige etc. and even just on the term "prestige", we have those that react to the Lexus message, and those that only react to a jaguar message. and then these 2 camps are also very different.

eg
a Lexus "discerning" driver may be a fussy with food and leather products, and has a "couldn't care less on the road cos I'm driving a more superior make than your cheap lkorean/jap make attitude". A jag driver, while being fussy will fuss over banking services, politics and drives like a rich man that thinks that pedigree English makes are still classiest old school mobiles on the road and they can eat all jap/korena mobiles for breakfast/lunch/dinner.....

it's therefore a very chicken and egg thing. but for me, it's more chicken first then egg.... which ever way u may think.

The marketing team assumes they have gotten a geez of the tgt market. and comes out with a set of messages which further reinforce the group culture, mentality, and general attitude.

the attitude - thru these messages - lives. and passes on to new entrants who looks to these "veterans" or old timers for reference.

to put it another way, the marketing message serves as a rallying call for a like minded group.

Honda drivers?

haha. this is what I think:

Honda drivers are performance conscious, or so they think they are. They believed they are discerning enough and will pay premiums where it's necessary and go where there's value rather than just outright prestige and glam factor.

they believe theyt are driving a pedigree even though it is a Jap and not a European make.

For ES drivers, they are more brand loyal then hard caore performance fanatics ( other wise, they would have bought an EK or a WRX)

On the road, Honda drivers like to go fast and feel fast. They sometimes feel insulted when a perceived "lesser" make is faster than them. and that's when they become thoughtful and moody ....

They are generally less kiasu drivers than cars that have "inferiority complex drivers".

NOTE: ALL OPINIONS SOLELY PERSONAL. INFERENCE DO NOT REPRESENT FINDINGS OR STATEMENT MADE BY ANY GROUP OR ORGANISATION. ANY OBJECTIONS TO THIS PAGE PLEASE POST HERE FOR AMICABLE DISCUSSION.

well put. i'm sick of media and brand whores' attitude that just because something is made in asia, even if it's superior, cheaper (worse if its not), it's "got no soul". what the hell. if something's good, give it due. hondas are good. tears were shed when their first motorcycle managed to go up a hill without stalling. then there was some guy who didn't go home for the longest time cos he was developing a small subaru for the masses. got no soul meh, these things?

why like the es... er, its pretty. and while its not that fast, it drives well. that's not to say i don't want some magic chip to make it go even faster!

Rookie wrote:

Honda drivers? haha. this is what I think: Honda drivers are performance conscious, or so they think they are. They believed they are discerning enough and will pay premiums where it's necessary and go where there's value rather than just outright prestige and glam factor. they believe theyt are driving a pedigree even though it is a Jap and not a European make. For ES drivers, they are more brand loyal then hard caore performance fanatics ( other wise, they would have bought an EK or a WRX) On the road, Honda drivers like to go fast and feel fast. They sometimes feel insulted when a perceived "lesser" make is faster than them. and that's when they become thoughtful and moody .... They are generally less kiasu drivers than cars that have "inferiority complex drivers". NOTE: ALL OPINIONS SOLELY PERSONAL. INFERENCE DO NOT REPRESENT FINDINGS OR STATEMENT MADE BY ANY GROUP OR ORGANISATION. ANY OBJECTIONS TO THIS PAGE PLEASE POST HERE FOR AMICABLE DISCUSSION.