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You're right about the woman buyer factor and the need to purchase $45k cars without big rebates.
The woman buyer factor is an interesting analysis in and of itself. That certainly applies to the more expensive models, but not to the X in my view . For the more expensive models, the woman buyer probably doesn't care about performance as much as style. Thus, to tap into that market, the car needs to project an image of wealth rather than power, performance, speed, etc. This is not a "hip" image and it is a waste of Ford's money to remake the car into a performance vehicle for those buyers.
Are men really going to buy the high end Jag over the high end BMWs and Mercedes? Maybe some, but I doubt that most will convert.
Those who Ford wants to buy the X, however, are younger and want their car to say something other than mere old money "wealth." Hip, performance and trendy are more important to these folks. I remember the first ads for the X - they had 20 somethings saying that they could now buy a Jag and that this is what they always wanted . . . What that was intended to tap into, I guess, was some desire to have that panache car that their 40 something or 50 something parents aspired to while they were growing up.
The problem with that approach (at least in LA, where I'm based) is that 20 somethings do not aspire to be older than they are and would view that image as stale and of no relevance whatsoever to their lives. And as many have said here, they know that what they would be buying is NOT the Jag they aspired to, but a cheap imitation.
To get rich folks to plunk down $45k without rebates for a Saab, Saab must invest in advertising to create the image that people would want to pay for, and invest in fit and finish and performance like BMW and Mercedes have done. They also need a slightly larger and more expensive flagship car and a more well-rounded lineup, which I think they're on the road to doing now. To do this successfully, GM really has to commit the cash.
posted by 4.19.9...
, Sun, 24 Aug 2003 13:31:32
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