Telling Data
We have looked into over a dozen vehicles, from the Monte Carlo to the Rolls-Royce Phantom, asking their manufacturers to tell us a bit about the cars’ buyers. The information in this story comes from buyer demographics and from what carmakers call “psychographics”–or customers’ beliefs and attitudes.
Sometimes, psychographic profiles can be quite detailed. Take the Accord. Honda Motor reports that the car’s owners like to vacuum their garages. You can’t say they’re not clean.
We also found that sometimes messages sent out by seemingly similar cars can be quite different.
Consider two premier British luxury sedans: Bentley’s $210,000 Arnage and Rolls’ $330,000 Phantom. Both are stately and fast, but each one attracts a different kind of customer.
The Bentley buyer wants an understated heirloom that he or she can pass down through the generations; over 80% of all Bentleys ever made are still on the road today. The Phantom buyer, on the other hand, is looking for instant recognition.
“You look at the styling of the Phantom. You look at that upright grille,” says Bentley spokesman David Reuter. “The car has a presence that really demands attention wherever it goes. When you look at the Arnage, it’s far more understated.”
Rolls spokesman Bob Austin agrees. “There is simply no sneaking around in a Phantom,” he said in a recent e-mail message. “As you drive down the street you can see camera phones tracking your every move. If you treasure anonymity, this is not the car for you.”
What messages are other cars sending out? The car companies, the cops and normal people all have different ideas.
