Thursday, January 8, 2009

Does A Care Free Auto Purchase Signal The Apocalypse?

This to me feels like a sign of the apocalypse.

If you buy a Hyundai and you lose your job, you can return the car with no issues and they will take it back. It sounds like a move of utter desperation to me. Does Hyundai have sales problems that make them move to such a last minute offer?

The auto industry is just going to have to re-do quite a bit of its infrastructure. I really don't think they can survive doing things like this. The next step is to offer consumers to buy a car and return it any time for no reason at all.

I know there's a lot of debate regarding the auto industry and what will fix it, but my guess is they need to do a whole scale infrastructure shift to energy efficient cars and find a way to service them in the long term. I know that not everyone wants a fuel efficient, green car right now but they will. People are coming around to the idea and that is the inevitable future. Instead i see ads for such amazing innovations as a tool box built into the side of the new Ford F150. Is that really going to sell more cars??

By going energy efficient you would be planning on the future, and truth be told you should plan on selling fewer cars each year. Create some pent up demand for cars and you will likely see your brand re-emerge as a desirable brand. People tend to overlook what they know they can get at any time. There's no demand for the mundane.

Make limited editions and manage your growth rather than keep looking for year over year exponential growth and stop investment spending in products that have a finite life cycle. A new Hummer, anyone?

Of course, what do i know. I am just some lowly marketing guy.

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