Category Archive:
Posted by George Peterson on October 31, 2012 at 1:44 pm
An automotive industry truism is that it is easier to satisfy your grandmother than a young man. Is this true? At least the gender portion of the statement is accurate.
Driver satisfaction is a critical measure of vehicle acceptance. Having a satisfied buyer results in better loyalty, better word-of-mouth, stronger image. Satisfaction is a central building block of a brand. AutoPacific has been measuring driver satisfaction since 1993 and it is always instructive to look at the differences between women and men drivers.
In AutoPacific’s annual 2012 Vehicle Satisfaction research, women drivers score 39 rating points higher than men – 674 over 635 in their overall Vehicle Satisfaction score.
Cadillac Tops Satisfaction Among Women While the top four brands in the satisfaction hierarchy are the same – Cadillac, Mercedes-Benz, Lexus and Lincoln – the scores given them by women are much higher. Cadillac up 50 rating points. Mercedes up 16 rating points. Lexus up 41 rating points. Lincoln up 42 rating points. Interestingly, the rating for Fiat – perhaps the ultimate chick’s car – is at the bottom of the list among women but still higher by 29 rating points than among men.
Infiniti FX - Top in Satisfaction Among Women
Models With Touches of Luxury Score Better With Women In terms of individual vehicles the top twelve satisfying vehicles among women are: Infiniti FX at 774 (+94 rating points higher than men), Chrysler 300 at 767 (+89 rating points), Lexus ES at 742 (+40), Cadillac SRX (+48), Mercedes C-Class at 735 (+50), Buick Enclave (+57), Honda Crosstour at 729 (+73), Lincoln MKS at 728 (+50), Range Rover Evoque at 728 (+43), Lincoln MKX at 726 (+58), Honda Odyssey at 725 (+40), Lexus RX at 725 (+43). The lowest vehicle line among women is the Nissan LEAF at 550 rating points. The highest scoring vehicle among men is the Mercedes-Benz ML practically tied with the Cadillac Escalade. The lowest vehicle line among men is the Mazda2 at 502.
Women are More Satisfied With a Comfortable Stuff Hauler Women are much more satisfied with Fuel Economy (+8.3%pts), Warranty (+6.9%pts), Collision Avoidance Technology (+6.9%pts), 3rd Row Seat Comfort (+6.8%pts), 2nd Row Seat Comfort (+6.3%pts), Flexible/Changeable Seating (+6.5%pts), Rear Seat Entertainment System (+6.4%pts), Roof Rack (+6.0%pts), Price/Monthly Payments (+6.0%pts), Convertible Top (+6.0%pts). Many of these attributes are characteristics of vehicle types very popular with women drivers like Sport Utility Vehicles and Minivans. They want a comfortable vehicle with a good warranty that gets good fuel economy. They want the interior to be flexible and provide entertainment for their children. They are more satisfied with an affordable stuff hauler useful with children.
Continue Reading
Posted by George Peterson on July 30, 2012 at 12:51 pm
AutoPacific’s Ideal Vehicle Award (IVA) recognizes the vehicle that best hits the target its buyers demand. Winning an IVA shows the product planners, engineers and designers of the manufacturer understand what their target customers want and have created the vehicle to best meet their demands.
LR4 Edges Out Lexus GX For IVA Win: The 2012 Land Rover LR4 comes closest to the ideal of any Luxury SUV scoring a significant 21 rating-point win over the second place Lexus GX. Eighty-percent or more of LR4 owners find these characteristics ideal: exterior size, driver seat visibility, passenger roominess, cargo space, seat comfort, ride and handling, tires and wheels, ease of getting in and out and safety features.
More Infotainment Technology Needed: Nearly half of the LR4 owners want more or better infotainment and entertainment technology than they have now. While the LR4 has loads of technology under the skin allowing it to go anywhere, anytime, it falls down in an area growing more and more important in today’s automotive purchase process.
Styling Needs a Boost: About 30% of LR4 owners would like more daring exterior styling than they have now. While the LR4 achieves a purposeful and utilitarian look, pushing the styling envelope would be positively received by many owners and prospective owners.
You can find an Autobytel review of this IVA award winner at http://www.autobytel.com/auto-news/awards/ideal-suvs-pickups-rated-by-owners-in-2012-iva-awards-112117/
For a complete summary of all AutoPacific 2012 Ideal Vehicle Award results contact karin.turner@vehiclevoice.com and title your email “IVA Results”. A copy of the results will be emailed to you within 48-hours.
Continue Reading
Posted by Dave Sullivan on August 29, 2011 at 2:40 pm
Although the fad of pavement pounders and soccer moms driving vehicles better suited for the Camel Trophy than the city playground is over, Land Rover continues to offer the LR4 for those who still demand the a vehicle with no compromises. While Land Rover has never been known for quality, they have been known for their off-road prowess. Jeep might be known for something similar, but Jeep doesn’t offer anything with the no compromises capability of the 2011 Land Rover LR4. What other vehicle can move seven people off the beaten path in comfort and style and tow 7,000 pounds?
Continue Reading
Posted by Ed Kim on April 20, 2010 at 9:00 am
The debate over the usefulness of traditional, capable SUVs in today’s world seems to be coming to a close, with the more efficient and car-based crossover winning the argument. Who really needs a rock-climbing 12-mpg mountain goat on four wheels when all it gets used for is to pick up the kids from school and get to the mall?
For mainstream customers, there is no doubt that a crossover is a far better and more rational choice. But at the upper echelons of the marketplace, it’s not about rationale. It’s about image. It’s about knowing that even though the most challenging incline you’ll ever encounter is the spiral ramp that goes up the Beverly Center parking structure, your vehicle could scale Everest. Think about it: why else are commercial grade Viking appliances and five-figure digital SLR cameras so aspirational? It’s because their image is tied to professional strength capability, no matter that you won’t ever use said capability.
Continue Reading
Posted by George Peterson on March 2, 2010 at 11:15 am
Women owning HUMMERs have a strong affinity for ten consumer brands in the USA.
AutoPacific’s Research Suite database that annually collects the opinions of over 30,000 buyers of new cars and light trucks asked which of 27 brands a new owner would buy from. The results from AutoPacific’s Consumer Brands Study clearly show the interrelationship between owners of auto brands and buyers of twenty-seven consumer brands like Walmart, Lowe’s, Apple, Sony, Hugo Boss, Costco, McDonalds and more.
What the study shows is that you likely won’t find a Porsche driven by a woman in a Walmart parking lot, but you are likely to find a Land Rover driven by a woman at an Apple Store. Using these data AutoPacific can develop clear profiles of the dynamics between these auto brands and consumer brands.
Looking only at female buyers, HUMMER buyers were most likely to shop at Lowe’s, Old Navy, The Gap, Walmart and to buy Coca Cola, Levi’s, Axe, LG, HP and Hugo Boss.
The only other brand that came close to HUMMER gals was Land Rover. They were tops in Polo, Methoc, Sony, Gucci, Hugo Boss and HP. They were also in the top five among Trader Joe’s, Whole Foods, Apple, Starbucks, Costco and Louis Vuitton shoppers.
Continue Reading
Posted by Stephanie Brinley on May 27, 2009 at 9:04 am
The Land Rover LR2 wins the Luxury Crossover SUV Vehicle Satisfaction Award over strong domestic and import brand competition. In its second year in current form, the smallest Land Rover outscored the likes of the Acura RDX, Infiniti EX, BMW X3 and Lincoln MKX. LR2 scored well for product and financial attributes including:
• Image
• Ride
• Ease of entry/egress
• Durability
• Fuel economy and operating costs
• Value for the money, anticipated resale value
• Warranty
Continue Reading
Posted by Stephanie Brinley on June 2, 2008 at 3:07 pm
Below the jump, you can read Tata‘s official statement on buying Jaguar and Land Rover, now Jaguar Land Rover, from Ford today. However odd it may seem for these illustrious British marques to be owned by an Indian conglomerate, Tata may well end up being an excellent caretaker.
At least initially, it seems that
Tata Motors is looking to let the company continue with the product plans in place before the sale. Tata has ensured supply of needed engines and stampings through “long-term” agreements with Ford Motor Company and appointed David Smith the new Jaguar Land Rover CEO. Mr. Smith, who had been Jaguar Land Rover’s CFO, took on the role of acting CEO after Geoff Polites death in April. The appointment of a long-time Land Rover principal, holding twenty-five years with the SUV maker, indicates further support of the existing management staff.
As Tata gets more deeply involved, the business situation is bound to change. But the Indian company has patience, and seems to be ready to learn about the international business before making significant changes.
Continue Reading
Posted by Ed Kim on January 11, 2008 at 6:05 pm
LRX Demonstrates Atomization of the SUV Market
Not all that long ago, we (and most other pundits) would have prescribed a pretty failsafe formula for how to create a successful SUV. Make it big, make it really upright, and give it plenty of power, OPEC be damned. Sure, everyone knows now that fuel prices are high, driving demand for more efficient means of transportation, but there are plenty of other factors driving the atomization of the once cookie-cutter SUV market.
Whatever you want to call them – body-on-frame utility vehicles, crossovers, car-based utilities, whatever – SUVs as a genre have matured to the point where there is plenty of space and demand for unique niches within the larger segment. In fact, consistent with the greater overall consumer demand we see nowadays for tailored, unique products that fit every taste (how many ways can you have your Starbucks?), the SUV segment is quickly becoming as diverse as the passenger car market. So is there a market for a sustainable, eco-friendly coupe-like Land Rover? Even five years ago, we probably would have given the notion a big thumbs down.
Seeking New Blood and New Concept Space
Land Rover’s LRX concept previews a niche luxury entry SUV product that we’re expecting to see within the next few years. This product would come in below the car-based Freelander, theoretically casting a wider net and providing a larger gateway to the Land Rover brand. We can see their logic here. Today’s oldest Gen Y buyers are coming of age and are starting to earn real money, and a huge number of them have grown up valuing prestige and premium branding. As a struggling brand (especially in Europe, where the traditional truck-based SUVs that Land Rover specializes in have become more irrelevant than ever), Land Rover has got to find some new blood – and the key hopefully lies in these young and open-minded buyers.
Continue Reading
Posted by George Peterson on December 27, 2007 at 2:25 pm
The reigning king of the Luxury SUV hill is probably the Range Rover. High priced at $77,175. Features most couldn’t conceive of in an off-road environment. Extremely competent off road. The top of the Land Rover line has established a tremendous reputation and following as THE aspirational Luxury SUV. Range Rover is not the best selling Luxury SUV, but it casts a wide shadow. And has since the early 1970s. VehicleVoice was on hand at The Grand Del Mar Hotel for the media preview of the Lexus LX570. Priced at $73,800, LX570 undercuts the Rangie, but is no less competent.
LX570 – 3rd Generation Lexus LX
Lexus entered the upper end of the Luxury SUV market in 1996 with a facelifted and upgraded Toyota Land Cruiser – the Lexus LX450. The 1st Gen LX was replaced in 1999 by the LX470 which was freshened in 2002 and 2005. So, after a ten year run, it is time for Lexus to bring its latest LX to the market – the LX570.
The first two LX generations did not set the world on fire from a sales standpoint. They were functional-looking SUVs loaded with features. Not head-turners. Not something to make your blood rush. They did, however, bring a very interesting clientele to Lexus. Younger, highly affluent, not wanting to make a strong statement with their vehicle. Confident, not having to show off their wealth. The 3rd Gen LX follows the same formula and hopes to attract the same type of buyer for slightly under 10,000 units per year or 3.5 LX570s per month for each of Lexus’ 223 dealers.
Continue Reading
Posted by George Peterson on November 23, 2007 at 10:14 am
The rumors are heating up that the buyer of Jaguar and Land Rover is close to being finalized. The front runner appears to be the huge Indian conglomerate Tata and its automotive arm
Tata Motors. Others involved in the due diligence process thought to be less advantageous to Jaguar Land Rover for various reasons. The two private equity firms – Apollo and
One Equity Partners (led by former Ford CEO
Jacques Nasser) – are thought to be a bit too aggressive to have the best interests of the Jaguar and Land Rover brands and their workers at heart. Profit, profit, profit is the name of the game among the private equity sharks. A second car company that is interested in JLR is
Mahindra & Mahindra another Indian manufacturer specializing in SUVs and 4×4 vehicles. M&M may be a good fit with Land Rover, but Jaguar is well out of their experience zone.
So, Tata may be the winner when the dust settles adding JLR to its recent acquisitions of Tetley Tea and Corus Steel.
A November 23 Economist article is below the fold with more details.
Continue Reading
