It’s important for dealers and car shoppers to have an idea why certain cars are bought or avoided. There are trends in the market that constantly change and create the understanding we have of why cars are bought or not. What we need to do is understand these trends to make sure we know why cars are attractive to us. By the same token, we need to understand why we have chosen not to buy certain vehicles and what the features are we don’t like on some cars. Here are some of the different reasons we like certain cars and why we avoid others.
Reasons We Like Some Cars
Performance – We do like to have good power from the engine but most of us won’t be buying a sports car to get the job done. With that in mind what makes the most sense for most of us is reasonable acceleration and great handling on top of a suspension that can take care of the road ahead. A bit of power isn’t a bad thing, but being able to enter traffic and maneuver on the road are always key to driving and will help with what you face every day.
Fuel Mileage – Especially when gas prices are on the rise this is an important factor but this is an important part of driving no matter what the price of gas actually is at the time. We all love to save money when driving and gasoline is one of the most consumable products we make use of in our lives, thus making it one of the most important factors. If you are buying a vehicle for your family to ride in most of the time price, safety and fuel mileage are three of the most important factors to you for your purchase.
Reliability – Reliability is a factor that not only means you want a vehicle that won’t break down and leave you stranded on the road but also has some of the fewest recalls in the industry. This is even more important when the winter months arrive or you head off road. No one wants to be required to go get their vehicle in a remote location when it has been left behind because of a breakdown, requiring parts and trailers to get it out. Reliability is extremely important as we expect our vehicles to take us where we need to go and come back every time we step inside.
Interior Style and Comfort – Where do you spend all of your time when you drive your vehicle? Inside the cabin and you really want that cabin to be comfortable. You want to have great materials to be impressed by and have a wonderfully comfortable seating position to make use of. This is another place the suspension helps because you want a smooth ride to go along with the great style, upgraded technology and the comfortable seating that works great for your driving enjoyment.
Exterior Style – Automakers have heard the need for this and have responded to the desire in an impressive way. It seems that each car in a class is made to outstyle the others and bring in something new that they rest of the class has not yet seen. Gone are the days of every car looking the same with squared off and sharp shapes and the same faces. The cars of today are attractive and stylish to give us an artistic rendering of what these cars should be to drive on the road and have, which allows us to admire the car in our driveway every time we have to go somewhere.
Reasons We Don’t Like Some Cars
Vehicle Image – Some vehicles attract a specific type of buyer while putting off others. When a car is a sports car model and you are a person over forty years old some people look at you in the car and wonder if you are having a mid-life crisis. Other cars, such as EV models give the thought of being green but not exceptionally capable. There are some cars that attract everyone, but others that are only made to attract specific segments of the market which is the goal in most of these cases anyway.
Price – Every car class comes at a specific price. If you hear a car tagged as a luxury model or a sports car you already know this means you are looking at a car that is priced high. With the advanced technology that is being put into cars prices are going up, not coming down you might like the idea of buying the high priced model after the first lease period is up, which is typically after three years. This can give you a great car at the price you can afford, which is a win for everyone.
Reliability – As a reason why we buy cars it’s also a reason we don’t. When a car has been on more recall lists than we can count on one hand or has been one that routinely finds itself near the bottom of the barrel when it comes to reliability it gives us caution. Unfortunately this can mean that entire companies don’t get chose as they have spent several years near the bottom of the list when it comes to reliability, but why should you buy and drive a vehicle that is known to leave your stranded or routinely needs to be brought into the shop for maintenance.
Interior Styling – When the interior is not laid out in a way that makes sense we tend to look to other models. We want something familiar from the control setup, which is a factor that automakers have to take into account when building a new generation of a favorite or bringing in a new vehicle. This does lead to brand loyalty, which is great for most automakers, but even some brands we love swing and miss when it comes to interior style, leaving us looking for the interior we want.
Overall Looks and Design – All of us have a different idea of what our vehicles should look like. When a brand comes out with a new design and appearance they always take the chance that the market won’t respond to the new look in a positive way. This was certainly the case with the Pontiac Aztek and has been the chance Lexus took when they added the new spindle grill a couple years ago. There are vehicles we like with classic looks and others that we just wonder what the automaker was thinking and why didn’t someone stop them.