Keith Lui's Blog

Ah, where would the world be without cars?  To fortunate, wealthy individuals, cars are highly relevant, exciting topics to discuss.  To the rest of us average university students, a car is but a foreign concept that will only be realized years into our careers.  

Yet how has a product that was originally intended to provide a convenient, time-efficient means of transportation branched out so much?  It’s amazing to see how much the car has evolved.  Not only does it look so much different (and better, in my opinion) today, but technology has also allowed it to exponentially improve its performance specifications. 

We have sedans, hatchbacks, convertibles, minivans, pickup trucks, crossovers, and SUVS.  We have Audi, Mercedes Benz, BMW, Ford, Chrysler, Toyota, Honda, and Nissan, amongst other leading brands.  We often hear discussions about European cars, North American cars, and Japanese cars. 

What exactly fuels these discussions? 

I find that car companies have done an excellent job of differentiating their cars and meeting the needs of their customers. 

Japanese car companies like Toyota and Honda have excelled by promoting safety and reliability in their products.  It has come to the point where many driving instructors use Toyotas and Hondas, thereby promoting, through word of mouth, to a potentially enormous market in new drivers.  These cars are especially suitable for the busy, high-traffic Japanese roads.

European cars, on the other-hand are extremely performance-driven.  Many of the German cars are extremely expensive, and many feature a well-engineered balance of performance and luxury.  With the Autobahn in German globally-renowned, these fast and beautiful cars extremely attractive to the population.

North American car companies such as Ford, sell vehicles such as pick-up trucks and SUV’s like the Jeep, good for consumers looking to traverse the North American terrain.

One brand that particularly stands out to me, and was mentioned in the textbook, is the Mercedes- Benz.  It is so much more than just a car.  It is a symbol of status and success.  The brand has become so strong that professionals purchase Mercedes just to signal success (known as conspicuous consumption).  It doesn’t matter what series or what type of Mercedes you have, there will always be an assumption on someone’s wealth just by seeing his or her Mercedes.

Here is one of Mercede’s ads, and an example of its excellent branding strategy