Re: Beware of the Blue Devil (pics)
Quote:
hatchback said:
Dr. Phil, I think the error of your reasoning is to assume that brands like "Vette" and "Porsche" have fixed meanings. If GM can manufacture a reliable, attractive car with a nice interior, good build quality, and a factory warranty that will outperform all exotics for 1/5 the cost, and win prestigious races like lemans year after year, and they call that car a "vette", then the meaning of that word changes and the value of that brand increases. Conversely, if porsche starts making cars that are unreliable, expensive, ugly, perform poorly, and can't win prestigious races, then the meaning of that word will change and the value of that brand will decrease.
And if the c6 z06 at $65k will outperform a $200k 911 GT2 on porsche's home turf, and even come close to the performance of a $450k Carrera GT, the meanings of those words and the values of those brands are already shifting. If Porsche doesn't respond by dramatically increasing the performance of their vehicles, then the value of their brand will steadily erode and eventually come to mean "the rip-off brand". Exclusivity alone does not create brand value.
I don't assume that "Vette" and "Porsche" have fixed meanings and that brands cannot change over time. Some can and do change.
BUT the Porsche brand has developed over time, and been built on intrinsic and longterm values. Porsche has stayed very, very true to itself and thus kept bulding on its own value and adding to people's positive perception of the brand.
At the same time GM /Chevy has been marketed as a GT cruiser, a sportscar, a blingbling anclebracelet, a dining room showpiece, an american classic, a pimpmobile and a bunch of other things.
The Vette brand simply is an incoherent mess, a multitude of mixed messages and no and that is not biting GM in the a55.
They have a fast car and that's great.
But a strong brand and brand excellence do not come as a result of a year or two of good tracktimes and a souped up engine.
Your comparison of tracktimes and cost of the Vette versus various Porsche models is just ONE argument in a long line of arguments that need to get established with and accepted by the potential buyers of a sports car.
If you want a sportscar would you rather buy it from the people who invented one of the most legendary and enduring sports car makes - or would you rather by one from the people who are trying hard to beat the standard set by that car make?
A brand is a promise. Pure and simple.
The promise of a certain quality, performance, feeling. Be it tangable or emotional.
I think most car enthusiasts know what the promise of Porsche is.
Do they know what they get from a Vette?
You argue that brand value can change - or increase.
And you argue that the more butt the Vette kicks, the more its brand value will increase.
The change in brand value that you are talking about will not likely happen within a few years, and probably wont happen in our lifetime.
Why? In 2 years from now the Chevy brass will find some other niche to exploit with the Vette name. That's my guess.
But if - and I do say IF- GM manage to position the Vette as a REAL sportscar and manage to keep doing so over the next 5-10 years, maybe then, MAYBE, people will believe that the Vette is a serious competitor to Porsche.
And maybe then GM will start actually winning business from Porsche, and not just get clients that wouldn't or couldn't buy a Porsche in the first place.
The day that a Vette is being regarded by the potential clients as desirable as -or even more desirable than a Porsche is the day that you can talk about TRUE competition between the two makes.
I am fully aware that brand loyalty in general has lessened in many categories (soft drinks for one), and that this tendency also affects the car industry.
But in a market where everybody wants a supercar for no money, at the end of the day there will only be two winners:
Those who can deliver a lot of bang for the buck, and those who deliver a premium brand that people really aspire to.
As I see it Vette is heading towards the "bang-for-the-buck"-segment.
Porsche is already a premium brand, and their excellent economy (most profitable car maker bar none) proves beyond any doubt, that people are more than willing to pay for the Porsche brand promise.
A promise that emcompasses design, heritage, performance, handling, durability, resell value, prestige etc.
And not just performance.
Vette might be closing in on the performance factor - but there are still a lot of factors that the Vette has even begun to cover, and probably never will.
Just look at the interior of the car and I think you know what I mean.
While storngly influenced by japanese and european designs it still reminds me of Burt Reynolds in Smokey and the Bandit.
(I know - he was driving a Black Golden Eagle Trans Am).
If GM wants the Vette to be a serious, LONG TERM alternative to the 911 et al, I suggest they start SETTING the standards instead of chasing them.
