Changing minds: What Detroit can do to win back car buyers?

Well, Ford is fixing the relibility and fit/finish image with the Fusion, Edge, and Escape, GM is fixing it's bland products, with the Aura, Sky, Malibu, etc.. and Chrysler, uh, gave us the Sebring. (But their Caliber and LX platform cars are doing well, and new vans are around the corner). They just need to price them right and advertise.

The problem with American cars now are the looks. Only people who work for Ford or have family members that work for Ford buy them..except for mustangs....The new mustangs are ugly as hell and I've been a mustang fan all of my life...It was one of the few American cars that I loved...now I like the Chrysler 300 even though I wouldn't buy one. In Atlanta, I see one every 3 seconds. I like Cadillac STS, SLR. I hate every Ford product. I did like the mustangs as I previously stated and I used to like the Navigator..now they've screwed that up too....Ford really needs to go in a different direction w/ their designs..if it wasn't for the F150 they would go under (I like the older f150's..2 years ago and older..the new ones are too boxy...most co's do it the other way around..they were boxy and add more curves as the year go..Ford is the opposite...no wonder they struggle.

mstangpny07 - I second your motion with your the Chrysler group. If there was a vital time for them to penetrate the mid-size sedan market - the time is now. But instead, they give us the Sebring...(And after all the success of the 300!!!) Its all about the mid-size sedan, if the Big 3 cannot make a sedan that is on par with the Accord/Camry, then its not worth it. That is where the "bread and butter" of the $$ is.

On another note: What will it take to change the perception of a brand's quality image? Personally, I don't think it that easy...its probably going to take a generation.

It's not like nobody will buy the Sebring, but they could have done much better. Large fleet sales and big discounts will make the car sell, but they better get the Dodge Avenger right, so people who don't like the Sebring can go to it.

"Well, Ford is fixing the relibility and fit/finish image with the Fusion, Edge, and Escape..."

Wrong.

1. Nobody has ever said Ford has bad reliability. They're very dependable cars.

2. The Fusion, Edge and new Escape are all half-@ssed attempts. Have you read the reviews? The Fusion hasn't won a single comparison (I don't think it's even made second), the Edge is just mediocre for a newbie, and the Escape's interior is fugly.

I think the biggest issue for me putting reliablity aside is the look

The current crop of cars from the Detroit based companies are pretty decent, but I still can't get my car fixed properly the first time. I still can't leave a dealership after having my car fixed without feeling like it's my fault everytime something goes wrong with the car or that somehow I feel like I've been ripped off. I'm tired of having to go ballistic before a problem gets fixed and I'm tired of being apologized to and I've stopped listening to them tell me "we've changed, we're better now".

....but I still like the cars.

I think that's an industry wide problem, though most readers of this site wouldn't admit it. I own a 2002 Mercedes S430, 1999 Initi Q45 and a 2005 BMW 645ci coupe....I swear anytime something goes wrong, they want me to believe it's my fault...But hands down..the Infiniti dealership gives better service (imo). It also has the fewest problems of the 3. I've since stop going to dealerships and service my car at specialty shops except for the Bimmer. The costs are a lot more and I've noticed that they don't check half of the sh*t that they claim they check....and all of the svc packages ex..30k, 60k etc are a waste because they charge u an arm and a leg and they mainly on check everything and don't replace anything.

Focus. Focus was the difference between American, Japanese and German cars. The Germans and Japanese (and even the Swiss before they were bought by the Americans) focused on product. American companies on the other hand focused on consumer psyche instead.

Buying a Ford GM or Chrysler was (is) like buying an inkjet printer. They’d practically give away the car because they knew you’d trickle a fortune into their pockets for required parts down the road. Of course they wouldn’t give it away without first inflating the MSRP and then offering "huge" discounts of 10K off sticker to make you feel like you’re getting a great deal. As if that wasn’t blatant enough, mechanics would often attest to parts being intentionally designed to only last X amount of miles.

That didn’t matter though. The Japanese didn’t have full size, cushy cars with big V8s, and the Germans didn’t have any that the average person could afford. The big, open American roads were fueled by the middle class and not designed for underpowered tin cans on wheels, reliable or not.

But that all changed, and the Americans failed to adapt. The imports have relentlessly and meticulously refined their products; and the Americans sat idle, blindly pushing their psychology instead of their quality. Chrysler is half-German now with mixed results. GM is finally starting to wake up, only after the Toyota threatened their #1 spot; and Ford is in the deepest trouble, still pushing clearly ancient technology and build quality.

What can they do? Focus on the product. In the age of the Internet and information sharing, psychology doesn’t work anymore. The Americans have years of bamboozling to overcome, and perceptions don't change over night. Just ask the imports.

webguy - Good analysis. Badly for the American companies - building a good quality reputation or changing ones perception takes a lot of time... A LOT. Im 27 years old and NONE of my friends/colleages would even consider buying American (trucks/SUVs maybe). They are just too inferior, and Im not saying that any particular brand is perfect, but there are differences...vast differences. Unfortunately the Big 3's poor reputation will haunt them for a long time, I believe they have lost our generation. I dont think that they will ever convince me.

Great post.

Except, I think you meant "Swedish", not "Swiss" automakers. Is there even a Swiss car on the market?

The only solution is to keep the pressure on, without fear of failure the Big 3 wont produce the necessary changes..

With new designs like the XKR, and other fine products the people will come.. quality perception (halmark of J3) can only take you so far.

American car manufacturers will have to not only style their vehicles with more finesse, but also add standard technological features that the competition doesn't have (or only has as an option).

Here's a basic example...

Ford Fusion... standard equipment should add xenon headlamps, signal mirrors, and l.e.d. taillamps to enhance the exterior for starters

American companies seem to think that adding more chrome is the answer (ie: Chrysler Aspen).

I could go on and on but I think most of you get the point I'm trying to make.

Invest in technology and style and improve reliability...

Sounds so simple, doesn't it.

I'm young so don't bite ;-)

I chose the Ford Fusion as an example since it is Ford's 'Cam-Cord' fighter. I personally like the style but wouldn't buy one because you could get a certified pre-owned ToyoLex/Honda-Acura for the same price with more features, quality and reliability.

Note to Americas car manufacturers... Less chrome, more refinement, more technology...

It is possible to create a beautiful car without it being boring... give us the european(ford) versions of your cars for goodness sakes! GM seems to be doing well with giving us some of their Australian versions (Aura, Sky...) and hopefully the next GTO will be a hit styling-wise as well.

Ok, I'll stop now because I'm giving myself a headache wanting to comment, just not sure where to start.

American car manufacturers have a long way to go.