safety last

[Pottree@domain.elided]

In a message dated 8/25/2002 9:47:20 PM Pacific Daylight Time, 
owner-alfa-digest@domain.elided writes:


> ....usually the people who drive SUVs are people that know the
> least about driving, people that think that they are most likely to get in
> an accident (because of other drivers) and want to surround themselves in 
> as
> much steel as possible while being in their lazy boy recliner.
> 
There is a good thought here, one that I have noticed in (USAian) Volvo 
drivers as well, viz: they are basically lousy drivers, they may have had 
prior scary experiences as a result, and so they want to buy and armor 
themselves with a "safe" choice because "those other drivers are so 
dangerous."

This fits right in with the security/empowerment angle takien in the market 
positioning of many of these tanks.  People are sold on them not because they 
need such a machine, not because they are heading off across the tundra in 
search of the wily caribou, but because they feel a trip to Walmart for 
sunglasses is a dangerous excursion among "others" - dangerous unknown people 
who may mean or do them harm, people not like themselves.  This may be sick, 
but it sells a lot of SUVs.

On a related note: I noticed in the NY Times on Sunday a quote from an auto 
marketing guru (in suburban Detroit, MI) commenting on the General's 
production "hiatus" on the Camaro/Firebird line, commenting on their 
declining and low  sales (still several hundred thousand units per annum, 
whaddya make of THAT, Alfa?), that the "young" buyers in the USA were not at 
all Interested in a car with basically two seats a a joke in the rear because 
today's yoots want to take their pals along when they sally forth in search 
of adventure.  How this jibes with the concept of bringing in the Alfa Spider 
to claim a beachfront on the USA market he didn't mention.

Charlie, 
puzzled in
LA, CA, USA
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