Saturday, April 11, 2009

NYIAS - MY Take

Somewhere between the 'denial of facts' mindset of ex-prez Bush [love saying 'ex'] and the 'pending disaster' mood one feels sitting through a Gilbert Gottfried performance at The Friar's Club....

....you'd understand the vibe holding court at this year's Press Days.

Now, I can rant on about too many SUV's, ugly GMC's, MB E-Class Japanese taillights / Rubbermaid dash pieces, the too-cool Kia Forte, Jim Press-edition Fiat 500's, et al.....

....BUT to me, the 'big aha' in this new age of bailouts / 'make it or break it' business models is that BRANDS [not nameplates] are where people will make their purchase-choice decision.

I suggest it is no longer about Mustang, Camaro, Challenger, Camry, Accord, Genesis, or 3 Series. It is about the buyer faith in FORD, GM, CHRYSLER, TOYOTA, HONDA, HYUNDAI, BMW, etc..

First the brand, THEN the model picking.

So, watch Ford, Hyundai, Fisker [yes], Toyota, Honda, and any VW Group brand. Nissan will make gains, the other Euros will hold only their loyalists, and that may be it. The rest will need to make dramatic moves to stay in the game.

PS - GM PUMA to me is like
TVLand's 'The Cougar'. Both give me the same 'What are they thinking? / What does this say about your brand?' stomach queeze [what WOULD Stacey think if I picked her up in a PUMA?].