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Mike Cassese / Reuters
A 2013 Porsche 911 Carrera on display at the Detroit auto show.
By Dan Carney, msnbc.com contributor
Carmakers almost uniformly seek to boost their images, hoping to promote their products as something drivers should aspire to. In the process, they seek wealthy, well-educated (and young) buyers. The sort of person who spends plenty of money on new cars.
Trouble is there’s a name frequently applied to such people: Snobs. If people think a car is owned mainly by snobs, or that the dealers who represent the brand are snooty, potential customers might not even consider buying that company’s cars.
It’s something that worries Mercedes-Benz President and CEO Dieter Zetsche. At the Detroit auto show this week he expressed a desire to ensure that consumers see Mercedes as “approachable” so that when they are in a position to buy a new Mercedes they are willing to visit one of the company’s dealers. This is particularly critical as the carmaker prepares to enter the compact car market. It's doing so to pump up its average fuel economy and meet government gas mileage standards.
Getting buyers for those cars into Mercedes dealers will be the company’s challenge, Zetsche said.
“We have to improve our perceived accessibility of the brand,” he observed. “It was perceived as being arrogant and not interested in our customers.”
Stan Honda / AFP - Getty Images
Upscale sedans, electric vehicles and old-school muscle cars make their debuts at the 2012 North American International Auto show.
It’s no surprise shoppers would steer clear of a company they thought was looking down on them. The German carmaker is working to improve its marketing to convey an image of simultaneous prestige and friendliness.
“In marketing I think we are among the front-runners,” Zetsche said.
Facing a similar challenge, Porsche will soon open two Porsche Experience centers, one in Los Angeles and one near its Atlanta U.S. headquarters, according to spokesman Nick Twork. These centers will be located in highly visible spots where passersby will be invited to come in and see the cars while not facing the sales pressure of a car dealer.
They will even be able to try out the sports cars on a test track, helping acquaint them with the characteristics that distinguish Porsche sports cars from merely sporty cars.
But the first step is getting non-Porsche owners to slide behind the wheel of one for the first time, and these centers should help the company overcome the exclusive “clubbiness” that may keep some potential buyers at bay.
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“In marketing I think we are among the front-runners,” Zetsche said.
.........and they're still snobs.
Snobs, yes, and I wouldn't touch a new Porsche or MB until they've got three generations of improvements in reliability and quality behind them. No matter what the price.
And that's not now.
What's your point, Brookside Drive?
And peteMT, you are definitely not in the Know. It's OK, it will come to you, eventually.
hanseat - you go ahead and research the stats on reliability for MB and get back to us, MKAY?
If not being in the 'Know' means I expect excellence for my money, well, I'll stay ignorant.
Here, read this if you dare:
http://www.thetruthaboutcars.com/2011/12/ten-simple-things-the-industry-could-do-for-me-this-christmas/
Jack puts it better than I could.
Truth hurts, don't it?
I, for one, would love to test new Porsches at the Atlanta track! Has the ground been broken for this project??
All of the BMW dealerships that I've been in have been very good about not putting any pressure on the casual shopper. I have a BMW, and when I have my car in for service I usually peruse the lot and check out the new cars. I'm rarely approached by a salesperson, and when I am approached I usually explain I'm just looking and they leave me alone.
In contrast, I had my Chrysler in for service recently. One particular salesperson saw me get out of my car, enter the service office to drop off my key, and exit the service office. As I was waiting out on the lot for my ride, this same salesperson approached me about buying a car! I explained I had just dropped by car off for service and he still hounded me about buying a car. When my ride showed up he held up his arms like "where you going?" I guess Detroit dealerships are still stuck in the old-school hard-sell world.
To be fair, car companies have very little control over some aspects of their franchised car dealers. In other respects they do have a great deal of control; such as in how the building looks, amenities offered, inventory levels, etc. For some reason though they have very little control over the conduct of sales staff. Locally, there is a Honda dealer that behaves similarly to what you describe. The local Chevrolet and Mazda dealers on the other hand are very good. The local Ford dealer is a happy middle ground between the two.
That is exactly the feeing I had years ago when we checked a Mercedes dealership: That they were looking down at us. Plus the fact that any customization you want it will cost you an extra customization fee, forever sealed the Mercedes fate for us. NEVER for this family.
I guess I'm lucky. I can't afford either!!
Dealers can't win. If they come at you with the hard sell you get mad. If they let you be you think they are ignoring you, you get mad.
I actually don't picture Mercedes and Porsche owners as snobs. Those companies don't advertise in a snobbish way either.
The one car company that really turned me off with its style of advertising was Honda, way back before they came out with Acura. All the Honda commercials seemed to say that unless you are driving a Honda you aren't good enough. After that I haven't paid attention to Honda ads at all.
It is all about what you can afford...I can't afford an MB or BMW...or a Caddy. My van is 20 years old, my 4-D is 11 years old and my three motorcycles are an 01, 05, 07. Everything bought used. All totaled brand new, they don't approach the cost of either the MB/BMW. I get more for less.
Boost their image? How about boosting their car reliability, then I would buy one or two in a heartbeat. (That goes for BMW as well).
Make and sell vehicles that 80% of the world could afford, and you won't look like snobs... Cater to the 'rich bitches' and... well, that's what you get.
Then again, once Porsche and Benz start being sold to average people moreso, they will most likely lose their upper end buyers.
Porsche doesn't need to care about the unwashed in the flyover states. They make enough selling an $85k 9-whatever to a 1%er.