Now, all of you Mind Petals readers know that I have railed on the American car companies for building more and more gas sucking SUVs to line their pockets with cash. I’m sorry, but it’s the truth because the larger the vehicle, the more profit there is to be made. No one will dispute that, not GM, not Chrysler, and not Ford.
Things have gotten so bad that two of ‘The Big 3’ received billions in bailout money from the government, just to stay afloat. I will say this though, Ford took not a cent of the free handout, they are going to tough it out, and I’ll give them a hand for having a go at trying to turn this thing around all by themselves. Kudos to Ford on this.
It just so happens that there are two brands of automobiles that are actually selling in this time of recession, and selling quite well, I might add. One is the Hyundai Sonata, and the other is The Green Guys favorite ride, The Smart Car.
Smart cars get over 40 some odd miles per gallon, are A rated in crash tests, and cost less than $13,000 bones! Yeah, read that again, that’s not a typo. Which tells us what? Fuel efficiency is not directly related to spending big money. A Smart Car is one of the least expensive autos on the road, and except for the Toyota and Honda hybrids, it gets the 3rd highest gas mileage out there, and the hybrids will set you back almost twice as much cash, too.
Oh, and how many more are selling this year than last? Can you say there is an 83% increase in sales? Did your jaw just drop?
Ok, here’s a different story with the same ending. The Hyundai Sonata. It can cost up to double the price of a Smart Car, gets only about 30 some odd miles to the gallon, but it’s sales are up nearly 5% over last year. Why? Marketing, that’s why.
Hyundai has a great marketing strategy going on. They are offering to take back your new Sonata if you lose your job! I love that idea! What a great way to, number 1, show confidence in the fact that the economy will get better, and number 2, try something so innovative that people just have to respond! That’s just a great idea!
These are the types of ideas that should be coming from the USA. These are two totally different ways to sell cars. One is through brawn, and one is all brains.
It takes less working hours, less materials, less time, and therefore less overall cost to make a small fuel efficient car. Any profits lost with inexpensive pricing will be made up with volume! Get brawny, design and build an incredibly fuel efficient car on the cheap, and sell it!
Otherwise, get brainy, take a car with a good reputation, offer an incredibly innovative marketing strategy, and sell it!
Americans love this stuff. They love cute little inexpensive cars. Has the original VW Bug been forgotten? Americans also love innovative marketing. Lee Iacocca at Chrysler instituted the ‘Test drive a Chrysler product and we’ll give you 50 bucks’ marketing strategy, and that almost single handedly brought Chrysler/Dodge/Plymouth back from the dead.
It worked back then and guess what folks, it’s working once again. We love ya Big 3, but it’s time to get Smart and once again, sing your own Sonata!
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I like how you have compared two very different cars, both with similar success stories (kind of). I disagree with you slightly on several points, however. The Smart is only ~13K if you get it bare with absolutely no options. If you actually spring for things like power locks and windows, which come standard on many (most?) cars, you’re looking at closer to $17K. It’s rated at 33/41 MPG. By contrast, a Corolla is rated at 26/35 and costs $15-16K (source:toyota.com). I would argue that for its size, the Smart should be getting better mileage and should cost less. Further, maintenance/repair for a Smart is pretty expensive, as it is an import and relatively new. Whereas, a car such as a Corolla is fairly cheap to maintain & repair. I know you hadn’t addressed Corollas, I’m just saying I wouldn’t give the Smart so much praise. The Sonata, I think, is a good looking car and I like their marketing strategy. Though I would disagree with what you said about it having a great reputation. My understanding of Hyundai in general is that the quality/reliability is not so great. But that may be based on outdated information.
If you can find in my article where I said the Sonata has a “great” reputation, I’ll eat my hat! I said it has a good reputation, and it does, but don’t mislead anyone by putting incorrect words in my articles. That’s a big no-no.
I have nothing against Corollas, darn fine cars–notice how I didn’t say ‘great cars?’–but they aren’t selling. They don’t get as good of mileage as a Smart Car, and optioned up, like you want to do to a Smart, puts them in the $22 thousand plus dollar league. I’ll gladly take the difference for my basic Smart Car, and I don’t need power locks or windows, get noticeably better gas mileage, and when the warranty is finished, have far and away enough dough left over to pay for any out-of-pocket repairs.
We can go back and forth and run the gamut between any cars you’d like. All I am doing is simply pointing out that the two cars that are selling now are the Sonata and The Smart car, for two completely different reasons that both work.
Thanks and I appreciate the comment.
Sorry, that was my mistake. I didn’t mean to put incorrect words in your article. I should have scrolled back up to make sure I was quoting you correctly.