Just_me

Most carmakers produce automobiles for a wide variety of customers and adjust their marketing strategies accordingly. While a Viper may be used to promote the brand, Dodge isn't trying to sell one to the same customer considering a Caliber, for instance. A handful, meanwhile, only market to the über-rich. Brands like Ferrari and Bentley may come to mind, but compared to the crème-de-la-crème marques like Bugatti and Rolls Royce, they're a dime a dozen.

Rolls Royce, as was recently revealed in the Los Angeles Times, only targets potential customers who have liquid assets in excess of $30 million. That segment wouldn't be considered a mass market, and so the way Rolls Royce sells a car is markedly different from how, say, Dodge would.

[Source: LA Times]

SDNR

Well Duh!

Centurion

Well that's how it works for the successfull companies. They focus on their target market, that is the people who can and want to buy their products. Porsche enthusiasts wants the design of the 911 unchanged and that's how Porsche has kept it. It is not about what you can or want to produce, it is all about why what the market wants.
It is very important to listen to market and the consumers. Manufacturers which have failed to do so are Volvo, GM and Ford to some extent, which is why their sales are dropping faster than Britney Spear's hair when she trimmed it off her head.

SDNR

Luwalira -- I want to send you a PM ...but you have exceeded your stored PM quota.

Centurion

Thanks for the notification Rob, I just deleted some very old PM, from before Christ(05).

YoUhimhER

the companies that do market-orientation the best are the japanese car makers, take toyota as an example, toyota has 6 SUVs in their line up while lexus has 3 since 100 years ago for the us market, unlike the german who are still struggling to come out with more SUVs to tackle the american market. i say the japanese are the true master of marketing, and german are the master of engineering.

Imhotep Evil

I disagree to some extent.

It's relative to the market(s).

German premium manufacturers are succesfull on a global scale, while Lexus only in America.
In fact Lexus has team up with premium product sellers such as the likes Gucci, Dolce Gabana to understand how the german are so succefull on a global scale.

Even more they send their people to BMW plants understand how they can customize their cars on such a scale and make high profits.

Japanese automakers like toyot use a system based on simplification, reducing waste, and turning no thrills products for the average joe. Here they excel.
German automakers like BMW use a diferent aproach, sometimes the exact opposite of Toyota, and they excel on the premium market.