Automakers Missing Real Questions from Average Buyer

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The cars are pretty at the Los Angeles Car Show, and the speeches are filled with information, but here’s the thing that most of them are not doing, talking English. You know, the staunch advocates of this cause and that one, may know the jargon, but the average person, does not, and really doesn’t care.

In two days I have heard every “green” term ever invented, so much so, I walked away more confused than before I heard them. I have no idea what they were talking about, though I am pretty sure, it was to help save the planet. Putting away the jargon, here are the questions real car buyers want answered:

1.       How much is this car, as you have it on the floor? See, the sticker price is never the price for the one on display. That’s the fully loaded on. The one people fall in love with until they realize it’s an extra $10,000 to make it that way.

2.       How is the mileage? With gas over $3 per gallon, people want more for their buck. They don’t want the gas guzzler, but the practical car, that also looks stylish. Again, the fuel test they put on the sticker are for prices that do not exist anymore, so they are not an accurate reflection of what a consumer will spend on gas per year.

3.       How is the safety record? At the end of the day, people want to get home at the end of the day. Moms don’t want to worry about their teenager driving a car that has a recall record a mile long, nor have their babies in the backseat of a potential fireball. They want and need to know about the safety of a car.

4.       Is this the car I need to do what I need it for? Obviously the 4 roader has a different purpose from the Ford Fiesta. The good salesperson does not sell a person the wrong car or it may be returned.

Nowhere in that list is there anything about the difference between hybrids and F-cells, or this level CO emission from that one. Why? In this economic time people are looking at the things that matter to them, not to a cause. They want to know if they can afford it, how far will it get them, is it safe, and is this what I really need?