WASHINGTON, 20 June — Car manufacturers purposely create an overall image and distinct personality for their car lines. This is done so a buyer will remember what each car represents and why they should buy that particular car, says Dr. Stanley Plog, a leading travel industry consultant, and founder of NFO Plog Research, Inc. Plog believes you really can judge a person by the car they drive.
Plog says he has developed something called a “psychographic system” which helps him determine adventurous, dependable and eccentric personalities. He recently applied this knowledge to cars, with the idea that it could help travel agents decipher the needs of their clients. His conclusions may surprise you.
Cars are “lifestyle purchases, and indicate a lot about you. So even when you buy a meaningless ‘econobox,’ you’re still relating something about your life,” says Plog.
Asked what an ‘econobox’ says about one’s personality, Plog said: “It says things, such as cars, aren’t important in your life, and there is something else that is,” Plog told Arab News during a telephone interview from his offices in Los Angeles, California.
“Cars reflect so much about a person and their personality. That’s why people pay so much money for cars, and why they buy new cars far more often than they need to.”
“Take a Porsche, for example,” said Plog. “They’re not comfortable, the car sits down so low on the ground that you can’t see out on the highway, and you’ll get parking tickets in it by just sitting at a red light. In view of this, why would anyone want to buy this car and not, for example, put a down payment on a home? The answer is simply because the car reflects who you are, or who you want to be, and reflects the kind of statement you want to make about yourself.”
Plog told Arab News he’s done a lot of car research. “And I’ve used the psychographic test... Some cars are heavily personality oriented.”
What about a Honda or a Toyota? Plog says these are two very mainstream car companies, who develop their cars to appeal to mainstream car buyers. “They cut across the segments of society that want value for their money.” This, he says, is especially true for Toyota.
“Honda costs a little more for what it gives you, so people consider themselves a little bit more perceptive, and a little bit smarter, than those around them. They think of Honda’s as a poor man’s BMW,” said Plog. “These buyers are a little bit arrogant in their purchases of a Honda, and they think they’ve bought a cheaper version of a BMW.”
Asked what he drives, Plog said: “I’ve owned Saab, a couple of BMW’s, a Volvo, a MGTD, with the old tire wire spoke wheels and the canvas top... I wish I had it now.” He said he currently drives a Cadillac Deville.
As Cadillacs were not covered in the list of foreign luxury cars he currently reviewed, Plog says the Cadillac’s personality “is a little bit lost right now, they have not positioned themselves well. Their sales are declining; they have a dying market segment. Their average age profile is higher than most car owners want — the average Cadillac driver 65 years old. But the Deville and Seville are both very good products.” He admitted he owns two Cadillacs — he drives the Deville and his wife drives a Seville.
One of Plog’s favorite anecdotes about cars happened in an automobile showroom. As he walked by a Jaguar sedan, he saw a woman sitting behind the wheel. “She looked out at her friend and said: ‘How do I look in it?’ as though she had tried on a designer gown.”
Plog said the Jaguar is a very feminine-styled car. “It has softer lines, is not as aggressive as German cars, it is much more subtle. It’s also has a very soft interior, and it has more wood grain in it than any other car.”
When asked what is the best car currently available in the market, Plog said there are many good choices, product quality and innovativeness is very high, so that one must know what they’re looking for. The highest ratings, he said, go to BMW. “Their 3- and 5-series are rated highest overall.”
The following is a synopsis of Dr. Plog’s review of European luxury cars:
BMW’s car lines have somewhat different images across their product lines, but the company focuses most of its attention on its 5-series, Plog says, “which consistently comes out on top in comparative reviews in car buff magazines. Its primary appeal is to well-educated youngish, entrepreneurial types whose success can lead them to feel somewhat smug about themselves.
“With high incomes at an early age, they believe that they are smarter and more sophisticated than others around them, and that choosing a BMW suggests that they also are more discerning about cars and about life than most people.
“Self-confidence, a casual lifestyle and an aggressive willingness to take risks can be noted in much of what they do. They have very broad and diverse interests.”
Jaguar is usually thought to be a man’s car, so people are usually surprised to learn that its primary appeal is to women. Plog says “women love Jaguars, because driving a Jaguar is like wearing an elegant dress that makes a woman feel attractive, because the cars soft lines and supple leather create a sexy image that enhances the driver’s sense of worth. The sedans, and especially the very beautiful XK8 convertible, create a self image off inner and outer beauty.”
“Jaguar buyers seek a lot of love and warmth from others to make them feel secure,” Plog says.
“Mercedes, to most people, has an image similar to a BMW.” Which is untrue, says Plog. “Mercedes buyers tend to be a bit older with somewhat less income, and perhaps a high school education or some college. Thus, they are not quite as successful at the same stage in life as the BMW crowd, and they are less knowledgeable about cars than BMW owners.
“Those who own Mercedes have a need to demonstrate to others that they have ‘made it.’”
Plog says the bottom line with Mercedes owners is that “this is a group that is somewhat less sure of themselves, and owning a great car helps make them feel a bit more secure in their identity.”
Saab “captures a unique person,” Plog says, “quite unlike buyers of any other car. These folks truly are iconoclasts. They believe they are different from others, and they will go to great lengths to maintain their sense of uniqueness. Buying a Saab makes that kind of a statement. It’s not a big seller, and few people truly know much about the car.”
Plog says the car’s features — such as locating the ignition key slot on the floor consol — seem odd to most people, but they are truly appreciated by the Saab aficionados, who tend to be “loners” as individuals, often preferring to be by themselves rather than part of a group.
Volvo owners fit most of the stereotypes one may already have about them, Plog says. They are “conservative in behavior, super cautious decision makers and good citizens are labels that fit. Owners include a heavier concentration of college professors and teachers, along with accountants and mid-level lawyers, each of whom believes he or she has made a smart choice by buying a car that delivers safety, quality and durability at a reasonable price.”
Next month Dr. Plog will release his analysis regarding the various personalities of US-made cars.