Quote:
Originally Posted by blk96gt
People pay too much money to bring cars from all over the world to America as well. It has nothing to do with "American qualities" and everything to do with the fact that maybe they just like the damn car. Many people buy cars because of what they look like, not because of who makes them.
Are there brand loyal people? Absolutely. Many of them are on this forum. There are also plenty of people who never owned or even liked Camaro's before the 5th Gen that bought them and are now on this site. There are also many folks who previously owned M3's, S4's, Accords, Mustangs, and every other kind of car that now own 5th Gens. On the other hand, I know of many hardcore 1st-4th Gen Camaro fans that don't like the current Camaro. There are also many muscle/pony car enthusiasts that don't care for them.
Basically all that above just means people like different things. You seem to be upset with the fact that the Mustang isn't built to your ideal definition of an "American car." I'm one of many that can't stand all the chrome. I can't stand all the chrome on my Chevy truck, but it pretty much comes standard now. Many of the younger car enthusiasts don't like a bunch of chrome bling either. Luckily many cars are starting to get away from that trend, so hopefully in the next few years it will become less prolific across all brands.
Wait a minute. You like something I don't? Holy shit, stop the presses. Luckily there are lots of different options for cars and not all Americans have to like your definition of what a pony car should be.
Ultimately Ford is out to make money. They make more money by selling more cars. To sell more cars, you have to appeal to a broader audience while still appealing to current owners. This is a tough line to straddle, and you're going to lose some customers along the way, but the hope is you brought in more customers by changing to a more globally appealing look.
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Agreed.
It's not that they are copying Euro or Global styling. It's simply that to sell globally there are specific requirements that must be met.
- small size for tight roads and crappy parking beyond anything you can imagine here. If you haven't been to Japan and seen a rotating elevator parking garage you won't understand
- small engine. In most countries, you pay an additional tax for engine displacement. Has nothing to do with CAFE or any FE rating. A 2.0 L is big taxes, go above 3.0 L and you are paying HUGE.
- features and tech. There is an expectation that a small car is not a crappy car. All the features and technology are required in other countries. The US is still in the "if you want more luxury or more features, buy a bigger car"
Its not that an American won't buy a European or Global car, they will and do in GIANT NUMBERS. It's simply that a car the size of the Camaro with an engine as big as even a 3.6L WILL NOT sell there.
So if you want development dollars devoted to your car you need the car to appeal to a greater audience.
And anyone that thinks the Corvette went "Euro" simply because they finally got the chassis balance right and finally put a competitive interior in it you are missing the point. Europeans still don't recognize the car and Porsche buyers in the US didn't all suddenly go, "hey, lets run down to the Chevy dealer and check that out". It takes years.
The reason the BMW 3 Series (and now 4) is such a great car is simply that the development $$ are spent on a car with over 400,000 units sold around the world. The economies of scale are huge at that volume. Cadillac has a huge hill to climb even if they hit 100,000 units which would be a great success.
Not suggesting the new Mustang is going to be a hit or even be successful around the world. But lets see how the global sales go. If the Mustang suddenly becomes a 200,000 unit global car compared to the 100,000 unit US Camaro I predict at least one thread on why GM doesn't spend as much money on the Camaro as Ford does on the Mustang.
The risk is simply did they improve the overall sales volumes or did they hurt US sales with no global payback???
But as usual......................just an opinion.