Sales are slipping. American brands are ailing. So what’s the remedy?
Call out the patriots!
Ford Motor Co. and Chrysler LLC are clinging unto their American roots to call out true-blooded patriots. Though they are not singing The Star Spangled Banner to draw them closer, they are using some other strategies…
At the NAIAS, Ford launched the redesigned F-150 pickup. The Dearborn-based automaker invited American icons to promote its bread-and-butter vehicle. The icons include Toby Keith, a popular country singer; Rick Crawford, the legendary NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series driver; and Justin McBride, a highly-skilled bull rider.
Chrysler, meanwhile, embraced the limelight, by inviting a company of rugged American cowboys driving a herd of cattle outside the Cobo Center. Now, who won’t be flabbergasted?
What made American automakers rattle? According to MSNBC, sales sagged last year as the housing market sank and construction activity declined. Sales of pickups in the United States fell 6% in 2007, while overall U.S. vehicle sales declined by 3%.
"For years, people who didn’t really need trucks were buying them as fashion statements, but now with gas prices rising those buyers are leaving the market, wondering why they’re going to pay so much money for trucks and have to pay for the extra gas needed to run them,” said Karl Brauer, editor in chief at Edmunds.com. “So you’re seeing the big manufacturers trying to lure them back, focusing on functionality, and adding cool, hip fashion statements, and better gas mileage.”
“The manufacturers could have come out with their next versions (of their trucks) and just made them a little bit bigger and a little bit better, which is what they would have done in any previous redesign of a full-size truck,” Brauer said in an interview with MSNBC. “This time they have definitely gone the extra mile.”
The competition is ever growing. According to Tom Appel, editor of Consumer Guide Automotive, American automakers are likely to be under pressure to update their vehicles more often. “There was a time when a new pickup was big news, but now with more players in the market there’s always something new, and what used to be an 8- to 10-year product cycle has shrunk, so news of a new pickup is not as exciting as it used to be,” Appel added. “There is more competition, and that means there have to be more redesigns to get people excited.”
“You can’t pull commercial sales ahead. Companies will buy a new truck when it makes financial sense to do so, and commercial sales of light duty trucks tend to coincide with the housing market,” Appel concluded. “But for the average car buyer a vehicle purchase is more elastic, more emotional, so you can lure them in.”
Ford Motor Co. and Chrysler LLC are clinging unto their American roots to call out true-blooded patriots. Though they are not singing The Star Spangled Banner to draw them closer, they are using some other strategies…
At the NAIAS, Ford launched the redesigned F-150 pickup. The Dearborn-based automaker invited American icons to promote its bread-and-butter vehicle. The icons include Toby Keith, a popular country singer; Rick Crawford, the legendary NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series driver; and Justin McBride, a highly-skilled bull rider.
Chrysler, meanwhile, embraced the limelight, by inviting a company of rugged American cowboys driving a herd of cattle outside the Cobo Center. Now, who won’t be flabbergasted?
What made American automakers rattle? According to MSNBC, sales sagged last year as the housing market sank and construction activity declined. Sales of pickups in the United States fell 6% in 2007, while overall U.S. vehicle sales declined by 3%.
"For years, people who didn’t really need trucks were buying them as fashion statements, but now with gas prices rising those buyers are leaving the market, wondering why they’re going to pay so much money for trucks and have to pay for the extra gas needed to run them,” said Karl Brauer, editor in chief at Edmunds.com. “So you’re seeing the big manufacturers trying to lure them back, focusing on functionality, and adding cool, hip fashion statements, and better gas mileage.”
“The manufacturers could have come out with their next versions (of their trucks) and just made them a little bit bigger and a little bit better, which is what they would have done in any previous redesign of a full-size truck,” Brauer said in an interview with MSNBC. “This time they have definitely gone the extra mile.”
The competition is ever growing. According to Tom Appel, editor of Consumer Guide Automotive, American automakers are likely to be under pressure to update their vehicles more often. “There was a time when a new pickup was big news, but now with more players in the market there’s always something new, and what used to be an 8- to 10-year product cycle has shrunk, so news of a new pickup is not as exciting as it used to be,” Appel added. “There is more competition, and that means there have to be more redesigns to get people excited.”
“You can’t pull commercial sales ahead. Companies will buy a new truck when it makes financial sense to do so, and commercial sales of light duty trucks tend to coincide with the housing market,” Appel concluded. “But for the average car buyer a vehicle purchase is more elastic, more emotional, so you can lure them in.”