USA Today: "Are Electric Cars Losing Their Spark?"

[adric22]

Although from CA, I don't consider myself a "Joe Environmentalist", and I must say that I completely disagree with your opinions on those commercials. I consider the Prius ad MUCH more aesthetically pleasing (both audibly and visually) than the Mitsubishi ad (although I will give Mits the edge in regard to including price information and a url at the end). And as for your "homosexuality" comment, I haven't the slightest idea of what you're talking about: are you saying that as a detraction or as a positive for the Prius ad?

Not sure I understand your question. I'm just saying dancing flowers and a song that sounds like a nursery rhyme seems a bit un-masculine to a lot of guys. Most men in my state would not want to be associated with that and thus would avoid the car for fear of being labeled something. I'm just speaking from a marketing perspective. Obviously, I drove a Prius exclusively myself from 2003 to 2010 so I am not ashamed to drive one. I had a 2003 model, and later a 2008 model, and my wife currently has a 2010 model. So we've had all 3 generations. But I drove a Prius for the same reasons I currently drive a Leaf. And it has little to do with environmental reasons.

 

[FairwoodRed]

"They forgot Marketing 101," says Arvizu, 33, who works as a clean-tech researcher. "They forgot that people buy cars because it makes them look good and feel good. … These cars are sexy, fast and fun."

Sexy, not so much. Except for the Teslas.

But she's right. Stop with the contrived, smarmy polar bear commercials and singing electrical outlets. It's silly, stupid, and makes people gag. Stop with the ridiculous trees and leaves on the dash displays. Just make a car...that happens to be electric.

Enough of the word "green." It's overused to death. Stop making these bulbous, silly cars with even sillier names that look like a golf cart and a half with a roof.

Cmon, LEAF? Really? The acronym is cringe inducing. That name needs a "kick me" sign on it. So I'm just going to say it. Stop with the environmental angle. The melodramatic, Oprah crying, "save the earth!" evangelism. Take off the birkenstocks, shelve the polar bears and advertize THE CAR. Well, put a decent body on it first, then advertize the car.

No plug decals. No earth decals. It's a car. Act like it's a car. Sell it like it's a car. Design it like a car. Not some miquetoast, high tech appliance on wheels. With decent looking gauges and an interior that invites it to be driven. Recycle plastic bottles to make more plastic bottles. Not make seats and carpet out of them.

LEAF? MiEV, Up!, ForTwoEV. Somebody texting these idiotic names?

Tesla Roadster. See? That wasn't hard.

+99

 

[thankyouOB]

Not sure I understand your question. I'm just saying dancing flowers and a song that sounds like a nursery rhyme seems a bit homosexual to a lot of guys. Most men in my state would not want to be associated with that and thus would avoid the car for fear of being labeled gay. I'm just speaking from a marketing perspective. Obviously, I drove a Prius exclusively myself from 2003 to 2010 so I am not ashamed to drive one. I had a 2003 model, and later a 2008 model, and my wife currently has a 2010 model. So we've had all 3 generations. But I drove a Prius for the same reasons I currently drive a Leaf. And it has little to do with environmental reasons.

how sad for you and your perception of your state.
ashamed to drive a prius because it is too gay? worried friends might think your have the gay?
homophobia run rampant. I guess this video makes you cringe:
http://hamptonroads.com/2011/12/first-lesbian-couple-get-first-kiss-navy-homecoming" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
or is it hot because it is two women?

Maybe Nissan and others want to market to folks with a conscience and some sensibilities. Perhaps, they understand that the knuckle draggers are not their primary market and will come to this only when paying for the gas to drive an SUV and pickup truck is at war with paying the rent and buying groceries.

as to the pipeline, I am with TTweed. why build it to the ports in the gulf and not the refineries in texas and oklahoma, if it is for sale in the US?

 

[Hedge74]

.

If we see $5, $6, $7 dollar/gal gasoline, watch how fast the market changes. And shortages, rationing, outages? A range-limited EV that you can fill up every night starts looking brilliant compared to an ICE that can't find fuel.

Whenever gas prices get "high" (>$4), people flee large trucks and SUVs and thus their sales plummet. When they get "cheap" again, they flock right back to them. US auto execs have complained about their behavior since it makes it difficult to plan production and future products.

I have seen the change in my household. I was looking in to getting two LEAFs, one for My mother Earlier this year and one for me a few months into 2012 once my ICE is Paid off. But with the drop from $4 a gallon to less than $3 it is no longer in my total cost price range.

I was going to pay less for 2 leafs and the energy to run them than I would for my 2006 Monte carlo and the gas to Full it. With the change in Gas Prices she reneged on accepting the LEAFs "limitations."



Hedge

 

[adric22]

ashamed to drive a prius because it is too gay? worried friends might think your have the gay?
homophobia run rampant. I guess this video makes you cringe:

I guess you didn't read the part about me driving a Prius for 8 years? Like I said, I was not personally concerned about it. I'm just saying I hear a lot of people talk and most men in my area are turned off by the Prius because it is perceived as being a car for gays and tree huggers. I just have to wonder how many more sales might have been made if the advertising didn't concentrate on those things so much. I feel like Nissan is following right in their footsteps. If they want to reach a broader market, I think they need to advertise some of the other great features of the car.

 

[TomT]

That's all well and good, but if they truly want to sell hundreds of thousands they are going to have to greatly expand their market beyond just those folks...

Maybe Nissan and others want to market to folks with a conscience and some sensibilities.

 

[thankyouOB]

ashamed to drive a prius because it is too gay? worried friends might think your have the gay?
homophobia run rampant. I guess this video makes you cringe:

I guess you didn't read the part about me driving a Prius for 8 years? Like I said, I was not personally concerned about it. I'm just saying I hear a lot of people talk and most men in my area are turned off by the Prius because it is perceived as being a car for gays and tree huggers. I just have to wonder how many more sales might have been made if the advertising didn't concentrate on those things so much. I feel like Nissan is following right in their footsteps. If they want to reach a broader market, I think they need to advertise some of the other great features of the car.

it is the collective you. if you are liberal enough to absorb the slings and arrows at those who drive a prius, obviously it wasnt directed your way.

 

[thankyouOB]

That's all well and good, but if they truly want to sell hundreds of thousands they are going to have to greatly expand their market beyond just those folks...

Maybe Nissan and others want to market to folks with a conscience and some sensibilities.

honestly, I dont worry about how Nissan markets the car or whether the "Leaf" name is to metrosexual.
they can sell it how they want to sell it.
I love it.
and, my guess is, that like the corvette or a convertible, it is not a car directed at everyman.
it has its niche.
the larger world of EVs and how they invade the market is coming. that tesla and bmw and audi and volvo and rolls and lincoln will tell the tale.

 

[Train]

how sad for you and your perception of your state.
ashamed to drive a prius because it is too gay? worried friends might think your have the gay?
homophobia run rampant. I guess this video makes you cringe:
http://hamptonroads.com/2011/12/first-l" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; ... homecoming
or is it hot because it is two women?

Maybe Nissan and others want to market to folks with a conscience and some sensibilities. Perhaps, they understand that the knuckle draggers are not their primary market and will come to this only when paying for the gas to drive an SUV and pickup truck is at war with paying the rent and buying groceries.

And that strategy, in my opinion, is a loser. You'll only continue to get 1/10 of one percent of the buying market.

Cars are getting more fuel efficient without being a hybrid. Because the article says things that some people don't want to hear, out come the typical comments about how the media "hates" electric cars, blah, blah, blah. The truth hurts. It sounds childish everytime ANY article states the facts of an EV. It DOES have a short range. It DOES take too long to charge for many. It does NOT have the needed infrastructure at this time. It IS priced high.

What do you think's going to happen to sales when reports of the Leaf getting substantially less range and having difficulty heating start to appear? You think that will seal the deal in the cold winter states? Look, I have been saying things like this months ago. It's easy to sell to the congregation. It's a lot tougher sell to the average car buyer. As the article stated, higher price, much more limited range, low fuel prices, and other cars at just over half the price will make it extremely difficult for those other than the converted.

And like it or not, the reputation of certain vehicles is reality. Fair or not. Why do you think the VW Beetle was resdesigned? Because it is a chick car. 70% are sold to women. That's the way it has turned out. You can say "I'm secure in my manhood" all you want. But the fact is, when a car gets a reputation, perception is reality. Adric22 makes very good points. The Prius now carries with it all that flowery baggage.

Nissan is earning a reputation because of these commercials. Will that be good in the long run? Time will tell. But I don't think it's a good strategy. I think it looks like Sesame Street. It will further cement the EV (at least this particular EV) as a fringe car for fringe people. And you can say that the Prius is now a good seller after ten years despite the advertisments. I would say that you they would have sold a lot more Priuses if not for the silly, if not downright weird commercials that have turned the car into the equivilent of a metrosexual. That's the perception.

 

[tps]

It's easy to sell to the congregation. It's a lot tougher sell to the average car buyer.

So, why are we "in the congregation"? For me, the LEAF was somewhat interesting, enough so to get me to put down a $99 deposit back in 2010. But what really put my interest into high gear was actually driving one. First for 5 minutes in March at the National Harbor (DC) Drive Electric event, then 2 weeks later for about 50 miles in the NYC Hertz rental LEAF, and then for 275 miles in July. After that I was totally hooked. I think Nissan knows the way to get people to buy the LEAF is to drive it, they just need the production to support demo drives at dealers. I would still be on the fence if I'd never driven a LEAF. As it now stands, I'm looking forward to my own LEAF arriving at the Nissan dealer next month.

 

[thankyouOB]

i appreciate your thoughtful input. More to the point and more interesting would be answers to these questions by you dont-market-to-the-fem-and-homo crowd:
Do you like your Leaf?
Do you tell people about it?
Do you think it is a good purchase?
Would you buy it again?

As I have said here before, marketing and sales analysis without surveys and by people who are targets, rather than targeters, is just one-man's opinion.
This site is even MORE niche than the group of folks who actually buy Leafs.
Think about that when you consider what the car marketers are doing.

 

[Nekota]

Just put a "I Like Nukes" bumper sticker on - then everybody will hate you.

 

[jkirkebo]

And that strategy, in my opinion, is a loser. You'll only continue to get 1/10 of one percent of the buying market.

Sounds low. EVs account for over 2% of cars sold in Norway this year. Most of them are iMiEVs and there would have been a lot more if the Leaf had been available before November. Next year I will be surprised if the Leaf does not take at least a 1% market share over here.

BTW; the Prius is seen as a somewhat older peoples car over here, like most other Toyotas.

 

[Smidge204]

That's all well and good, but if they truly want to sell hundreds of thousands they are going to have to greatly expand their market beyond just those folks...

This seems pertinent, Re: Marketing;

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OJzeGL_5V5k[/youtube]

=Smidge=

 

[DaveinOlyWA]

Costco Gas is down to $3.219 from $3.67 in early Nov. that will kill about 15% of EV sales as people see their gas bill dropping from $400 to $250 thinking they can afford to pay for gas not realizing that gas prices almost always drop in Winter due in part to lower demand and (i suspect) to lighten the load for people who need to pay for fuel oil to keep warm

 

[Herm]

This seems pertinent, Re: Marketing;

Very good point..

 

[TonyWilliams]

I'm just saying I hear a lot of people talk and most men in my area are turned off by the Prius because it is perceived as being a car for gays and tree huggers.

And people who drive duallies will see LEAFs all over the road, out of electricity, and laugh.

You know, I grew up on central Montana, and I don't think folks are quite this extreme in knuckle dragging. Although, very few are going to buy a LEAF, mostly because towns are further apart than the range of the LEAF.

 

[CWO4Mann]

You also have to wonder if somebody bribes these people to write stories like that.

No just plain old lazy reporting and blinders.

I don't know. With all the money and power at stake in the oil industry, I'm willing to throw on the tin foil cap here. It seems like all the stories are all the same, so while lazy reporting might be to blame (or citogenesis: http://xkcd.com/978/), it makes me wonder if these reporters are being fed stats and story ideas from those in the oil industry.

If I adjust the cap to just the right angle, I even wonder about the current stability of gas prices being an attempt to squash the EV industry before it gains a foothold, maybe not from the oil producers themselves, but possibly even the countless speculators between the oil fields and the gas pumps. I mean there was a brief TV news clip about how gas prices are dropping just in time for the holiday travel season, and the reason they gave, somehow saying it with a straight face, was because of uncertainties in the European economy :shock: :shock: :shock: When was the last time you recall that gas prices didn't edge up a week or two before busy holiday travel times, and why on earth would they go down given economic uncertainties? They seem to use ANY excuse to raise prices normally!

No Tinfoil Hat needed here, IMHO. There are wheels within wheels which turn inside our unfortunately benighted Republic. The un-official un-elected wizards of oz folks and their sockpuppets who are "elected" of all categories are more powerful than anyone realizes. When you are talking about billions of dollars, the gloves come off and skulduggery is the norm. Sure, you can refer all the way back to the 1930-era stories that "Henry Ford killed the steam engine auto" and see the same thread: paranoia about who controls our daily lives. If you want to make an example, then we bought the Leaf because it gives us more control over our lives.

Regards,

Dave

 

[CWO4Mann]

Just put a "I Like Nukes" bumper sticker on - then everybody will hate you.

Awesome! Where do I get one of those? I am planning a line of bumper stickers across the rear of my Leaf: Impeach Earl Warren; NRA Life Member; Happiness is a 30mm Chain Gun; .... etc.

OTOH, no stickers at all perhaps.



Dave

 

[Nekota]

Just put a "I Like Nukes" bumper sticker on - then everybody will hate you.

Awesome! Where do I get one of those? I am planning a line of bumper stickers across the rear of my Leaf: Impeach Earl Warren; NRA Life Member; Happiness is a 30mm Chain Gun; .... etc.

OTOH, no stickers at all perhaps.



Dave

Vistaprint.com will make any bumper sticker and they have edit capability so you can enter Nukes to the I 'HEART' Nukes. Now that I know custom ones can be made, I have a design in mind based on a button from the 70's...