Consumers take patriotism to heart, showroom

[nadepalma]

SOURCE: http://www.detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll...701030350/1148

Consumers take patriotism to heart, showroom
But Detroit Three still losing sales at home
Christine Tierney / The Detroit News


"We need a healthy auto industry. There's a plant not too far north of me, in Plymouth, that's closing. You want to do what you can," says Bert Mangrum, a retired Air Force sergeant who lives in Canton. He drives a 1998 Ford Contour and has owned American cars for most of his life.



"There probably are some higher-quality vehicles around that aren't made in America, but I'd rather (have) a union-built, American car for my next vehicle. I've been union all my life," says Jim Cunningham, a retired telecommunications worker from Philadelphia who's looking to replace his 1987 Dodge D250.


One in 10 customers rule out Asian brands because they want to support American manufacturers. General Motors is tapping into that sentiment with patriotic ads for Chevrolet and GMC pickups.

Watching Detroit's automakers wage a losing battle against their Japanese rivals, many American consumers say it's more important than ever to buy U.S. cars to support the domestic brands.

"We need a healthy auto industry," says Bert Mangrum, a retired Air Force sergeant who lives in Canton and has owned American cars for most of his life. "There's a plant not too far north of me, in Plymouth, that's closing. You want to do what you can."

Nearly a fifth of the prospective vehicle shoppers polled by J.D. Power and Associates in an exclusive survey for The Detroit News said they would not consider Asian brands -- and most cited the foreign origin of those brands as the primary reason.

Yet U.S. automakers are steadily losing customers in their home market -- and there's no sign that the sympathy elicited by their troubles, the improving quality of their vehicles, or other factors are halting that trend.

In the first 11 months of 2006, the domestic brands' share of the U.S. market shrank to 53.9 percent from 57.1 percent for the year-earlier period, according to Autodata Corp.

The underlying trends are also ominous: The Detroit News survey by J.D. Power and other studies show that foreign-based automakers are attracting wealthier, younger and better-educated American buyers.

Eighteen percent of the prospective buyers surveyed rule out U.S. brands, and a similar proportion -- 17 percent -- avoid Asian brands, according to the News study.

The impact of the Detroit automakers' highly publicized struggle seems to be double-edged. A fourth of the consumers who avoid U.S. brands mentioned Detroit's difficulties as a factor, according to the survey. Meanwhile, one in 10 of the customers who rule out Asian brands indicated they wanted to support the struggling American manufacturers.

General Motors Corp. is tapping into that sentiment with patriotically themed slogans such as "Our Country, Our Truck" in ads for its new Chevrolet Silverado and GMC Sierra pickups.

Asian automakers, particularly the Japanese, are downplaying their foreign origins by stressing their U.S. investments and growing manufacturing presence, a strategy supported by The News' survey. Forty-three percent of Asian brand avoiders indicated they want vehicles built in the United States.

"They are looking at the same data we are," said Mark LaNeve, GM's head of North American sales. "Our biggest weakness is the perception of our quality and reliability. Theirs is that they are not American. You accentuate your strengths, neutralize weaknesses."

No one is watching more closely for shifts in consumer sentiment than Toyota Motor Corp., Japan's largest and richest automaker. It registered the biggest U.S. market share gains last year.

Toyota's top U.S. executive says the company hasn't seen a change in the number of consumers avoiding American or Asian brands because of Detroit's difficulties. "On either side of the aisle, those events are evidence that you're right and reinforce the way you feel," said Jim Press, president of Toyota Motor North America.

The divisions are blurring, however, as Asian automakers build more vehicles in North America and U.S. automakers shift production abroad.

Jim Cunningham, 59, a retired telecommunications worker from Philadelphia, is thinking about replacing his 1987 Dodge D250 pickup. He wants to buy an American vehicle, "but I'm going to have to do a lot of research because so many parts and vehicles are imported. I'm not looking forward to buying a new vehicle. That's why I've kept this one so long."

Cunningham is aware of studies showing that some Asian brands win the top quality scores.

"Life is a lot of trade-offs," he said. "There probably are some higher-quality vehicles around that aren't made in America, but I'd rather (have) a union-built, American car for my next vehicle. I've been union all my life. I'd like to keep more union jobs."

While the Asians are creating jobs by building factories, their operations are mostly nonunion.

When St. Louis, Mo., consumer research firm Maritz Inc. surveyed buyers in May for its new vehicle customer study, "what we found nationally is actually a lessening anti-Asian sentiment," said David Ensing, director of automotive research at Maritz.

The percentage of people who would only consider American brands fell to 16.9 percent from 19.6 percent a year earlier.

In the Midwest, however, anti-Asian sentiment has hardened. There, the proportion of people who would consider buying only an American vehicle rose to 29.9 percent from 26.3 percent a year earlier, according to Maritz.



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[Smashing1]

Interesting article. Kind of blows a hole in the whole "the U.S. is against buying American" mentality some people on this board have.

[nadepalma]

I know I for one kinda fit into this category. I've said before on GMI that I prefer GM vehicles, but would buy domestic before looking for an import branded vehicle. I honestly don't know if I would buy an import vehicle (aside from those owned by US companies like Saab or Volvo), unless it was something I really desired. And since I have a soft spot for Italian cars, unless Lancia or Alfa Romeo comes to the States with an affordable car, it's very very unlikely I will anytime soon.

But getting back to the point, I drive myself nuts on this sometimes. I've made a big point over the fact that I love to drive stick and that GM doens't make a mid-sizer with a stick. So I have to look elsewhere. I can certainly look to the Accord or the Altima, but I'd prefer to buy something American branded in which the profits will go to fill the coffers in Detroit rather than in Toyko. As such I'm left with only the Milan or the Fusion to choose from (this is an old story for me and I've belabored it to no end, but am just making the point for this thead).

So where else do I turn?

Die hards like me can go crazy on something like this, but there is a certain personality or mentality to it -- and it has to do more than just blind patriotism. I believe that Detroit can make good products (and has proven so), but just like any other thing that's "American" there is a perception gap in it all. Just like if you were to take anything that is "American" you see it as ho-hum. But as soon as you say it's "European" it's chic and cutting-edge. Same goes for things that come from Japan -- it is no longer cheap, but certainly "high tech", etc.

But I wonder if there isn't some kind of mechanism in this for people overall.

Here's a poor example of this. I went to Rutgers University as an undergrad. I did well. But when you talk to people in Jersey, they think, "Ah, you didn't do anything -- you went to Rutgers -- couldn't get in anywhere else". It's just a mentality; cause if you look at public universities, my school ranks rather well for the education-for-your-money formula. And (very recently) it's also gotten some press b/c of college football, but that's another story. But the point remains -- why do Jerseyans feel like Rutgers is such a crappy school? Do folks who live around Penn State, Syracuse or Arizona State feel the same way?

So why do folks do this? Why do they act this way? It's almost like a "Grass is greener on the other side" type of mind-set no?

With this in mind, do folks in Europe think, "Ah, no way do I want that it's French made!" but also think, "It must be good; it's American!"? I almost wonder....

Just thinking out loud.

[poncho1982]

Count me in the group that would not buy a foriegn car. I have never owned a foriegn make, nor will I ever.

I believe in supporting American industry, rather than have my hard earned money go in the pockets of foriegner.

I drive a Toyota Tacoma as a work vehicle, but thats not by my choice.

[GM-Joe]

Interesting data, what it tells me is that there is a social presence outside of the 30% midwest. I see it everyday and its the same story I heard back in the 80's, but it is more of a demographic problem more than a quality, attractiveness, or reliability problem.

[zabolots]

Younger people/kids don't seem to exhibit this "patriotism" at all. All they want is Toyota/Honda/Nissan.

[j_granlund]

i would prefer to buy an american car,but i guess you can all kill me for looking at buying a porsche 944 as a first car.

[BGH]

Say if that GM car is built in Canada? Such as impala, or silverado. What's your opinion on that?

[VCDJ]

It is good that people are buying cars that are made in U.S.A. but they do not need to be buying Big 3 cars that are made in mexico, it is better to get toyota that is made in USA then chevy that is made in mexico

[VCDJ]

Originally Posted by zabolots

Younger people/kids don't seem to exhibit this "patriotism" at all. All they want is Toyota/Honda/Nissan.

How can anybody how patriotism when GM is making cars in mexicon. Who wants to be patriot to mexico

[WishIhadatruck]

Very interesting information. Someone said it is a demographic problem and that sort of seems like the case. But the root of the problem is why this demographic is "put off" by american cars. Younger, more educated and more affluent people of this country tend to be less likely to want an american car and that is because american cars have a negative perception to them that Ford, GM, and Chrysler earned. Perhaps it is only perception now but they earned it with real junk in the past and it is going to be tough to get past that. My dealer and GM pissed me off so bad a couple of years ago with my '01 Grand Prix that it pushed me over the edge to an extent. Prior to that I would only have bought GM vehicles. If I had to of bought a new car shortly after that experience GM was definitely off my list of options. I've partially gotten over it but I would easily consider other makes now (even imports) although I will never set foot on the property of that dealer again. My preference is still for GM and I cheer them on and hope for the best but there is good reason the domestics have a perception problem, they have it with me too and I own exclusively GM products. Luckily my '94 Grand Prix has been more reliable in the last 100,000 miles than it was in the 1st 100,000 miles. It has been a good car but a blown head gasket at around 90,000 miles was pretty annoying and should not have happened. I still still fear the upper intake manifold issues I could end up with on my '01 GP if I keep the car. I would prefer to drive it for many more years but it seems stupid that there is a well known issue that I've got a good chance of experiencing down the road and GM will be more than willing to let me pay for it.

[darndot]

I don't call it Patriotism. I call Americana. I like having an 04 Chevy Pickup truck in the driveway with a 57 Pickup next to it. It just makes me feel good. It is a way of wanting to linking to the past, and it is something the imports don't have. I would never call someone unpatriotic for buying a import.

[psece]

Originally Posted by BGH

Say if that GM car is built in Canada? Such as impala, or silverado. What's your opinion on that?

The profit is still going to an American Company. Profit is used in many ways by companies. Sometimes they reinvest in the company. Sometimes they give it as gifts to Universities. Sometimes it is used to lobby congress. So you have to ask yourself the question: Do I want to give Toyota profit to reinvest in their company, or Japanese Universities or to lobby our congress so that they turn a blind eye to Japanese Yen manipulation?

[psece]

Originally Posted by VCDJ

It is good that people are buying cars that are made in U.S.A. but they do not need to be buying Big 3 cars that are made in mexico, it is better to get toyota that is made in USA then chevy that is made in mexico

What we really need to look at is where are the parts being made. Are the parts being made in America and being shipped to Mexico? Same with Toyota; Are the parts made in Japan and shipped here to be assembled. If both those statements are true, then I still would rather give the profit to an American car company.

[delmarjohn]

in the late 80's and early 90's I owned a business ....most of my employees were kids in their teens....I asked them if I gave them xxxamount of money what car they would buy...95% of them said a foreign car....the only american car was a ....mustang .......these kids are now in their thirties they are the buyers today ....you cannot sacrifice two decades of buyers and not feel the pain ...GM ....needs to make cars that appeal to the youth .....years ago you aspired to purchase abrand in the future when you grew up....but it not just cars...watches ...video games ..tv's we unforuneatly have been conditioned to feel inferior.....we have ourselves to blame...except for computers we gave up bragging rights on tooooo many fronts....wake up america and realize that building the better mouse trap is still very relevant ....we can only live on our inheritance generation for so long......next week I will be attending CES...the buzz recently at these events usually swirl around foreign manufacturers ,with the exception of computers... all else is foreign