Work Project
 

I have an interesting project here at work that could use your input:

How would you like to "experience" a car before you bought it? I mean, outside the normal "test drive," what would create interest in a particular automobile? A "virtual" experience, such as a simulator or online virtual situation? A "tactile" experience?

What experiences have other auto manufacturers offered that have impressed you?

What experience would you LIKE to have (apart from just being handed the keys and told "it's yours":rolleyes: ).

For once, this is a serious research vehicle, so try (as if :D) to be serious. :D

Thank you for your help.

I've seen plenty of 'virtual showroom' things online - 360 views of the car, inside and out. But I think you hit the nail on the head already - nothing beats a 'tactile' experience. I don't even mind that I don't drive some cars. Sitting in some of them is enough to make me want them. Some cars just have a 'thick, well-built' feel to them. And it's also in the smells and sounds. Dull, quiet thuds are much better than hollow knocks and clunks.

But while that may work for some models which are built to impress the user, it won't for a utility or economy vehicle. In that case, I think you need some sort of demonstration of the vehicle's capabilities - be they cargo capacity or offroad grunt.

In other words, a Subaru Legacy wagon may not impress me, but if I'm looking for cargo capacity, and you tell me I can stack 24 7-year-old children in the back, maybe I'll take notice.

Likewise, I may not consider a Chevy Trailblazer for offroad use, but if you tell me it can crest a pile of children three high, my interest may be piqued.

So, in the end, I think it depends on the car and what people might want to do with it. American car marketing - and even manufacturing - is overly gimmicky. Tell me what it's good for and how well it does it instead of comparing lists of stupid features.

And give it to me in numbers of children. :p

I'm going to edit this one for like the fourth time, but this time I'm going to add something instead of wavering on how offensive I think the children-as-units-of-measurement might be. :D

The Mazda Rev-it-up thing looked really cool, and I talked to a couple friends who did it. That seemed like a good example of a car company marketing vehicles to a selected audience based on what they'd do with the car.

nothing can replace the feel, sounds, and smell of a real car, but i do like Subaru's site where you can check out the different colors and add up the options, etc.
i saw a cool WRX page on the JDM Subaru website where you could actually put different factory aero kits on the car and rotate it 360 degrees to check it out. :D

I always wonder how much advertising sells cars. I don't think I've ever been swayed by anything offered besides cash back or low interest rates. Still it must work for some buyers or they wouldn't do it (?).

The best none-touch & feel deal I remember was Oldsmobile offered a free CD-ROM that had a virtual walk-thru of their vehicles as well as a national road map software program (for PCs, don't know if there was a Mac version). Never bought an Oldsmobile, but used the map program for a couple of years.

Online, Toyota not only lets you see the vehicle plus the installed options list for every car on every lot, but also lets you know what's arriving on which lot in the next 30 days. I picked my wife's 4Runner out of a shipment that was enroute from Japan.

If it was a performance car I think I could get behind a video, VHS/CD/DVD - whichever is cheapest, of a lap or two of a road course by a professional driver with some feedback on how to enter corners etc for the specific car (with understeer, oversteer, whatever). For something like the WRX it would be neat to have a factory rally car driver use an off-the-shelf car and do a pavement/gravel/snow routine.

If it was a high volume sales car, it might be interesting if a random number generator picked out a car that you got for free - wouldn't know until you signed on the dotted line (cut out the deadbeats like me), then after a mouse click online, the sales/finance manager just ripped up the paperwork & gave you the title & keys.

In my business I have to build machines to customer requirements. I want to be able to give a car dealer a specification and I want garantees on everything or they have to pay everytime I take it back to the dealer. Yeah I know it's not what your looking for. I want performance spec's, oil consumption, gas mileage, noise level, tire wear (haha), engine vibration to name a few.

I agree with Landshark's comments re: the Subaru site. Still, nothing compares with actually sitting in a vehicle and driving it around a test track that contains short sections of various road conditions.
-Bill

Maybe its just the gamer in me coming out, but a simulator (i.e. really cool video game) of the car would be awesome (if for a sporty car). Something like a top speed demonstration, or a 0-60 demonstration, something you wouldn't want them to try out in the REAL car. I know one car company (I forget who) is giving out a version of Gran Turismo with just the promotional car in it.

...or you could always just have people live in the car and the last one to leave gets it free.

Randy,

When Rosie and I were looking for high end family sedans back in '93 we could take the cars on unsupervised extended test drives for 2-3 days. This was the best experience, because after you wring a car out to see what it will do, it's the little things in the interior that please or irk you, and you have live with these for the life of the car.
Based on those 'test drives', we bought a 94 Chrysler LHS sedan.
The only stupid design flaw was that they put the 6-CD changer in the front end of the trunk right behind the rear seat. I had to climb into the trunk to change out the CD's.

A foxy girl in a school girl outfit bending into the interior and pointing out all the features would certainly help the 'experience'.

:)

- Rob

I declare Rob the winner.

Larry

Do you have a picture of you doing that? :D

OK Michael Jackson, Jr. :D

A car is so detailed. The placement of the radio controls, the feel of the seat, how easy it is to eat a cheeseburger, talk on the phone and write down a note while steering with your knee (just kidding, don't try that). You really need to drive it for a few days like Larry said. Its really hard to be captured by an ad unless it has a hot woman in it.

I would like to take a car home for a day and make the decision without the hassel and the pressure of a salesman. Test driving is kind of silly when all you get to do is sit in the car with a chatty salesperson and drive 2 blocks... I don't really know if a simulator concept would do it for me...Interesting thread!

Speaking of Michael Jackson...Here's a disgusting joke!:D

What did the man at the beach say to Michael Jackson???....
.........
.........
........

"Get out of my sun (son)!":D :D :D :eek:

Earl,

You are one sick pup. I love it.

Larry III

Well Guys here is a females point of view.....
I like sights & sounds that grab my attention enough to make me feel like I HAVE to get that tactile experience. After that then I look at how many big dogs, kids,coolers etc. fit. Comfort & practical...Hubbys '98 Outback, fast & fun...my SVX. Some women want it all :D ! A post on the musle car thread on this site from arondale about a site he did for his dads car makes me want to grab the keys and drive drive drive! Check out the flash version at http://www.badbenz.com its so fast I want more + I can check specs, pics as I want. Nice job arondale !