"America's Love Affair with Cars" Not Over, Just Evolving

SAN DIEGO--“When you examine over 57,000 new car buyers with an instrument that reveals an indelible understanding of the full emotional response to buyer’s experiences and decisions with new car purchases, it becomes clear where America’s love affair and need for cars is headed,” says Alexander Edwards, Strategic Vision President of Automotive. Sales declined for everyone and among existing sales there were shifts that are not yet settled. For example, the Most Delightful® vehicles delivered good fuel economy, but good fuel economy did not deliver the Most Delightful® vehicles. Environmental awareness is up and fuel efficiency is important, but it is only part of the equation that will equal future sales and commitment. “There’s an evolution and you must use a scale like the Edwards Delight Scale® that is sensitive to the emotional response(s) and predicts the creation of buyer commitment and loyalty which ultimately translated into sales among today’s more informed and careful buyers,” says Christopher Chaney, Strategic Vision Director of Research.

GM was the only domestic brand with Most Delightful® segment leaders. Notably was the Pontiac G6 Coupe and Saturn Outlook*, the Most Delightful® Mid-Specialty Coupe and Mid-Size Crossover vehicles respectively. GM was only behind Toyota with the Most Delightful® segment leaders that also included Chevrolet Avalanche and GMC Sierra 2500/3500. The highly competitive Small Car segment was lead by Mazda3*, packaged with styling, innovation and value, and continues to demonstrate what manufacturers must deliver for future buyers—a more complete Delightful® experience. Kia continues making positive impressions with segment Delight® leader Amanti—who’s thoughtful engineering, alluring design cues, and performance/fuel efficiency are beginning to become hallmarks to this brand and more of their products.

“With customers challenged by an unsure economy, fluctuating gas prices, and environmental concerns, you cannot expect simple satisfaction and good MPG alone to turn shoppers into buyers,” says Darrel Edwards, Ph.D. CEO and Founder of StrategicVision Worldwide. “We will increasingly learn that Delight—a catch-word that has been espoused by thought-leaders for over a decade—will be required if you are to be a leader. It is now essential that we be able to measure what you must deliver in order to be perceived as being Delightful. So far, Strategic Vision’s Delight & Opportunity (DAO)® analyses stand alone in defining what creates leverage and what gaps are actually important to close. For too long, the industry has been asked to chase ‘empty gaps’ which provide you no advantage after you spend your time and money trying to close those gaps.”

Honda, in particular, continues its well-balanced approach with Delightful vehicles, as owners find innovation, fuel efficiency, value, and reliability in such vehicles as the CR-V, Odyssey* and Ridgeline*. The Ridgeline has been the Most Delightful® Standard Pickup four years in a row. In the competitive Mid-Size Car segment, the Volvo S40 was the leader. Volvo S40 was judged to deliver solid construction and reliability, leading over VW Jetta, Nissan Altima, and Chevrolet Malibu. Reliability, Brand Image, and other Delightful attributes that support one’s sense of Security continue to be the foundation for being a leader. Toyota Corporation continues to provide these foundational characteristics with Yaris Hatchback, FJ Cruiser, and 4Runner. The only hybrid to lead a segment was Lexus RX 400H. Along with the IS 250/350, Lexus continues establishment of leading comfort and engineering quality among luxury car buyers.

Volkswagen GTI did exceptionally well to lead the popular Specialty Coupe segment. In the convertible segment, MINI Cooper continues its four-year leadership with superior styling, handling, and maneuverability as well as the ever-so-important “value for the money.” Among Luxury vehicles, Mercedes CLS and SL-Class were leaders, with Audi Q7 being the Most Delightful® Luxury SUV—a segment that has become increasingly more competitive over the last four years. Audi Q7 had one of the strongest Delight scores in the industry, exhibiting strong innovation, thoughtful engineering, and many Delightful styling cues.

As manufacturers make decisions about product and strategy, it is essential that they understand how today’s (and their near future) buyers are influenced when spending hard-earned dollars and making long-term financial commitments. Shoppers are carefully distinguishing between what they need and what they want, and what may not be worth the extra dollars. With the Most Delightful® vehicles owners report that their foundational needs can be met while their more optional desires do not have to be sacrificed. Delight® identifies the most important optional desires. Future shoppers/buyers will have a general unwillingness to “sacrifice” attributes to buy a new car. Building a sense of Security, as the foundation of any ownership experience, buyers are redefining the landscape. They will redefine the attributes and messages that influence their rating vehicles as Most Delightful®.

Buyers rated the following vehicles leaders in Customer Delight® (CDI®) in their segments:
Small Car		Mazda Mazda3*		557
Small Multi-Function		Toyota Yaris Hatchback		579
Medium Car		Volvo S40		602
Medium Multi-Function		Volkswagen Passat Wagon		464
Large Car		Kia Amanti		651
Near-Luxury Car		Lexus IS 250/350		711
Luxury Car		Mercedes CLS		786
Luxury Multi-Function		Mercedes R-Class Wagon		647
Specialty Coupe		Volkswagen GTI		652
Premium Coupe		BMW 3-Series Coupe		704
Mid-Specialty Car		Pontiac G6 Coupe		593
Convertible		MINI Cooper Convertible*		621
Premium Convertible/Roadster		Mercedes SL-Class*		743
Minivan		Honda Odyssey*		643
Small SUV		Honda CR-V / Toyota FJ Cruiser (tie)**		526 / 525
Medium SUV		Toyota 4Runner*		614
Medium Crossover		Saturn Outlook*		587
Large SUV		Nissan Armada		626
Near Luxury SUV		Lexus RX 400H*		656
Luxury SUV		Audi Q7		725
Standard Pickup		Honda Ridgeline*		507
Full-Size Pickup		Chevrolet Avalanche*		575
Heavy Duty Pickup		GMC Sierra 2500/3500		455
*2007 Customer Delight Award™ winners / **Differences of 1-2 points are not statistically significant.

Strategic Vision is part of StrategicVision Worldwide, a research-based consultancy with 35 years of experience understanding constituents’ decision-making systems for a variety of clients, including most automotive manufacturers as well as over a dozen advertising agencies, American Airlines, AstraZeneca, Coca-Cola, Credit Suisse, Denver Children’s Hospital, Ernst & Young, General Foods, Glaxo-Wellcome, M&M Mars, Nestle Foods, Presidents and Prime Ministers worldwide, Price-Waterhouse, Procter & Gamble, Quaker Foods, Schering-Plough, Turner Broadcasting, and The Vatican. Its unique expertise is in identifying individuals’, groups’ and societies’ comprehensive motivational systems, including the descriptive attributes, personal consequences associated with experiences, the values and emotions that establish priorities and set motivation, and the deep-seated personal images that reveal meaning—all of which shape decisions. The ValueCentered® psychology and research methods were created by Dr. Darrel Edwards, Ph.D. starting in 1968. Strategic Vision was established in 1972 and incorporated in 1989.

For further information, contact Alexander Edwards, President Automotive or Darrel Edwards, Ph.D., CEO and Founder at (858) 576-7141; or visit www.strategicvision.com.