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I know that Scion employs e-teamers to hype up their cars. It's fairly obvious who the fanboys are, but rarely does the general public think that they're being compensated for their ranting & raving. I heard from a friend who worked on the Honda account at a prominent ad agency that they also do stealth marketing with teamers. I think it's mostly with brands & models that target young adults, since most msg boards are dominated by the under-35 demographic.
I know that Scion employs e-teamers to hype up their cars. It's fairly obvious who the fanboys are, but rarely does the general public think that they're being compensated for their ranting & raving. I heard from a friend who worked on the Honda account at a prominent ad agency that they also do stealth marketing with teamers. I think it's mostly with brands & models that target young adults, since most msg boards are dominated by the under-35 demographic.
Spy-and-deny.
How much money did the likes of Mitsubishi and Nissan lose repairing/replacing broken driveline parts on street cars subjected to irresponsible use on the race track? Warranties are designed to protect consumers from manufacturing defects - not subsidize the cost of damages incurred on the race track.
I didn't even mention race track. In an early case with Mitsu, it was an autocross event - because heaven forbid that driving a performance car that's designed to go 155+mph at like 45mph around some cones in a parking lot would be a blame for the engine's connecting rods to let go. Or that you can't even test what power output is standing still now, because doing a dyno run on a GTR is a reason for voiding the powertrain warranty.
It's understandable for manufacturers to void warranties in which folks were pushing the car beyond what it was designed to do. Modified ... sure, I chipped it, changed the injectors, doubled the boost, and now the pistons shot out the block ... denying the warranty is very valid. But when you're selling a car based on it's performance, but then effectively say that the car's warranty can still get denied even if the car is operated within its performance limits ... well, there's a good reason why folks are NOT buying their cars.
It's hard to put a number on lost sales, but such actions certainly have swayed folks to other makers instead. For a while, Subaru was providing SCCA memberships for the WRXs, effectively saying "go ahead and race; our cars can take it."
Good luck with that. If my experience with my last two purchases are any indication it's not happening.
Note I didn't say the conversation between dealerships and customers.
If the manufacturers are part of the conversation with the customers, when a dealership provides a less than stellar (being optimistic) experience, the customer can go right to the manufacturer, who has the power to motivate the dealership to make things right. Or maybe the dealer will know the manufacturer is actively involved with the customers and either participate himself?
At least, that's the vision, anyway.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Narfcake
In an early case with Mitsu, it was an autocross event - because heaven forbid that driving a performance car that's designed to go 155+mph at like 45mph around some cones in a parking lot would be a blame for the engine's connecting rods to let go. Or that you can't even test what power output is standing still now, because doing a dyno run on a GTR is a reason for voiding the powertrain warranty.
I think that's the disconnect, though. Just because a car can do 155+mph doesn't mean it's designed to do that. The mechanical stress involved in competition - that is, any operation on a closed road or track - are well beyond those the car was designed to endure on public roads. Production vehicles are a compromise between all those aspects of design that make a vehicle desirable - performance, economy, comfort, and cost.
Think about every *real* race car you've ever seen. How many of them have stock engines, transmissions, suspension, brakes, tires, or even interiors? If the original platforms had be designed to be raced, they would have been designed like this from the factory.
AutoX is supposed to be safe for anyone to do. That's the official line, anyway, but how many autoxers show up with a fully caged beast on a trailer? Who hasn't seen that classic clip of the black RX-7 entering the first corner, then losing all four wheels?
Let's be honest. Racing - at any level - is fun because we're pushing the limits of man and machine. OE limits are set with public roads, speeds, and performance in mind. Do I believe Mitsubishi and Nissan have denied some legitimate claims in the process - yes - but I also believe there are plenty of others, people who weren't innocently tootling around some cones in a parking lot as much as they profess they were, who took advantage of them.
Same goes for Nissan and the $90K GTR gearboxes. Are there bugs needing resolved? Probably, but how many clueless choads with fat bank accounts ran right out and bought one so they could trigger the two-step at traffic lights or in parking lots showing off technology they don't even remotely understand, their mouths writing checks they can't cash?
There is certainly a problem of communication between brands and the customers who are most passionate and vocal about them, but the responsibility for bridging that gap doesn't lay solely on the shoulders of the manufacturers. As a gearhead, I feel we should be reaching out to the manufacturers, and moreso than asking for freebies or complaining about everything that we've disagreed with.
Consumers do just that - they consume.
Partner, on the other hand - they help out.
If the Mitsubishi owner community at large had been more engaged with Mitsubishi as a manufacturer - had there been a more established partnership in place - there might have been less sweeping warranty denial and more community policing to ensure those with legitimate warranty claims were taken care of, had a better experience - as a customer and as a community member - and we'd all get like a week of free lap time on the 'Ring, breaking records every day!
Disclaimer: This is a topic about which I am *very* passionate, so forgive my longwindedness. Go fast with class.
Note I didn't say the conversation between dealerships and customers.
If the manufacturers are part of the conversation with the customers, when a dealership provides a less than stellar (being optimistic) experience, the customer can go right to the manufacturer, who has the power to motivate the dealership to make things right. Or maybe the dealer will know the manufacturer is actively involved with the customers and either participate himself?
At least, that's the vision, anyway.
I think that's the disconnect, though. Just because a car can do 155+mph doesn't mean it's designed to do that. The mechanical stress involved in competition - that is, any operation on a closed road or track - are well beyond those the car was designed to endure on public roads. Production vehicles are a compromise between all those aspects of design that make a vehicle desirable - performance, economy, comfort, and cost.
Think about every *real* race car you've ever seen. How many of them have stock engines, transmissions, suspension, brakes, tires, or even interiors? If the original platforms had be designed to be raced, they would have been designed like this from the factory.
AutoX is supposed to be safe for anyone to do. That's the official line, anyway, but how many autoxers show up with a fully caged beast on a trailer? Who hasn't seen that classic clip of the black RX-7 entering the first corner, then losing all four wheels?
Let's be honest. Racing - at any level - is fun because we're pushing the limits of man and machine. OE limits are set with public roads, speeds, and performance in mind. Do I believe Mitsubishi and Nissan have denied some legitimate claims in the process - yes - but I also believe there are plenty of others, people who weren't innocently tootling around some cones in a parking lot as much as they profess they were, who took advantage of them.
Same goes for Nissan and the $90K GTR gearboxes. Are there bugs needing resolved? Probably, but how many clueless choads with fat bank accounts ran right out and bought one so they could trigger the two-step at traffic lights or in parking lots showing off technology they don't even remotely understand, their mouths writing checks they can't cash?
There is certainly a problem of communication between brands and the customers who are most passionate and vocal about them, but the responsibility for bridging that gap doesn't lay solely on the shoulders of the manufacturers. As a gearhead, I feel we should be reaching out to the manufacturers, and moreso than asking for freebies or complaining about everything that we've disagreed with.
Consumers do just that - they consume.
Partner, on the other hand - they help out.
If the Mitsubishi owner community at large had been more engaged with Mitsubishi as a manufacturer - had there been a more established partnership in place - there might have been less sweeping warranty denial and more community policing to ensure those with legitimate warranty claims were taken care of, had a better experience - as a customer and as a community member - and we'd all get like a week of free lap time on the 'Ring, breaking records every day!
Disclaimer: This is a topic about which I am *very* passionate, so forgive my longwindedness. Go fast with class.
None of that matters since there is competition to Mitsu and Nissan that don't have those absurd stipulations.
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