Here’s why: Car sales are predictable.
Think of how many Civics/Mazda3s/Corollas you see on the road on a daily basis, then consider that collectively those three makes made up for 15,000 of the cars sold across Canada in the first two months of 2013.*
So 15,000 more of those particular models took to the streets in just two months across this great nation; no wonder I can tell you what car you own without you telling me a thing. I’m not psychic. I just pay attention to my surroundings.
Car sales are predictable because the people who buy certain makes/models are always the same. Sure, call it stereotyping, but you know I’m right. Let’s look at a few examples.
If you were a 20-something recent university grad who’d just bought your first car (and you were a girl), I’d guess Mazda3, either white or blue. My second choice would be a Honda Civic if the Mazda was wrong (but I doubt it). Live out West; particularly in the Prairies? I’m gonna say you purchased one of the 14,000 Ford F-150s sold in the first two months of 2013. Yes, that many. Have a growing family or three or more children? You own a Grand Caravan (of which 6,000 were sold already). Early to mid-30s, in the business world, just recently married, middle class? You own one of the 4,000 VW Jettas sold.
It’s really not a hard game to play. Just because I’m in the industry doesn’t make me any more of an expert. Car sales have become predictable because we the public have let them get that way. We’re easy to manipulate, easy to control; and the automakers know that.
That’s why 6,000 Corolla/Matrixes were sold even though they’ve seen very little change over the years, and why 3,000 RAV4s left the lot, even though the 2013 just became available.
Have we become too predictable? Or are manufacturers clearly offering too many choices seeing as we always go for the same thing anyways? With Acura showing sales in the single digits for the ZDX (only 8 sold across Canada in January and February combined), it makes you wonder why they even sell it to begin with.
Like going out for dinner and always ordering the penne Romanoff (no matter what restaurant you go to), it seems a little bland and boring, no?
In the first two months of 2013, across Canada, 198,786 cars/trucks drove off dealer lots (and interesting to note that of that total approx. 85,000 were cars and over 113,000 were trucks). That’s a lot of vehicles, yet not a lot of variety.
On the one hand, I offer my kudos to manufacturers for continuing their sale trends and keeping their customers. On the other I wonder if Canadians need a bit of a shakeup (from the likes of EVs, more microminis, something other than a crossover, manual-only models, etc.) so we can start thinking outside the Mazda3-shaped box (particularly in Quebec)…
*Car sales stats from Automotive News Data Center and Association of International Automobile Manufacturers of Canada
Think of how many Civics/Mazda3s/Corollas you see on the road on a daily basis, then consider that collectively those three makes made up for 15,000 of the cars sold across Canada in the first two months of 2013.*
So 15,000 more of those particular models took to the streets in just two months across this great nation; no wonder I can tell you what car you own without you telling me a thing. I’m not psychic. I just pay attention to my surroundings.
Car sales are predictable because the people who buy certain makes/models are always the same. Sure, call it stereotyping, but you know I’m right. Let’s look at a few examples.
If you were a 20-something recent university grad who’d just bought your first car (and you were a girl), I’d guess Mazda3, either white or blue. My second choice would be a Honda Civic if the Mazda was wrong (but I doubt it). Live out West; particularly in the Prairies? I’m gonna say you purchased one of the 14,000 Ford F-150s sold in the first two months of 2013. Yes, that many. Have a growing family or three or more children? You own a Grand Caravan (of which 6,000 were sold already). Early to mid-30s, in the business world, just recently married, middle class? You own one of the 4,000 VW Jettas sold.
It’s really not a hard game to play. Just because I’m in the industry doesn’t make me any more of an expert. Car sales have become predictable because we the public have let them get that way. We’re easy to manipulate, easy to control; and the automakers know that.
That’s why 6,000 Corolla/Matrixes were sold even though they’ve seen very little change over the years, and why 3,000 RAV4s left the lot, even though the 2013 just became available.
Have we become too predictable? Or are manufacturers clearly offering too many choices seeing as we always go for the same thing anyways? With Acura showing sales in the single digits for the ZDX (only 8 sold across Canada in January and February combined), it makes you wonder why they even sell it to begin with.
Like going out for dinner and always ordering the penne Romanoff (no matter what restaurant you go to), it seems a little bland and boring, no?
In the first two months of 2013, across Canada, 198,786 cars/trucks drove off dealer lots (and interesting to note that of that total approx. 85,000 were cars and over 113,000 were trucks). That’s a lot of vehicles, yet not a lot of variety.
On the one hand, I offer my kudos to manufacturers for continuing their sale trends and keeping their customers. On the other I wonder if Canadians need a bit of a shakeup (from the likes of EVs, more microminis, something other than a crossover, manual-only models, etc.) so we can start thinking outside the Mazda3-shaped box (particularly in Quebec)…
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| 2012 Mazda3 GS (Photo: Marie-Andrée Ayotte) |
*Car sales stats from Automotive News Data Center and Association of International Automobile Manufacturers of Canada