Sorry I have been absent so long.

So what does the past three personal observations say about the automotive industry? In my opinion, both nothing and everything.

Over at the forum section of Automotive.com (www.automotive.com), member automotivejtm pointed out that people will compare vehicles dependent on their past experience. If what I’ve observed around me indicates folks buying habits, then people have been buying foreign brands for quite some time and are satisfied with them. The family that buys only Hyundai’s are an excellent example.

The opposite to automotivejtm’s post applies as well. Brands that people have no experience or, worse, had a negative experience, will influence people as well. The domestic manufacturers, Ford and General Motors, know this point too well: 20-30 years of bad product, publicity, and reputation continue to hound them even. I believe that’s why, for example, GM is abandoning brand names such as the Buick LeSabre and Park Avenue and replacing it with the unknown Lucerne. While some folks–including many in the auto press–decry the move, saying GM should just improve the product like Toyota did with the Camry, GM must realized that the name has been soiled too long.

Personal observation is dangerous because it only reflects those areas visited. I had a co-worker who came from the Midwest. There, he said, the Pontiac Aztek, considered one of the least attractive vehicles in history, were was common as Honda CR-Vs and Toyota RAV4s are common in SoCal. On a nationwide level, though, my observation proves to be true. On the other extreme, BMW and Mercedes-Benz are not very common in the central and eastern regions like in the Golden state. As another co-worker from Michigan who had extensive experience in the east coast pointed out, weather and driving conditions make people reluctant to drive such expensive and unreliable beasts.

My conclusion? When buying a new car, ask yourself what is important to you. Looks? Style? Reliability? People can only tell you so much. Read up on what you’re interested in, test drive, and follow your gut. Today’s vehicles are quite close in quality (well, maybe not the German vehicles). Oh, and get extended warranties if you can afford them. Many experts poo-poo the idea but we’ve always had them on all our vehicles and we’ve used them on both domestic and foreign models. If you can’t get one, locate a garage you can trust.