slaughtr said:

---

MouthBQ98 said:

---

Um, no. I'm not an ice fanboy.

I think each drivetrain technology has its place and areas where it is better or worse. I'm talking about branding. I see the EXACT type of people that used to buy lexus, or Mercedes, or bmw, or other performance luxury cars now buying Tesla. It's just a subjective observation based on people I know who have bought a Tesla and what they drive before, and what socioeconomic group they are in.

---

In my life I've owned Datsun (pre-Nissan), Nissan (post Datsun), Subaru, Toyota, Honda, Mazda, Volkswagen, BMW, Mercedes, Audi, Porsche, Lotus, Noble, Ford and now I drive an EV. The idea that you can determine anything about a person's personality for buying a particular car brand is the height of arrogance and stupidity.

---

Except, marketing and sales and consumer study data shows the opposite for most buyers. Most buyers are not purely utilitarian. They are also trying to project an image of their personality or social status or other message. The minivan stigma didn't appear out of nowhere 2 decades ago, for example. Haaay Jeep guy is a meme for a reason. It may not be brand is the key category. It may be vehicle type or category or price range or styling, etc. Tesla just happens to fall in more of a niche than most still, as their vehicles are all fairly similar compared to the total lines of other big manufacturers.

Relatively few people are purely detached from self expression in vehicle choice. I know I'm not. I signal my taste for time tested and reliable and tolerance for some degree of discomfort in life by choosing to drive my fleet of old beaters when I could buy something new if I wanted. It's pragmatic but also a reflection of my beliefs and personality, even if unintentional.

And there's nothing wrong with that. Nothing at all.

Look at vehicle advertising. They are ALL trying to sell on a projection of personality and image. How you feel, how you look. They don't advertise the specifications and how they will fulfill your needs and how they are better than the competition.

I will say my sample might be a bit biased as I work in Austin and see probably an unusual number of Teslas and a higher proportion are probably X and S than usual in this area.

I have some coworkers that drive them.

Quote:

---

Look at vehicle advertising. They are ALL trying to sell on a projection of personality and image.

---

What is Tesla trying to sell in their advertising? What do you think their marketing department tries to project?











This is a trick question by the way.

Teslag said:

---

Quote:

---

Look at vehicle advertising. They are ALL trying to sell on a projection of personality and image.

---

What is Tesla trying to sell in their advertising? What do you think their marketing department tries to project?











This is a trick question by the way.

---

I guess he thinks the advertisers that brought us Dylan Mulvaney know what they are doing, lol.

MouthBQ98 said:

---

slaughtr said:

---

MouthBQ98 said:

---

Um, no. I'm not an ice fanboy.

I think each drivetrain technology has its place and areas where it is better or worse. I'm talking about branding. I see the EXACT type of people that used to buy lexus, or Mercedes, or bmw, or other performance luxury cars now buying Tesla. It's just a subjective observation based on people I know who have bought a Tesla and what they drive before, and what socioeconomic group they are in.

---

In my life I've owned Datsun (pre-Nissan), Nissan (post Datsun), Subaru, Toyota, Honda, Mazda, Volkswagen, BMW, Mercedes, Audi, Porsche, Lotus, Noble, Ford and now I drive an EV. The idea that you can determine anything about a person's personality for buying a particular car brand is the height of arrogance and stupidity.

---

Except, marketing and sales and consumer study data shows the opposite for most buyers. Most buyers are not purely utilitarian. They are also trying to project an image of their personality or social status or other message. The minivan stigma didn't appear out of nowhere 2 decades ago, for example. Haaay Jeep guy is a meme for a reason.

Relatively few people are purely detached from self expression in vehicle choice. I know I'm not. I signal my taste for time tested and reliable and tolerance for some degree of discomfort in life by choosing to drive my fleet of old beaters when I could buy something new if I wanted. It's pragmatic but also a reflection of my beliefs and personality, even if unintentional. It may not be brand. It may be vehicle type or category or price range or styling, etc.

And there's nothing wrong with that. Nothing at all.

Look at vehicle advertising. They are ALL trying to sell on a projection of personality and image. How you feel, how you look. They don't advertise the specifications and how they will fulfill your needs and how they are better than the competition.

---

Vehicle choice absolutely is a reflection of the driver's personality. Again, the fanboys twist themselves into odd stances like ICE golf carts, insisting it's a big gotcha argument ending thing.

Oh well. Logical contortionists are fun to watch, if nothing else.

Teslag said:

---

Quote:

---

Look at vehicle advertising. They are ALL trying to sell on a projection of personality and image.

---

What is Tesla trying to sell in their advertising? What do you think their marketing department tries to project?











This is a trick question by the way.

---

Tesla does not buy advertising. They do incentivize current owners to get friends to come in for a test drive.

I'm out. Me thinks some doth protest too much.

This thread:

cecil77 said:

---

This thread:

---

Is the Fonz being pulled by an electric boat though?

I'm back. For the boats. They've made some great progress in electric drive for boats but unfortunately the batteries are still heavy, but they absolutely can plane out a boat for a good while with a skier in tow.

If Tesla was trying to project luxury they wouldn't have a whoopie cushion button and they wouldn't let you open your charge port by using the voice command "Open Butthole."

They're a technology company and a car for the internet age. That's their branding. The market they're targeting isn't BMW, Porsche, or Lexus, it's Honda, Volkswagen, and Toyota.

And no, most car companies don't have statements about the buyer. Most car sales are done for utilitarian reasons. Look at the list of top selling vehicles. Only Tesla, Jeep, Pacifica and MAYBE the trucks have some kind of lifestyle branding associated with them.

https://www.caranddriver.com/news/g43553191/bestselling-cars-2023/

Quote:

---

And no, most car companies don't have statements about the buyer.

---

The expensive ones damn sure do!