Imported Cars In America: Consumer Preference

Student`s Name Course Instructor Date Imported Cars in America It is a known fact when purchasing any product be it a house, car or anything else Americans usually show preference for that which is the latest in the market, of the greatest quality, and that can continue giving service for the longest period possible. In addition, the product in question must boost the esteem of the American buyer. These conditions are particularly important during the purchase of cars. Both domestically produced and imported cars dominate the car market in America in almost equal measure. In choosing their cars, most Americans opt for those that satisfy all their needs in terms of being safe, efficient fuel use, high quality, cheap to maintain and repair, and are durable. The choice is done irrespective of whether they were manufactured within America or outside America. However, recent years have seen a change in customers` preference that is now more favorable towards the imported cars than those that are produced domestically in America. The shift has in turn affected the domestically produced cars and therefore it only makes sense to explore why consumer preference has changed in relation to the automobile industry. Durability or longevity is one factor that determines which car Americans will opt for. Given the large amount of money that one has to spend on purchasing a car, then it definitely has to be the type that will continue providing service for quite a long time before the need to replace or repair arises. For more than thirty-five years, the most popular car types in America have been the Chevrolet Corvette, the Ford Mustang and the Chevrolet Camaro. These cars have been popular because of their generally good performance but failed when it came to longevity. On the hand, the popularity of Japanese cars is on the increase due to their ability to last long. Durability in this case is viewed in terms of the average miles. Jack and Corinth confirm that the longevity of Japanese cars and other foreign automobiles is greater by a hundred miles than that of those that are domestically produced (2). Evidently, the Japanese and Korean cars last the longest with an estimated 250,000 miles as the lifespan (Jack and Corinth 3). Due to the competition posed by these foreign automobiles the rest of the producers invested in improving their car qualities, which in turn was to the advantage of the consumers. In terms of quality, the Japanese cars also surpass the American models. For instance, in terms of manufacturing in Japan, the Honda and Toyota are the main manufacturers. Considering that these two are known to produce world-class services it explains why the quality of these automobiles is high. Additionally, the highest quality ensures that there is a ready market for their products, a fact that helps them make huge profits. With such profits, focusing on quality is not a problem at all for Japanese companies. Interestingly, the situation is a bit different in America where profit is emphasized on more than quality. With the quality compromised, it makes it hard to deal with the competition given by the Japanese producers. Due to the unpredictable quality of U.S automobiles, many Americans opt to buy the foreign cars instead (Cruzn.p). The management also plays a role in determining the quality of cars. In Japanese, it is noted that the same individuals serve as managers for relatively a long time, which ensures stable management. With this kind of leadership it makes it easier for improvements to be made in the vehicles in a systematic way and no sudden major changes take place. In the recent past American car manufacturing companies faced the challenge of unstable management where the leaders kept changing over short periods. In addition,emphasis was placed on producing completely new products instead of focusing on improving on the already existing ones like in Japan. These factors negatively affected the American automobile companies.Nevertheless, it is also worth noting that some companies have taken the initiative to solve the problem of management. An example is the Ford automobile company, which has had the same management for quite a while. The results are evident with the increasing popularity of Ford vehicles in the American automobile market. Apart from quality, fuel efficiency is another factor that determines the consumer preference in America. Ideally, standard oil is used for the domestically manufactured cars unlike imported vehicles, which mostly use synthetic oil. Evidently, efficiency is one area that the American automobile industry has had a challenge in keeping up with its foreign competitors. In Europe, Asia and other major regions the standards of fuel efficiency are very high compared to those of the U.S (Cruzn.p). Consequently, this inefficient oil makes it necessary for continuous intervals of service to enable the cars operate well. This case contributes to the domestic cars to be viewed as unreliable when compared to foreign vehicles hence explaining the increased preference for imported cars than domestic ones. The fuel efficiency in these imported cars is further aided by how the engines are designed. In Japan, for instance, the Honda Insight and the Honda Fit are considered the most fuel efficient cars because they are Front engine Front Wheel Drive. Such kind of vehicles allow for easy adjustment since in between the wheel and the engine only a small gap exists which implies that the fuel consumed will be less. Although fuel efficiency is a matter of concern, the price, cost of repair and maintenance also ...