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The Difference Between Luxury and “Commodity” Cars

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2016 Maserati Alfieri
2016 Maserati Alfieri

While reading an article from MarketWatch (A WallStreet Journal Company) about a new Maserati concept car, I realized the difference between design and demand of the luxury brands and the regular brands.

This is a quote from the editors of AUTOWEEK, “Just build it!” when referring to the 2016 Maserati Alfieri concept car. People are practically begging for the next new thing from supercar brands. Look at Juan’s post about supercar SUV’s…. people want these to become realities. MarketWatch went on to explain that at the Alfieri’s unveiling the Maserati team “teased everyone” telling people that its build-able, they just want to see how everything plays out. Maserati is acting like they don’t care about the high demand of this potential product.

After reading Cars and Culture, it is an apparent that there is a constant struggle for companies to find designs that the public will appreciate and desire. Companies like Ford and GM have people worrying about MAYA (Most Advanced Yet Acceptable). They must have a new design idea without changing so much that they have a flop like Ford had with their Edsel of the 1950’s. They must find a balance or they risk bankruptcy.

At this point it seems almost unfair that whatever these luxury brands put out people will eat it up. Why is it like this? The only thing I can come up with is that when people buy Maseratis or Ferraris they aren’t doing it for the practicality of their vehicle, they are doing it for the brand name. They want the newest, most expensive thing. It will be interesting to see if the Alfieri ever does come out or the company is just building demand by teasing their customer base.

2 Comments

  1. Louis Ike
    Louis Ike

    I get what you are saying regarding the fact that these ultra luxury brands release images and ads about their “concept” cars. Almost every time they do this the consumers eat it up, and are left desiring the ability to in fact purchase and drive said vehicle. However, I think that brands like Maserati release these cars not to tease consumers, but rather as a marketing strategy to keep people interested and wowed by their brand. The Alfieri may never actually make it to production, but a different and possibly equally likable car will be released, and the existence of the concept car has created a buzz and audience to welcome and hopefully purchase the other new car.

    May 15, 2014

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