Ever look at a car and wonder why

[Esteban]

Maybe the owner thought people would think it had some muscle like the Charger V8.

From the interwebz...

It was unofficially marketed as a smaller, less expensive Charger. The Avenger is a front wheel drive car based on a 10 year old Mitsubishi design. The Charger is a larger rear wheel drive car based on a 10 year old Mercedes Benz design.

[HighlandPete]

Originally Posted by G35POPPEDMYCHERRY

Endthread

Not quite... it could be pink!

[///MPhatic]

Originally Posted by wtwo3

Yeah I'm not comparing an Avenger to a 5 series. I'm comparing it to other cars in its class. Like a Camry or a Fusion etc.

That's what I wonder... did they pick it because they actually preferred it over a Camry or Fusion... or was there some major deal that was cut... or was it a pushy salesman?

I hear you, 100%, but honestly, even with cars in the same class there is always a few thousand dollars difference, and to some people that's all the difference.

[sygazelle]

Originally Posted by G35POPPEDMYCHERRY

/Endthread

It's an SUV.
It's a sports car.
It's a convertible with a sunroof.
It's green.

Somebody will by anything. End of thread indeed!

[omasou]

Watch Netflix Abstract: The Art of Design: Season 1: Ralph Gilles: Automotive Design

According to him he's doing some great stuff at Chrysler. I found the part about Fiat / Maserati a bit funny where if I remember correctly and to paraphrase, I leave them alone so I don't f'up the brand.

https://www.netflix.com/title/80057883

[tranquility]

Now I dunno anything about this car, it just looks like an avg car, not like a real in-your-face ugly monstrosity like the Pontiac Aztek, for example


Some ppl simply don't know better and/or dunno how to or can't shop around. Why else do we have ppl still paying crazy $$$$$$$ for ISP services when other providers offer the same service at only a fraction of the price?

[upstatedoc]

^^I think that car is on a list of all time ugliest cars

[The Libertine]

Yup. Often wonder why the heck would someone want to get such an awful looking vehicle. Pontiac Aztec comes to mind as an example.

[tigermack]

Originally Posted by sygazelle

It's an SUV.
It's a sports car.
It's a convertible with a sunroof.
It's green.

Somebody will by anything. End of thread indeed!

Did you really have to tag the whole post with pics? Like seeing it once isn't enough already...

[translux]

[wtwo3]

Originally Posted by sygazelle

I totally get your question and I wonder the same thing. Absolutely not in a judgemental way, but just from a standpoint of what leads people to their purchase decisions. It's a fascinating questions. Heck, people are fascinating. Their thought processes are a wonderment to me, including my own!

We bright and fantastic BMW owners can't even go 3 posts into a new thread without somebody having a different opinion than somebody else. If I started a thread asking the question, "on a sunny day, is the sky blue?, I'd get a variety of answers even though the answer is simply yes! For me, that's why these off-topic threads are so fun. It's intriguing just how different we all think about virtually everything, including what's important and making a car purchase decision.

Thanks for saying this. I should have prefaced my original post with "not judging but curious". While I do think there are much better options in the class of say, an Avenger, (camry, fusion, etc), something drew the customer towards the Avenger. In many cases it's simply who can offer the best deal. I want to know about the cases where it wasn't strictly a financial decision.

Basically any time I see a car which goes against the norm, I'm curious as to what made the customer say, "For $xx, this car is the best option for me". I've had this thought many times, in this case it just so happened an Avenger was in front of me when I had the thought.

There's so many consumer behavioral questions that come up... For example... Are consumers in one segment more swayed by pushy salesmen vs. another segment. Is one segment more/less price sensitive than other segments.

[wtwo3]

Originally Posted by G35POPPEDMYCHERRY

/Endthread

This isn't a question of why. This is a question of why not

[its55]

People buy what they like, or what they can afford, or what becomes a convenient purchase for them, or take what they're given, or don't care as long as it gets them from A to B.

[wtwo3]

Originally Posted by vanguard13

I often look at a car wonder how it got to production!

This is an equally fascinating topic...

[bucketfoot]

Very simple, the majority of car buyers are purchasing an appliance at the best price they can.

[omasou]

"Ever look at a car and wonder why"

Yes, every time I see a Porsche Panamera

[davidvan05]

Originally Posted by its55

People buy what they like, or what they can afford, or what becomes a convenient purchase for them, or take what they're given, or don't care as long as it gets them from A to B.

Most people could care less about what they drive. "It's just a car." It boggles my mind why anyone would make such a poor choice in the appliance they drive.

You can kind of judge their character by the car they drive.

[wtwo3]

Originally Posted by bucketfoot

Very simple, the majority of car buyers are purchasing an appliance at the best price they can.

See it's hard for me to think this represents the "majority" of car buyers. If it were the case, a the Rav4 wouldn't be the #1 selling crossover. It would be something more like a Subaru Forester or something cheaper in that class. So obviously there's a thought process beyond just "give me the cheapest thing I can get that'll suit my needs".

Now with the Rav4 you can attribute it to Toyota's reputation for reliability as one of the big factors behind why it sells as well as it does.

[shoei]

Just throwing some new contenders into the mix

[wtwo3]

Originally Posted by shoei

Just throwing some new contenders into the mix

I know someone who used to have a Nissan Cube. I never actually asked her what compelled her to buy one.... It was kind of one of those... if we ever had to go somewhere together... we're taking my car, no questions asked.

[sygazelle]

Originally Posted by wtwo3

This is an equally fascinating topic...

I was going to bring that up but I didn't want to derail the thread.


I get why people buy cars that are ugly ( or weird/different/non-conforming/unusual), but I cannot understand how some cars get past the draft design stage.

Some cars don't sell very well because they look ugly to many people. The few that buy them are just being themselves, but the car companies are in it to sell units and make money. How can these ugly cars get designed in the first place? Why doesn't someone on the design team say, "That's ugly, let's start over!"? And even if the design team is drinking their own Kook Aid, how does that ugly design get approved and then built?

You mentioned the Avenger in the OP. The Avenger is a perfectly fine appliance to me. It's not beautiful but I don't think its ugly either.

[wtwo3]

Originally Posted by sygazelle

I was going to bring that up but I didn't want to derail the thread.


I get why people buy cars that are ugly ( or weird/different/non-conforming/unusual), but I cannot understand how some cars get past the draft design stage.

Some cars don't sell very well because they look ugly to many people. The few that buy them are just being themselves, but the car companies are in it to sell units and make money. How can these ugly cars get designed in the first place? Why doesn't someone on the design team say, "That's ugly, let's start over!"? And even if the design team is drinking their own Kook Aid, how does that ugly design get approved and then built?

You mentioned the Avenger in the OP. The Avenger is a perfectly fine appliance to me. It's not beautiful but I don't think its ugly either.

Someone needs to infiltrate these design teams and see what goes on over there. BMW would be the best place to start with the designs they've been churning out recently.

As for the Avenger, I agree it's not ugly. That's centered more around it being the odd choice compared to other cars in the class which (IMO) are probably superior. What I'm really curious about is the thought process where money isn't the concern. Is it because they associated it with a Dodge Charger which it kinda sorta resembles? If so that's a case study in halo cars and their influence downstream in the product line.