Another reason for the shift toward safety may be due to the fact that more working mothers are exerting a greater influence on the purchase of the family car. While researching the automotive market for her new book, Marketing to Moms, author Maria Bailey found that car safety is the most desirable feature for mothers. She claims that married women make 80 percent of the car-buying decisions in America. While some automotive executives believe that number to be high, the point is clear: safety is becoming more of an important factor.

“It is a challenge because safety is practically a requirement for modern vehicles,” explains Wise. “But there’s a difference between being safe and being the safest. And there are lots of ways to define safe. One is the ability of the automobile to endure an impact. Another is that the automobile has a certain athleticism and responsiveness to avoid or substantially mitigate an impact. There’s a feeling of being safe amid the chaos of heavy traffic by sitting up high. There is maintaining driver alertness. Certain automobiles are designed to enhance the alertness and the performance of the driver. That is, in fact, safety.

“The Ultimate Driving Machine is core to the promise of the BMW brand,” he continues. “They also happen to be very safe vehicles. But are they the safest in the event of an impact?”

That question brings up the universal debate of which is safer: big and heavy cars or small and nimble ones. There is a widely held perception (especially in the US) that the former is safer.

“It’s not a perception; it’s true,” states Meyers, now a professor at the University of Michigan Business School. “The laws of physics have not been repealed. Drive a Sherman tank; you’ll never get touched.”

Chee of Autobytel doesn’t agree.

“We have this misconception that a bigger car is a safer car,” he says. “That isn’t necessarily true. If you get into an accident with an SUV, you may not get an injury because you have so much metal around you and it’s so high. However, in a typical driving situation where you lose control, a small car is easier to control and get out of trouble.

“The European perspective is that nimble, good handling, quick cars are better,” he says. “The American perspective is that big, lumbering tanks are.”

Says Wise, “Americans feel safe in large trucks and SUV-type vehicles. The justification that people will give for buying them -- it’s almost across brands, to an extent -- is that ‘if there’s going to be an accident, I want to be a survivor.’ ”

The difference between the European and American perceptions of safe cars and the need for them will probably not change.

“For the most part, European consumers have a more sophisticated understanding of automotive safety,” says Wise. “The broad American market tends to equate safety with size. And for the vast amount of Americans, fuel efficiency is nowhere on the radar screen. People are much more concerned about that in Europe and other parts of the world.

Meyers agrees. “Broadly, the European driver is interested in handling, maneuverability, visibility and agility,” he says. “The American driver doesn’t care about those things. The American driver primarily wants big, heavy, tough cars.”

As safety increases as a main concern of today's drivers, it's sure to influence their purchasing decision. The challenge is for car makers to brand their cars as safe, which will require different strategies depending on who, and where, your market is.    

[21-Apr-2003]