How common is brand loyalty now?
Discussion
Growing up, I remember that a lot of people of my parents' and grandparents' generations were rather loyal to a particular car brand. Every few years they would get a new car from their chosen marque. From my family's circle and my friends' dads I can recall chaps who took this approach with Volvo, Ford, Rover, Vauxhall, VW and Citroen.
In more recent years, I don't think I've known anyone do this. I know a few people who've had the same brand for two cars running, but I've not seen it extend beyond two consecutive cars so I put it down to the second one being a convenient choice or the best deal rather than "must have the new version of my old car".
It makes sense that people shop around and get the best deal for them, but does anyone still have a rigid loyalty to their preferred brand of car?
In more recent years, I don't think I've known anyone do this. I know a few people who've had the same brand for two cars running, but I've not seen it extend beyond two consecutive cars so I put it down to the second one being a convenient choice or the best deal rather than "must have the new version of my old car".
It makes sense that people shop around and get the best deal for them, but does anyone still have a rigid loyalty to their preferred brand of car?
It probably is less of a thing these days. My late mother bought a Suzuki back in the 1980's and she owned several of them over the years, refusing point blank to consider any other brand. I've had a few BMW's and tend to prefer the way they drive over the competition and yet, their new styling and interiors mean that when I switch vehicles, I'll probably go with another brand. As long as the car matches my wants and needs, I don't care what badge it has.
I deal a lot with people setting up 'man in a van' businesses, and there is a lot of the "I'm a Ford man" or "I've always been a Vauxhall man" talk when it comes to sourcing their vehicles, some of which makes me smile when often they are talking about an identical vehicle bar the badges.
The only common denominator though is that most of these guys are over 50. I have never heard any of the younger ones say that, they are all just much more interested in which one has the most tech for the best price.
The only common denominator though is that most of these guys are over 50. I have never heard any of the younger ones say that, they are all just much more interested in which one has the most tech for the best price.
my last 3 daily drivers have been BMWs. in all likelihood the next one will also be a BMW. but not the one after that unfortunately, since their design language has gone massively downhill.
i'm fairly loyal to BMWs - if i did change, it'd likely be to a similar sized audi, since for a while, they were the only manufacturers still offering large naturally aspirated engines in saloon cars.
i'm fairly loyal to BMWs - if i did change, it'd likely be to a similar sized audi, since for a while, they were the only manufacturers still offering large naturally aspirated engines in saloon cars.
I'm not too sure why anyone would be loyal these days. Cars are a commodity and people want the best value for them. However people define value, be it reliability, dealer service, resale vale, ease of use etc etc is entirely personal and changes throughout your life.
Why would you only ever buy from one brand? Do you only buy clothes from one brand? Would you only buy one brand of house? Of course not - the expectation of brand allegiance in cars is odd!
I've owned
Peugeot
VW
Mazda
Land Rover
Audi
Skoda
Another Mazda
Now looking to replace the Skoda and second Mazda with a new Honda Civic Type R
Why would you only ever buy from one brand? Do you only buy clothes from one brand? Would you only buy one brand of house? Of course not - the expectation of brand allegiance in cars is odd!
I've owned
Peugeot
VW
Mazda
Land Rover
Audi
Skoda
Another Mazda
Now looking to replace the Skoda and second Mazda with a new Honda Civic Type R
I don't get the impression that brand loyalty - in cars or anything else - is as strong as once it was. Even the tech stuff (Apple v. Android, Mac v. PC, XBox v. Playstation) seems to have died down from where it was in the 2000s (or that may be just that I've aged/matured[?] out of that arena) and seems to now mostly exist in terms of personal convenience (if you have an iPhone it's easier to have an iPad etc.) than actual loyalty to the brand. These things seem to be more based on what's fashionable, desirable or aspirational. My impression is that people are almost more 'loyal' to the brand of thing they desire, then when they get it they set their sights on something else.
My grandfather took brand loyalty to an eccentric degree. He very much believed in it, to the extent of building personal relationships with dealers/agents and even some executives at his favoured firms via his own business activities.
It was always Morris/Nuffield for cars (right back to when he bought an old Morris 8E when he was de-mobbed) and was very distraught when they stopped making Minis at Cowley. He very reluctantly bought an early Austin Metro, and seemed almost delighted when it was plagued by all sorts of problems ("See, I always said Longbridge could never build a car properly!") and then his last car was a (Cowley-built) Maestro, which even if it was an Austin was built in the right factory.
He always bought Olympus cameras, Olivetti typewriters, Ferguson televisions, Roberts radios, Pioneer record player/stereo equipment, Goblin vacuum cleaners, Hotpoint Fridges (I wonder why not Morris' own Prestcold?) and so on.
The devotion that frustrated the rest of the family the most was his attachment to BP petrol (he was a BP shareholder, so not an entirely dispassionate choice). That was mildly inconvenient at home, but he followed this policy on the family driving holidays around Europe too - adding a frisson of anxiety as they thundered along an Italian autostrada past Agip, Campsa, ELF, Total, Shell and Esso retailers until, with the fuel gauge need wrapped around the Empty peg, they would find a BP station. They never ran out - so apparently BP distributed its agents in Europe at the exact maximum range of a heavily-laden Wolseley 6/110 with a sailing dinghy on the roof.
My grandfather took brand loyalty to an eccentric degree. He very much believed in it, to the extent of building personal relationships with dealers/agents and even some executives at his favoured firms via his own business activities.
It was always Morris/Nuffield for cars (right back to when he bought an old Morris 8E when he was de-mobbed) and was very distraught when they stopped making Minis at Cowley. He very reluctantly bought an early Austin Metro, and seemed almost delighted when it was plagued by all sorts of problems ("See, I always said Longbridge could never build a car properly!") and then his last car was a (Cowley-built) Maestro, which even if it was an Austin was built in the right factory.
He always bought Olympus cameras, Olivetti typewriters, Ferguson televisions, Roberts radios, Pioneer record player/stereo equipment, Goblin vacuum cleaners, Hotpoint Fridges (I wonder why not Morris' own Prestcold?) and so on.
The devotion that frustrated the rest of the family the most was his attachment to BP petrol (he was a BP shareholder, so not an entirely dispassionate choice). That was mildly inconvenient at home, but he followed this policy on the family driving holidays around Europe too - adding a frisson of anxiety as they thundered along an Italian autostrada past Agip, Campsa, ELF, Total, Shell and Esso retailers until, with the fuel gauge need wrapped around the Empty peg, they would find a BP station. They never ran out - so apparently BP distributed its agents in Europe at the exact maximum range of a heavily-laden Wolseley 6/110 with a sailing dinghy on the roof.
2xChevrons said:
My grandfather took brand loyalty to an eccentric degree. He very much believed in it, to the extent of building personal relationships with dealers/agents and even some executives at his favoured firms via his own business activities.
It was always Morris/Nuffield for cars (right back to when he bought an old Morris 8E when he was de-mobbed) and was very distraught when they stopped making Minis at Cowley. He very reluctantly bought an early Austin Metro, and seemed almost delighted when it was plagued by all sorts of problems ("See, I always said Longbridge could never build a car properly!") and then his last car was a (Cowley-built) Maestro, which even if it was an Austin was built in the right factory.
He always bought Olympus cameras, Olivetti typewriters, Ferguson televisions, Roberts radios, Pioneer record player/stereo equipment, Goblin vacuum cleaners, Hotpoint Fridges (I wonder why not Morris' own Prestcold?) and so on.
The devotion that frustrated the rest of the family the most was his attachment to BP petrol (he was a BP shareholder, so not an entirely dispassionate choice). That was mildly inconvenient at home, but he followed this policy on the family driving holidays around Europe too - adding a frisson of anxiety as they thundered along an Italian autostrada past Agip, Campsa, ELF, Total, Shell and Esso retailers until, with the fuel gauge need wrapped around the Empty peg, they would find a BP station. They never ran out - so apparently BP distributed its agents in Europe at the exact maximum range of a heavily-laden Wolseley 6/110 with a sailing dinghy on the roof.
I enjoyed that!It was always Morris/Nuffield for cars (right back to when he bought an old Morris 8E when he was de-mobbed) and was very distraught when they stopped making Minis at Cowley. He very reluctantly bought an early Austin Metro, and seemed almost delighted when it was plagued by all sorts of problems ("See, I always said Longbridge could never build a car properly!") and then his last car was a (Cowley-built) Maestro, which even if it was an Austin was built in the right factory.
He always bought Olympus cameras, Olivetti typewriters, Ferguson televisions, Roberts radios, Pioneer record player/stereo equipment, Goblin vacuum cleaners, Hotpoint Fridges (I wonder why not Morris' own Prestcold?) and so on.
The devotion that frustrated the rest of the family the most was his attachment to BP petrol (he was a BP shareholder, so not an entirely dispassionate choice). That was mildly inconvenient at home, but he followed this policy on the family driving holidays around Europe too - adding a frisson of anxiety as they thundered along an Italian autostrada past Agip, Campsa, ELF, Total, Shell and Esso retailers until, with the fuel gauge need wrapped around the Empty peg, they would find a BP station. They never ran out - so apparently BP distributed its agents in Europe at the exact maximum range of a heavily-laden Wolseley 6/110 with a sailing dinghy on the roof.
GR86 said:
I think it's like the people going on holiday to the same place each year, you know what to expect, you were happy enough last time, can't be assed to research something new and take the gamble you won't like it.
That's exactly why I've had 5 Jaguar XJ sixes and eights since the early '90s and randomly and entirely unplanned the last three have all been Carnival Red and had Ivory interiors.I don't feel any sense of marque loyalty though - just a recognition that replacing like for like is the simplest and most predictable option.
You've got to wonder what drove it; did our forefathers genuinely fear that other reputable brands might be meaningfully worse, or did they just like a familiar user experience?
I have noticed the same thing, a generation down (60-70 somethings), in smartphones; not just a cast iron commitment to an OS (understandable) but the handset brand as well.
I have noticed the same thing, a generation down (60-70 somethings), in smartphones; not just a cast iron commitment to an OS (understandable) but the handset brand as well.
stickleback123 said:
Loyalty to someone or something that doesn't know you exist or care if you live and die seems a peculiar mentality to me. I guess you'd have to be very, very susceptible to marketing and/or very small c conservative?
Or you find something that you like, serves you well & is reliable? Maybe that's not brand loyalty, more like experience.stickleback123 said:
Loyalty to someone or something that doesn't know you exist or care if you live and die seems a peculiar mentality to me. I guess you'd have to be very, very susceptible to marketing and/or very small c conservative?
Not really, you might just like the product!I'm pretty plural in most things and certainly have been with cars. I am however on my fifth Land Rover/Range Rover family wagon because my family just like them.
I think automotive loyalty in the past was often also driven by the 'local garage' where personal service/loyalty (and convenience) meant a lot more.
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