Laura, Julian and I just bought a Subaru Forester, and I analyzed our shopping experience for my latest MediaPost column (pasted below).
A number of guys out there have emailed me privately, accusing me of buying a “chick car.” I’ll underscore here: Our new Forester comes with good gas mileage, ample room for a mid-size car, excellent handling in the snow and rain, high crash-safety ratings, a reputation for reliability, a huge sunroof, an ipod hookup, a trunk liner you can hose down and easy handling for my wife. Importantly, it’s not so refined that we’ll get bent out of shape if our newborn empties a chocolate milkshake all over the backseat. It’s our parentmobile, and we love it!
Oh, and I’m still keeping my Jeep Wrangler as the weekend-fun-date-night car! Now to my column…
CGM, Interactive Crucial To Car Shopping
August 31st, 2007 by Max Kalehoff
Forrester Research reported this month in a new report (subscription or purchase required) that 29% of new-vehicle shoppers view automotive online consumer-generated media (CGM). Coincidentally, I purchased a Subaru Forester last month, and I fall fully into that 29%, and even the 4% of auto shoppers who create CGM!
Reflecting back on this significant purchase, the role of CGM was not only significant, but inextricably linked to my overall interactive and offline shopping experience. Here’s how it went:
With a newborn son, a new house in the suburbs, and only a two-seater Jeep Wrangler, I had to rectify the situation and invest in a “parentmobile.” My car shopping experience started offline by test-driving all the Crossover Utility Vehicles at the local dealers. The Subaru Forester quickly grew on my wife and me, and that’s when my attention turned to the Internet.
To get a more accurate picture of my online shopping experience, I searched for all activities involving “Subaru” in Google History, a program that tracks most of my Web behaviors on my primary notebook PC. What quickly became obvious is that search, brand Web sites and CGM sources from ratings, reviews and auctions sites played a major role. In fact, I discovered well over 20 standalone Web sessions directly related to researching Subaru across these types of sites in the two months leading up to our purchase.
Here are highlights:
It all started with a series of visits to eBay Motors, to research the market for new and used Foresters, and get a feel from actual owners. I then logged onto Cars.com to check its inventory; I even used that site to begin reading customer reviews, and make contact with a number of local dealers for price quotes. I also began recording prices, models and features from the above sites in the del.icio.us online bookmarking service.
Three weeks into my research, and further leaning to the Subaru Forester, I found myself probing customer reviews pretty heavily. According to Google History, I searched Google for “Subaru Forester review,” which took me to the Subaru car reviews and forums on Edmunds.com, where I returned numerous times. Then, paranoid over space constraints for a new and growing family, I did a Google search for “number of passengers a Forester can hold,” which took me to reviews and customer testimonials on Autoworld.com, About.com Newcars.com and a Subaru press release hosted on PRNewswire.com (who ever said press releases were just for press?). My wife even contacted and polled some fellow members on UrbanBaby.com, a moms’ forum, about the image and utility of the Forester.
Three weeks away from our purchase, and now completely convinced a new Forester was right for our us, I began frequenting the official Subaru.com site, to study all the specs and identify all the dealers in a 15-mile radius. I named the model I wanted and let the three closest dealers make me offers. They were all very similar, so I ended up going to the dealer that was closest, the most professional and courteous. This dealer even prompted us to check with our employers to see if they had any special VIP business arrangements with Subaru. My wife’s publishing company did, which automatically gave us no-haggle dealer invoice pricing. We were sold, and drove away with our new white Forester on July 3!
Interestingly, in the eight weeks since our purchase, the Web and CGM have continued to play an important role in validating and driving value in our car purchase. For example, I still make frequent trips to Subaru.com to study the specs and review the possible accessories. I’ve also reviewed the Wikipedia entry for Subaru Forester to see how the “people’s encyclopedia” depicts our new ride. My wife has even shared with our extended family members numerous pictures of us in our new car.
Additionally, I’ve received two online surveys from Subaru’s CMO thus far. They’re revealing of how Subaru is trying to understand and segment its customers, including me: probing into my lifestyle preferences, media usage, Web and device usage, perceptions of my self-image, social behaviors, what feelings I associate with the Subaru brand, and, of course, my satisfaction with the dealer.
While the vehicle’s merit most influenced our purchase, there’s no doubt that CGM, search, the brand Web site and the connection to the dealer storefront played a massively influential role in our decision. Of course, this relationship is only beginning, and we’re now entering the owner phase, where satisfaction earns loyalty. I have no doubt the CGM and the interactive experience similarly impact this next chapter, including service, warranties, recalls, upgrades and aftermarket customizations.
I’ll be sure to reflect back in a year to update you on how the experience continues. In the meantime, I really hope to see some return for all the time and effort I devoted to those long online surveys!
How does this compare to your car-shopping experience?
{ 9 comments }
I’m in the market for a car and also have one kid (at home). I think I’ll push for better gas mileage than the Forester, though (and a used car, too). Saw 27 mpg highway for the standard Foresters. Did you see cars over 30 mpg that looked the least bit interesing to you? Was there a reason you went for a larger car. A dog, perhaps?
Hi sbaker8380,
The Forester actually gets slightly better mileage for me; the 27 mpg is the average highway rating. We considered hybrids, though, at least with my friends, a lot of the top hybrids achieve significantly lower mileage versus what their manufacturers’ advertised. Moreover, the hybrids are more finicky and costly from a mechanical and maintenance standpoint — and those were two major criteria for us.
I also liked the Volkswagen Passat with the diesel engine, but that started to exceed our price range. Why the size of the care we went with — the Forester? Built on the Impreza chassis, it’s actually not that big. But the bottom line is that it had to hold a car seat, my wife, me and one other passenger comfortably. And we wanted enough cargo space in which to easily toss the Baby Jogger stroller, overnight bags, groceries, bikes, etc. Our usage is primarily around-town driving on weekends, though we seem to do a weekend road trip at least once per month. Cheers.
I just love that a Forrester report reminds you of buying your Forester.
Nathan, it was kind of funny timing.
Thanks for the tips, I am making plans for a new acquisition myself, I am thinking about Volkswagen parts, at this moment it's the right thing for my specific needs and also this is what I can afford without making any compromises.
The functional hood scoop on the XT has a smaller bulge than before, but its opening is no less wide, thanks to a redesign of the turbocharger intercooler opening, and the steeper slope of the hood.
The functional hood scoop on the XT has a smaller bulge than before, but its opening is no less wide, thanks to a redesign of the turbocharger intercooler opening, and the steeper slope of the hood.
Regards
ececogifts
This sounds like a perfect car for children, just ignore anyone who says it isn't manly, I prefer safety and comfort for my family over anything else! I found a great used cars Salt Lake City dealership last year and brought a really nice family car.
very interesting post. Thanks a lot for sharing it.
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