Wednesday, September 7, 2005

Car Culture

Big Three must fight long and hard for California

By Ann Job / Special to The Detroit News

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It's too bad that warnings from auto researchers and analysts in the 1980s were ignored or put aside by officials at Detroit's Big Three automakers.

More than 20 years ago, as Toyota Motor Corp. and Honda Motor Co., in particular, began to build strength among California consumers, some analysts cautioned that the Golden State was a bellwether of things to come nationally.

But executives told reporters like me -- I was working in Detroit at the time -- that they were unsure. Some even pooh-poohed the notion that the "Japanese," as they called them, would make sustainable gains beyond California, into Florida, New Jersey, Arizona and other states.

They attributed Californians' embrace of Honda and Toyota models to the eccentricities of "those people" living on the Left Coast.

But plenty of business professors and analysts weren't writing off California.

They noted that the state was a unique and challenging place, a hotbed of new trends that could spread across the country -- from Alice Waters' California fresh food preparations to an unprecedented mixing of ethnic groups and cultures.

They were right, and I hope today's auto executives based in Metro Detroit are going to fight -- long, hard and most importantly, consistently -- for the Golden State.

Like it or not, California's influence continues to reach far beyond its borders, although the state's huge consumer base, by itself, is nothing to sniff at, either.

Indeed, at least one out of every 10 new vehicles is sold to someone in the state, and if California was a car market all its own, it would rank sixth or seventh in the world.

This has helped give Japan-based automakers and, now, Korean-based makers, a foundation for growth in this country.

Toyota, which Detroit views as a key nemesis, outsells every auto brand in California.

Honda isn't just close behind Toyota in vehicle sales in California. It's looking to post its 10th consecutive year of record sales nationally and is strong in New York, New Jersey, even Washington, D.C.

Too much time has ticked away, and too little has been accomplished by domestic automakers. California is too big and too important to ignore -- in terms of sales, consumer influence and its trendsetting identity.

For starters, companies should stop making silly "California Edition" cars with spoilers and body kits slapped on that have been peddled for years as superficial makeovers for Californians.

Throw out some focus groups and clinics and visit with California dealer Richard Hibbard to find out why he's seeing a third-generation of car buyers bypass new Chevys in favor of Toyotas and Hondas.

Take the pulse of the market by talking with consumers shopping in California showrooms on -- gasp! -- Saturdays and Sundays.

And be gutsy. California consumers are incredibly -- probably irrationally -- style- and image-conscious. It would take a lot to go too far over the top with them.

Car culture; Michigan native Ann Job is a California-based freelance writer. She can be reached at annjo84@hotmail.com