XPost: alt.autos, alt.autos.toyota   
   From: cewhite3@mindspring.com   
      
   "SMS"  wrote in message   
   news:4ae708da$0$1648$742ec2ed@news.sonic.net...   
   > JoeSpareBedroom wrote:   
   >> "C. E. White"  wrote in message   
   >> news:hc6u39$uho$1@news.eternal-september.org...   
   >>   
   >> That sure was a lot of data in your last message. But there's still   
   >> some important data missing. You still can't show data which   
   >> indicates how many people buy trucks "just to have", vs those who   
   >> buy them because of their work. That data would also need to be   
   >> broken down by brand. You've made claims which require this data in   
   >> order to be believable, but you've never shown the data. That's   
   >> probably because such data doesn't exist.   
   >   
   > You have to look at the big picture.   
   >   
   > Consider that people shopping for a vehicle at a Ford dealer will   
   > often purchase the F150 rather than one of Ford's rather poor   
   > sedans, coupes, or SUVs. That's how you end up with the F150 often   
   > being the "best selling vehicle in the U.S." No one thinks that all   
   > those buyers are contractors; those F150s are the daily commute   
   > vehicle for most of the buyers.   
   >   
   > People shopping for a vehicle at a Toyota dealer have a selection of   
   > excellent cars, trucks, and SUVs. Few Toyota buyers are going to   
   > choose a large pickup truck, with its rather poor MPG, as a   
   > passenger vehicle for daily use. That's why Tundra buyers tend to be   
   > people that are using their trucks for real work, not weekend   
   > warriors hauling bags of potting soil home from Lowe's or Home   
   > Depot.   
   >   
   > The market for personal vehicles is much larger than the market for   
   > real work trucks, that's why the F150 sells well.   
      
   This is sort of weird logic.   
      
   It seems to me you are saying - People decide they want a Ford, they   
   go to the Ford dealer, and the only decent vehcile is an F150, so they   
   buy it. They don't consider cars from other manufacturers, only Ford,   
   so they feel stuck with F150s. Do you think this is reasonable?   
      
   Don't you think it is more likely, that for whatever reason a large   
   number of people decide they want a truck, and then once they decide   
   they want a truck, a large percentage decide to buy a Ford F150? This   
   seems much more likely to me.   
      
   In the last 5 years I have bought five new vehicles (three for me and   
   two for children). Three were cars (Mustang, Fusion, Mazda3) and two   
   were trucks (Frontier, F150). I didn't start out looking to buy a car   
   (say the Fusion) and end up in an F150. I wanted/needed a car and   
   bought a car that I thought best meet the need (or want). Likewise   
   when I decided to get a new farm truck, I looked around and bought a   
   truck. I didn't go to the Toyota dealer and think, hey, they have   
   great cars, I'll buy one. No, I looked at their trucks, and Ford's,   
   and Nissan's, and bought a Nissan (and then after 3 years decided I   
   hated it and bought a Ford).   
      
   I can buy the arguement that until recently Ford's car offereings were   
   not as attractive relative to their trucks as offering from other   
   manufacturers, and therefore Ford sales were skewed to trucks (i.e., a   
   larger percetnage of Ford's total sales were trucks than cars). I   
   can't buy the arguement that the F150 is the best selling vehicle   
   becasue it is Ford's only decent offering.   
      
   Ed   
      
   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)