Greetings! Regarding your first question, "Will the Smart car fly?" I
am assuming you mean "will it sell" as opposed to it having
detatchable wings. lol In my opinion, the time is long overdue for
this type of vehicle to hit the market as petroleum products could
soon be in short supply. With the current problems in the middle east
and those predicted to come, consumers will be forced to look at these
smaller vehicles. The company having the subcompact car product
should prosper.
According to usrom.com "In 2001, the Middle East (excluding North
Africa) accounted for approximately two thirds of the world's proven
conventional oil reserves; 35 percent of world oil production
capacity; 30 percent of world oil production; and about 83 percent of
excess world oil production capacity."
Were two-thirds of the world's oil to be tied up during a land war,
the government would probably direct consumers to ration gasoline. In
happened in WWII; it could happen again. For long-distance commuters,
good gas mileage would be paramount to their budgets if a gas shortage
or climbing oil prices occurred.
The The Dao Heng Bank Group states on its web site "Outlook - The
local job market remains subdued on the weak domestic demand. Looking
ahead, on mounting concerns on US economic recovery outlook and
continuing corporate lay-offs, unemployment rate will edge up to 8% or
more as more fresh graduates and school leavers enter the labour
market in the coming few months"
From the US Department of Labor: "To some extent, the labor market
data from the household survey for October and subsequent months
reflect the impact of the terrorist attacks of September 11. The labor
market had been weakening before those attacks, and those events
undoubtedly exacerbated this weakness."
Also, read the Commissioner's Statement on the Employment Situation at
http://www.bls.gov/news.release/jec.nr0.htm
A portion of it states "Manufacturing employment decreased by 35,000
in September. Job losses have accelerated over the last 2 months,
following a moderation in declines between March and July. This trend
is especially evident in electronic equipment and industrial
machinery, which lost 11,000 and 9,000 jobs in September,
respectively. Aircraft and parts and furniture and fixtures lost
6,000 jobs each in September. Aircraft manufacturers have reduced
payrolls by 65,000 workers over the year, primarily due to reduced
demand for passenger jets."
American production continues to move to to other countries, and
plants are closing all over America. Even in my tiny town, two major
factory employers have announced they are moving production from the
USA (one to China, one to Mexico) and a local bank employee has stated
that there are more foreclosures there this year than any previous
year. That's not great news, so scaling down may be on the horizon
for many. More efficient transportation will become more and more
attractive to everyone's wallet.
Finally, read Honda's Shareholder review for 2002 fiscal year.
Subcompacts are entioned heavily:
http://world.honda.com/investors/annualreport/2002/03.html
"What marketing recommendations would you make to MCC (Micro Compact
Car AG)? What recommendations would you make to MCC when it decideds
to enter the U.S. market? "
The marketing recommendations I would make for the first wave would be
to target long-distance commuters, college students and frugal,
eco-friendly consumers world-wide. In the American market, advertising
would have to be created to make small look attractive. And safe.
All other parts of the world seem to get on fine with tiny cars but,
in America, everyone thinks big is better. So small has to be made
"sexy" enough to sell. I'd suggest playing on the word "smart" as a
selling point, as in slogans such as "I'm Smart" or "I'm a Smart
consumer" or a bunch of girls fawning over a guy with a Smart car
saying "He's so Smart!" etc Stay simplistic with the slogans and
presentation. "Drive Smart."
All the Smart cars should have compact disc players because of the
"compact" angle. Maybe a pic of the car with the slogan "World's
Largest CD Player." Humor would be appreciated by "Smart" folks. lol
Show the car getting into a parking space that seems too small for
any car. Call it "Parking Smart"
Should you require a clarification, please ask.
SEARCH TERMS and LINKS
percent of world oil from middle east 2002 [Google search]
://www.google.com/search?hl=en&lr=&ie=ISO-8859-1&q=percent+of+world+oil+from+middle+east+2002
usa
http://www.usrom.com/Countries/usa.htm
corporate lay offs 2002 [Google search]
://www.google.com/search?hl=en&lr=&ie=ISO-8859-1&q=corporate+lay+offs+2002
Unemployment
http://www.daoheng.com/kd1.htm
us bureau of employment statistics [Google search]
://www.google.com/search?hl=en&lr=&ie=ISO-8859-1&q=us+bureau+of+employment+statistics
Bureau of Labor Statistics Home Page
http://www.bls.gov/
The Current Population Survey (CPS) (see right column question "1.
What are the potential impacts of the terrorist attacks of September
11, 2001 on employment and unemployment statistics?" and the see
Overview under General overview for the Commissioner's statement)
http://www.bls.gov/cps/home.htm
The Employment Situation news Release (Commissioner's Statement on the
Employment Situation)
http://www.bls.gov/news.release/jec.nr0.htm
subcompact cars america [Google search]
://www.google.com/search?hl=en&lr=&ie=ISO-8859-1&q=subcompact+cars+america
Honda Annual Report
http://world.honda.com/investors/annualreport/2002/03.html |
