ACtion Magazine - April 2015 - (Page 10)

And the winner is... A wards ceremonies are regularly televised in the entertainment industry to tell us who is the best among the nominees. The automotive industry is not exempt from passing out awards either, but they are publicized in advertising for a vehicle, model, or manufacturer. According to the National Automobile Dealers Association (NADA), advertising in different media is influential with car shoppers, with television advertising being the most prevalent among dealers. While television advertising of vehicles is the king in influencing consumers, frequency of the advertising is key in getting a car shopper to pick a manufacturer's particular model or brand. This is particularly true after the advent of the Internet, a vehicle itself which provides a person with many options to do further research on any motor vehicle that was advertised. Further, since cable television is available in so many areas of the United States, a dealer is faced with the option of advertising on broadcast (or traditional) television or on cable television stations, or on both. So in deciding on the content of any advertising of a vehicle or a dealership, it becomes easy for the advertiser to include information on awards granted to the vehicle in the advertisement. But is an award a true indicator of the value or appeal of a vehicle? In other words, does every award have the same credibility in the eyes of the consumer? Awards like Car and Driver 10 Best and Motor Trend Car of the Year are granted by a publication marketed in the automotive industry. Other awards, like Vehicle Dependability Study winners by brand or by model, are granted by market research organizations like J.D. Power and Associates. Of course, magazines that are promoted as being consumer oriented or directed (e.g., Consumer Reports and Consumers Di- 10 ACTION * April 2015 gest) rather than being specifically marketed to a particular industry also publish awards or ratings about vehicle models and brands. Consumer Reports in fact publishes an annual automobile issue in April of each year. Thus, a car shopper should have it easy; look for the vehicle with the most awards or a brand that receives the most awards in a particular year, or maybe over some longer period just to be sure " The difference is in what factors are considered... that a vehicle model or brand was not just lucky one year. And all of the companies granting an award of a specific type should agree on the award winner (or winners if you go by size or type of model, right?) Actually, that is not the case and the principal reason why is the methodology used by the company handing out the award. Of course, a cynic might also suggest that a company (such as one that publishes a magazine and accepts advertising) might be influenced by the amount of advertising revenue generated for that company by a car company, with the heaviest advertisers being the most likely recipients of awards. Certainly Consumer Reports magazine works that angle by reminding its readership often that it is impartial in its ratings because it does not accept any advertising. Consumers Digest magazine also does not accept advertising, but it does get revenue by licensing its awards for advertising purposes. That may put a little bit of a cloud on a "best buy" award/rating given by the magazine to a particular car or truck. Readers of Consumer Reports magazine know Keith Leonard, Esquire that its employees conduct independent testing of the vehicles (and other products) which are written up and given a rating in the magazine. In 2012, Ford and Jaguar were listed in Consumer Reports magazine as 27th and 28th (out of 28 brands) for auto reliability. However, in that same year, Jaguar was tied with Porsche for second place among brands in the Initial Quality Study results published by J.D. Power. The difference is in what factors are considered by the two organizations. Consumer Reports was predicting the reliability of Jaguar vehicles in 2013. The study by J.D. Power focused on the extent of problems faced by Jaguar buyers during the ﬁrst ninety days of their ownership of the car. J.D. Power's Vehicle Dependability Study in a particular year looks at the experiences of the original owners of cars that are then three years old. Unfortunately, management in the largest automobile club in Germany admitted in 2014 to rigging the votes for its top award for a number of years. Fahrvergnügen indeed. ❆ Remember that laws are constantly changing and are often not uniform throughout the United States. Do not place unqualified reliance on the information in this article. Always contact legal counsel for detailed advice. If you have a particular issue, law or problem you would like to see addressed in a future column, please contact me at KLeonard@LeonardSciolla. com, or Leonard, Sciolla, Hutchison, Leonard & Tinari, LLP, 215-567-1530.

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of ACtion Magazine - April 2015

Changes coming to your bay
Meet me @MACS Make Connections that matter
Outlook
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Leonard's Law
Virtual View
Last Watch
Letters to the Editor
By the numbers
Industry News
Association News
In Memoriam
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ACtion Magazine - April 2015