“The Common Car”

What is the common car? Is it a stereotype of what we are used to and accept! Or, is it which car others are owning, buying and driving that give us this feeling of acceptability.

For years the so called common car has been an acceptable place of what others are driving, look back and we see in the late 70’s there were few choices, the presence of such brands of BMW and Audi were considered strange and so far out of the common circle that the eyebrows raised caused the title of “prestige” to stick!

Yes the Sales Representative of the 70’s were comparing the Sunbird 3.3ltr, versus the Falcon XA,XB series, the swish style of the commodore was to come and the new Chrysler/Mitsubishi Sigma wowed the motoring public with new style(not sure about technology!).

Whilst all these carburettor driven 3 on the tree icon aussie cars were part of our paved and bitumen drives, soaking up our dusty highways, the European manufacturers were already including fuel injection and 4 speed auto as standard equipment, central locking a mere formality and a build quality and suspension package that most other makes struggled to spell!

The basic VW Beetle although being in production since the 50’s, made its impact as a strange substitute to the Holden, Ford, Chrysler and OH! Don’t forget the Leyland, ironic that there are still so many around and that you can still obtain parts and what’s more they cannot be killed! See Top gear challenge for the proof of this one!

We commonly buy what others are buying; look at fashion and other well marketed products that make us go and buy! Drink! And smoke!
Here the fleet products of motor cars portray the same image, volume and mass marketing seek the acceptance of others and we see the same routine! Paved and bitumen driveways filled with not only Holden’s, Fords and now Toyota’s but strangely we are seeing a change? Yes the likes of BMW, AUDI, VW, Mercedes-Benz, and Alfa Romeo are turning up in driveways!

Parents are considering purchase of European cars for prime safety and build quality, and the all important and age old Myth! That these European cars are too expensive to maintain. Here’s the scenario  “Joe” from next door has told his neighbour at the “Barbi” that a friend of a mates uncle had to spend his entire fortune to keep his BMW, Audi, VW, driver friendly, not only did he spend the family fortune.. He loathed to touch and drive any more European cars… so Joe’s mate’s friend’s uncle (can we see Chinese whispers here!) had an experience, but was it fact based?

Like buying any product it makes sense to do research and even talk to some one that at least has knowledge of the product you seek to buy, if I was considering buying a new Widescreen LCD or Plasma TV I certainly wouldn’t be talking to Joe’s mates uncles friend??

Information is vital, we are surrounded and bombarded by it every day Hey! What if Joe or his mate’s uncle’s friend got his wires crossed off the net or the wrong blog site! I might be on to something here! The correct info is what we all want, being informed correctly is paramount when you intend to spend money on you or your siblings welfare!

So look around the neighbourhood and see how many European cars are doing the circuit, not just the wealthy parent chariots, but the early 90’s 3 series (E36 for those wanting that free info) late model Golf’s are frequenting parking lots and the French connection are getting involved to, Peugeot, Citroen and Renault are popping into driveways, they offer a product which is certainly safe, economical and sensible… the Peugeot 206 in past years was one of the best selling used cars in the UK.. offered great value for money and was the perfect town car with excellent features and No1 re-sale value… yes the change is happening, for good reason to, it’s due to people being educated about product. These drivers are not taking a leap of faith! Nor crossing their fingers as they leave the dealership, no they have made a well educated and informed decision, the other amazing thing is they didn’t listen to Joe!

Our core business is selling peoples cars, these are the cars that Europeans love to drive, own, park in their garages (that’s if they are lucky enough to have one!)
A garage that is!.. now we are seeing people embracing these cars, realising their comfort, safety and the pleasure, of seeing and feeling how well a euro chariot rides, they are in my mind a choice that is and should be considered, next time you are queuing up on the Kwinana or piled up in the Polly, look around and not with envy, but with realising that the person two cars up in the 02 golf is smiling not from the night before!.. But from enjoying their car!

We spend a long time on our bums, if you drive an average of 40 minutes to work and back, that equates to approximately 6 hours a week, or 2200 hours a year or a continual cycle of 91 days per year, taking into account you have annual leave! A lot huh! So just try putting your bum in a “beema” or an Audi or VW others are doing it and smiling…the sagging seat saga will end, and you and your bum will be thankful and smiling, and your wallet won’t be hurting either.

It costs no more for a container of parts to leave the Mediterranean than it does to leave the shores of Korea or Japan, if you do the exercise as I have done you can be pleasantly surprised… try pricing a new rear lens assembly for a Subaru late model and put it up against a comparable European, there may be exceptions but Joe’s BBQ story is being drowned out by the sizzle of snags and excited chatter of the Golf driver excited at his TDi DTE (distance to empty) of 1000km when he filled his tank, or the 5 series driver who purchased a late 90’s E39 and is still trying to find something wrong with it!

Here’s the final word, as technology changes so does our choice, information, and certainly sometimes cost, the reasonability of European cars is here to stay, we welcome computers, face book, Google with open arms and if we were against change we would be still using an abacus…and quite possibly still comparing the Sunbird 3.3ltr “Torry” versus the Sigma “that” Joe’s mates friends aunty just bought! Apparently it was the salesman that convinced her!

“Chris”