The thread about Brand name vs Generic reminded me of a few things that make me wonder how smart consumers (myself included) really are.
A few years ago one of my friends and I were talking while he was working in a gas station. We both had recently bought Ford Ranger pickups, and were talking about them when someone came in and joined in the conversation. My friend and I were both happy with our trucks, and the person who joined in was wondering how we could be so happy with our trucks when the Ranger he had just gotten rid of was a piece of junk. We talked with him for a while, then asked what he had replaced the ranger with. He had purchased a Mazda B2300, and was completely pleased with it, he'd never buy another Ford again, and would stick with Mazda from now on. My friend and I almost fell on the floor laughing. The now annoyed third person asked us why we were laughing, and we told him it was awfully funny that he had bought a new truck from the same company he was PO'd at. He swore up and down that there was NO WAY that his Mazda was the same as our Fords, after all, he had paid thousands more for his Mazda than we had paid for our Fords. (The B2300 and the Ranger are the same truck, produced on the same assembly line with the same drivetrains, etc, just different sheet metal) We parked the three side by side, popped the hoods, and his jaw just about hit the pavement.
I just think it's funny that we buy things the way we do. People buy GM because they're made in the USA, but the engines for the Chevy Equinox are made in china. People refuse to buy "Japanese cars" because they want to support US Auto workers, but the Toyota Avalon and all Toyota trucks are made in Tennessee.
The power of marketing is amazing.
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12/02
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