Ford Motor, getting an early jump on New Year's prognostication and marketing, offers it own take on the top 13 consumer trends for 2013 on Thursday — including the rise of minimalism, a return to actual experiences rather than e-life, and a push for quantifiable happiness.
While the trends are not specific to the auto industry autel update, Ford says it can help consumers achieve some of their goals especially with its "electrified" cars.
But the top-ranked trend — "Trust is the New Black" — seems almost ironic as Ford grapples with the recent recall of more than 89,000 of two of its most important vehicles: the 2013 Ford Escape and Fusion with the 1.6-liter EcoBoost engine.
Twelve Escapes and one Fusion have caught fire. But the company says it has no explanation for why — nor a fix for the problem. It has asked owners to park the vehicles and is providing those customers with free rental cars.
Other Ford vehicles and features may fit better with the themes. Just as fitness buffs like to know how many miles they've run and calories they've burned, Ford futurist and study author Sheryl Connelly says drivers like to feel good about their automotive achievements. She says it's part of a "Help Me Help Myself" trend.
Features such as Ford's instrument panel "SmartGauge" help them do this by programming the information they want to know, such as average and instant miles-per-gallon, Connelly says. Leaves and vines grow on the screen to track and reward driving efficiency.
Telling others about this success is important, as "accountability increases when we start to share our goals with friends and family," Connelly says. The MyFord mobile app keeps a record of how owners have driven and how much fuel or battery power they've saved and helps them post it to social networks.
Experts were mixed on whether Ford is on target.
George Magliano, senior economist for IHS Automotive, agrees that the "Help Me Help Myself" trend squares with those who aren't thinking about "who drives the fastest" but competing on "who drives the farthest" on a tank of gas or electrical charge.
Still, Magliano questions whether people are going to accelerate their move toward hybrid and electric cars, which remain costly and are plagued by slow sales.
"Everybody talks about the environment and wants to be green, but a lot of people won't pay for it," he says.
The report, "Looking Further with Ford,"cites the move away from conspicuous consumption as a trend for 2013, although Magliano notes it has been widely discussed since the recession J2534 pass through. In fact, he's more critical of Ford's effort to move the Escape upscale — which he considers a mistake considering consumers' emphasis on value — than last Friday's big recall.
Author and former Road & Track editor Matt DeLorenzo doubts the report is of much use to automakers, even though it offers them some cautionary notes. He calls it "a thinly disguised marketing and sales ploy that surfs on some superficial pop-culture trends that don't really have an impact on building the cars of tomorrow."
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