So I’ve spent all this week in the city some of us at the office like to call Detwah…that’s Detroit to all you ‘Murrican speakers out there. Looking to save a few bucks for VehicleVoice, I reserved the lowest class of automobile (Economy) knowing that rental companies usually stock only a few of them – usually resulting in a free upgrade.
Well, that didn’t happen this time. I reserved a Chevrolet Aveo, and instead of getting the usual free upgrade to something bigger and nicer, I got…wait for it…a Chevrolet Aveo. Rats!
Actually, it ended up being a surprising and enlightening experience. In the week that I had this bargain basement econobox, I truly came to understand just how far the basic automobile has come. Ok sure, so this Aveo had wind-up windows – I seriously don’t remember the last time I used cranks to make the glass go up and down (and I’m no hedonist by any stretch of the imagination; my own daily driver is a 10 year old Volvo station wagon – a paragon of sensibility). And I almost left the car unlocked the first night after locking the driver’s side door – when I glanced back at the car while walking away I realized the other three lock plungers were still up! Geez, they still make cars without power locks?
And don’t forget the dopey looks, either. The little sedan had a really tall profile and tiny itty-bitty little wheels and tires, making the car look nearly comical. In all, I couldn’t have possibly asked for a less appealing car to drive…at least on the surface.
But wait…this car actually had a pretty stylish interior, and very well assembled to boot. Not a creak or rattle over Michigan’s worst potholes! The structure itself felt very stiff, without the slightest hint of flex. At highway speeds, the car was actually pretty quiet – far more so than 90s Honda Civic I owned in college many years ago. Even the engine was relatively refined – certainly not the buzzbomb that economy car engines used to be. Oh, and as for that dorky tall profile, it meant that the interior boasted a high and chair-like seating position, making the interior feel very spacious.
And, despite it lacking power windows and locks, look at what it did have as standard equipment. Power steering, a digital clock, sporty cloth upholstery (with matching cloth on the door panels), metallic trim on the dash and door panels, day/night rearview mirror, and a decent 4-speaker radio with an auxiliary input for your iPod (but no CD player, interestingly – and I say good riddance to those anyways). Those are all features that entry-level cars never used to have as standard.
Aside from the looks and bargain basement image, this was easily a car that I could live with day in and day out. Which brings me to a point I had long comprehended in theory but only now really understand. There are no bad cars anymore. Virtually all cars – even the most basic ones out there – are competent and well built. There is no modern equivalent of the Pinto or Vega today; even the most humble car out there will get the job done, and in relative comfort.
As such, the product itself is becoming much less of a differentiator these days. Now, design and marketing have much bigger roles in getting people to notice the product. Today, choosing a new vehicle is much more about how it looks and how it speaks to a consumer’s wants and sensibilities than it has been in the past. Automobiles have always been emotional purchases to a degree; today this is even more so the case due to the fact that there are truly no bad cars out there – making emotional attributes all that more important.
It’s great news for you as the consumer. Within your budget, go ahead and pick the vehicle your heart wants. Odds are great that it will fulfill all your rational needs just fine.
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