Brands Create Customers

Here is some updated information about the Mazda cars on the Cougar Ace. (See my original September 4 post on the brand challenges of the Cougar Ace saga for more details.)

Cougar Ace cars will not be sold as “new”

Autoblog quotes a Mazda press release that none of the Mazda vehicles on the stricken Cougar Ace car carrier will be sold as new. As stated in the release, Mazda will make a final determination on the saleability status of each car only after all the vehicles have been taken off the ship and inspected in Portland, Oregon. With almost 5,000 Mazda vehicles on board, that may take some time.

Mazda has announced that it will also publish all the VIN numbers of the vehicles, so that there will be a clear record of “Cougar Ace cars” released to market.

Steps toward brand transparency

From the Mazda release:

HIROSHIMA, Japan– Mazda North American Operations (MNAO) today announced that the Mazda vehicles aboard the car-carrying vessel, Cougar Ace, which ran into trouble on July 23, 2006, off the Alaskan coast, resulting in her listing some 60-plus degrees, will not be sold as new vehicles.

“While we do not, at this time, know the full extent of the damage to vehicles on board, none of the Mazdas will be sold as new”, said Jim O’Sullivan, president and CEO of MNAO. “Those beyond repair will be immediately scrapped. It is possible that those vehicles which are repairable would be made available for sale as used cars through Mazda’s dealer network in the U.S. and Canada. We will only be in a position to decide on any used car sales once the vessel has been unloaded and each unit comprehensively inspected.”

“In the interests of transparency and customer peace of mind, we will post a listing of all vehicle identification numbers (VINs) on our consumer Websites, www.MazdaUSA.com and www.mazda.ca so that there is no confusion as to which vehicles were on the ship,” stated O’Sullivan.

And the reaction from Autoblog:

We’re pleased to see that Mazda is handling this the right way. Publicizing the VIN list is a great good faith measure, and doing so inoculates them from accusations of trying to pass on damaged goods to customers. In fact, we wonder if the list will actually help them close a few deals along the way (assuming some cars are in repairable condition).

Think about it: given their history, some may view the cars on board as odd collectibles — reminders of a fascinating and dramatic maritime event. In this case, the VIN list serves as irrefutable proof of the cars’ backgrounds.

Still, you won’t find us lining up for one if they show up in dealerships. We prefer cars whose trips across the ocean are more boring and uneventful.

Mazda’s brand options

I outlined a number of Mazda brand options in my original post. The mere fact that these vehicles withstood a near disaster in the open ocean qualifies them for special status. They are a test of the Mazda brand. Given Mazda’s announced direction, the cars certainly merit a brand consideration above the humdrum category of “used.” They’re experienced, and they’re survivors. If Mazda treats them as such, and has 100% confidence in them as Mazda products, it can sell them as examples of brand strength.

The key to this process, though, is that while none of these vehicles fell overboard, Mazda itself must go overboard in supporting them, and Mazda customers, in rebuilding this corner of the Mazda brand.

This entry was posted on Thursday, September 28th, 2006 at 6:16 am and is filed under Fundamentals. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.