The theory behind market segmentation assumes that people have a certain set of needs and thus that when looking to buy something like a car can be expected to buy a specific type of product. Reality isn’t nearly so clean. Although I continue to find market segmentation quite interesting (how might car buyers be grouped?), and believe there’s a role for… More →
Month: February 2008
Misplaced trust: USAA no longer a low cost insurance provider
We’re all very busy these days. I know I am. So it helps to feel that there are companies that we can trust to provide good service at a good price. After all, who has the time to shop around for the best car insurance, phone plan, Internet service, doctor, mechanic, stock broker, accountant, lawyer, and so forth on a… More →
Changes in the “most popular” list
I just updated the list of the “most popular price comparisons” for the first time in four months. I’d update it more regularly, but it doesn’t change much. Not even this time, when there’s no overlap in the time periods covered between the old list and the new one. Of the five most common comparisons last time, four remain in… More →
The numbers behind Consumer Reports’ reliability ratings
In Consumer Reports, a 3 percent problem rate can count as “much worse than average” at the system level (electrical, cooling, etc.). That’s the lowest problem rate for which they’ll assign a solid black dot, if it also happens to be 45 percent worse than the average. In the case of a 3 percent black dot, the average problem rate for the system would have to… More →
The January survey – 4,985 responses!
Data collection has ended for the fourth quarter. 4,985 responses were received, up from 3,600 in the third quarter and 2,835 in the second. (And the two quarters before those? 2,193 and 1,324.) The response rate remained about the same as before, at 41.5 percent. This will enable us to post results for 92 model / model year combinations, and… More →
What does it take?
When the Vehicle Reliability Survey first goes out near the beginning of the month, over 1,000 people responded in the first two hours. Now we’re at the end of the cycle, and I’ve been pushing to get six models that are just a single response short over the hump. Nearly 200 emails were sent this morning to panel members who own… More →