American Car Enthusiast Psychographic

In the field of marketing, the "psychographic" defines any attributes relating to personality, values, attitudes, interests, or lifestyles of your target customer. Think "'flower power" and there you have a psychographic for the initial VW Beetle buyer.

So what is the psychographic of a Local Motors lead-user. We know that sustainability, design, uniqueness, simplicity, connection, education, desirability are all part of the mix and we work daily to integrate the values of our target customer into the first design that we build. But what about American. If building cars locally is something that we are pursuing, then it would make sense that they would appeal to Americans. However, according to research we've conducted, there is a prevalent negativity directed at current American automotive, and the trend seems only to be getting worse. Could it be true that exciting vehicles only come from abroad....To us the answer is not only "No" but "Nonsense!"...but somehow we need to turn the odds in our favor...pick categories which might play deep into an American ethic.

If you are thinking supercar, microcar, pickup truck, large sedan, crossover, etc., those can all be exciting categories, but save them for another forum about commonplace ideas. In focusing on the American psychographic value for this post, let's take a tour of some unique car concepts that we believe have deep American appeal. (NOTE: These images that appear are not all American in origin, but that does not mean that we don't think they have deep roots within the psyche of American enthusiasts.) So here goes:

NEW AMERICAN RODS




(Hemisfear Coupe, Foose design, www.recar.com.au)







(SJiaDesign - LM community)


FULL-SIZE TANDEMS






(Beau Reid Concept - LM Community, www.local-motors.com)









(AH-1J Super Cobra Attack Helicopter...because we all have dreams)


SPORTS CARS THAT CAN RALLY






('75 Lancia Stratos, wikipedia.com)








("Zorro", 1967 Camaro Trophy Truck, www.race-dezert.com)


TRUCKS THAT CAN DOUBLE AS ROAD RACERS







('08 GMC Denali XT Concept, www.caradvice.com.au)








(PanTerra, Filip Tjezserski - LM Community, www.local-motors.com)


WHERE COATINGS TELL A STORY OF THEIR OWN







(Lamborghini Gallardo Art Car, www.lamborghiniblog.com)








(Lamborghini Gallardo Art Car, www.lamborghiniblog.com)








(Fiat Scratch Concept, where the skin comes "pre-scratched", www.fiat-klub.si)







(Frank Stella, BMW Art Car, www.dexigner.com)








(Andy Warhol, BMW Art Car, www.dexigner.com)







(Ken Done, BMW Art Car, www.dexigner.com)






(Roy Lichtenstein, BMW Art Car, www.dexigner.com)


Though this list is not exhaustive, even in categories, it is meant to get that red-blooded, American auto enthusiast blood pumping, hungry for something new and outright thrilling.

If you have a passion that is not well-represented by the current auto landscape, write us and tell us about it.