Old Vs New Vehicle Models

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Recently my family and I have been looking into purchasing an affordable compact SUV. According to my dad, since the 2014 models are out now the 2013 models are most likely to drop in price. However, after I did some research online it is forecasted that the best time to purchase a car is during the winter when people are least likely to purchase a car therefore, causing a drop in the prices of vehicles. Regardless, we still pursued on purchasing a new vehicle. So we browsed online to see which vehicles were considered to be the top affordable compact SUV. I landed on the website the U.S. News Rankings and Reviews that listed the top 10 affordable compact SUVs of 2013. As a consumer, I personally focus more on the exterior appearance of the car before looking into the mechanical side of it. After looking through numerous vehicles, I finally set my eyes on the 2013 Mazda CX-5 which was ranked number 2 on the list. When I looked into the pros and cons of the vehicle I noticed that the engine on the 2013 model was lacking because it had a 2.0L engine which made it slightly under-powered as compared to the other compact SUV vehicles. Many consumer reviews that I have read have mentioned about the under-powered engine which made it a disadvantage. In class we learned about the use of the quality function deployment and based on the consumers wants the company will make the product accordingly. So when I looked into the 2014 model of the Mazda CX-5, I noticed that they changed their engine from a 2.0L to a 2.5L which is the standard engine on a Compact SUV. Therefore, Mazda has identified the customer’s wants and has made the adjustments onto the 2014 model. However, now that the 2014 model has came out the complaint from consumers is that the 5.8 inch touch panel screen is too small compared to other cars that has a 6-8 inch screen. I believe that the 2015 model of the Mazda CX-5 will have a larger screen panel in response to the consumers demand. As we have learned in class, as time progresses the company makes slight advancements and additions into each of the models and not all at once. First it is due to the consumers demand and second to keep the consumers wanting the most recent and updated technology. Therefore, allowing the company to generate a profit and to continue adding on to the existing product line.

Do you think companies leave out some specs or features on the product just so they can put it into the next model they come out with in order to generate profit in an existing product line?

Sources:
http://usnews.rankingsandreviews.com/cars-trucks/Mazda_CX-5/

http://www.caranddriver.com/news/2014-mazda-cx-5-photos-and-info-news

2 thoughts on “Old Vs New Vehicle Models

  1. I think this is an interesting question you bring to the table, and one that I think about all the time. In regards to technological companies, such as Apple, I completely think that they leave out specs/features/gadgets/etc in order to have a new product every year or every other year. They know that consumers will still buy their product regardless if they offer a product today vs the same product with a minor adjustment later (most likely consumers will purchase both). Personally, as a consumer I think that is sort of silly. I remember when the iPad 2 came out and right after the release, Apple was discussing new features on the iPad 3. In my opinion I thought; why not offer one great product with all the features. I know that technology progresses and changes all the time, but for the differences in the iPad 2 and 3 (just as an example) I felt the features of the iPads could have been implemented in one product, and not two.

    After thinking through this a little further however, I think it all relates back to a company’s strategy. Whether if it is being first to market, or just how they decide to do their product releases. Regardless, I feel that certain companies do make the releases without certain features so they can put it in the nextmodel to generate greater profit.

    In regards to your discussion about the SUV, I do not know much about cars, but I would think that an auto manufacturer would try to put all the specs/features they can into the car they are releasing at the time. I think this differs a bit from technological products, like Apple, for the fact that auto manufactures learn a lot from their competitors and customer responses in order to always better and enhance their product. I think it is a bit different, because Apple is top dog in technology and people will always want their products because of branding. As for cars, I feel individuals don’t have as much brand loyalty – they rather get a great car, at a good price, with certain specific features. Therefore I would say that auto manufactures tend to leave out less features because there are competitors that have the opportunity to market those features and thus obtain more market share presently.

  2. Perhaps the Mazda chose to put a 2.0L engine in their 2013 model since the 2.0L has been around longer. I know many people who own Mazdas and the cars have a reputation for reliability. The company may have been sticking to the 2.0 L engine for reliability purposes since this engine is more trusted. It is risky business to make the change to an engine that has not been tested as much in a car that holds lives of people each day.

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