Competitive Parking

[nissangirl74]

I was a bit shocked by this article but I guess this is a pretty common thing when you work for a manufacturer. Has anyone here worked for a company with designated parking based on the car you drive?


http://jalopnik.com/dear-car-companies- ... 2191903270

[themadscientist]

Typical American thinking. Instead of addressing their own shortcomings blame the customer for buying a product that better met their needs. Compound that by punishing those customers when they work for you. Way to let people know how important they are to your company with some petty BS like that.

Were I a senior guy at a carmaker and I saw employees driving the competitors' products I would talk to them with genuine interest as to why they bought what they bought. It would give valuable insight into product changes that might be worth exploring not to mention creating some goodwill with the employees.

When I went car shopping I was looking at more than just specs and aesthetics, I was also looking at reliability histories. What really sealed the deal for me, that last bit of certainty, three of the employees at the Subaru dealer were rolling BRZs. That says a lot.

If the employees don't buy the product they make, it's not their fault, it's the company's fault. Fix it or watch your market share continue to dwindle.

[Bubba1]

I remember competitive parking was common a few decades ago, particularly at 'Murican auto company plants, though not really at foreign marque assembly plants in the US. I thought it was silly as this was during an era when American cars weren't built particularly well, but they were serious about it. If you called on an American car assembly plant, you either drove one of their models, or you parked far enough away to have them not notice what you brung. it was worse to show up in a "ferrin" car than a competing 'Murican make. I didn't think that was still the case nowadays, though I admit I haven't visited a an auto plant in several years.

[float_6969]

I didn't even know it was a thing. I didn't read the whole article, but it seems like a stupid idea to me.

[elwesso]

We have a GM plant local to my area (makes the pickup trucks), and their parking lot is *exclusive* to American (and I believe Union) made vehicles. In this plant that has like 1000 people on each shift they literally have like 5-10 parking spots for any foreign make car, and if you park your car in another spot, they WILL tow it. Really sucks for contractors or 3rd party vendors.

[Bubba1]

Oh yeah. It was a big deal. Some of you might be too young to know about it. It was a pride/image/arrogance kinda thing. Believe it or not, back then it was actually one of the few things management and the unions could agree on. The last thing a 'Murican car manufacturer would want is a picture published of their own parking lot filled with Toyota Corollas. If you were crazy enough to park your foreign car near the door, you could expect to see spit marks at minimum when you return.

[MinisterofDOOM]

I knew this was a thing, but I've always thought it was ridiculous. Yes, I understand the image factor of having a Ford lot full of Toyotas. I also think it's the stupidest mentality ever. My opinion on that notwithstanding, however, when you have stuff like NUMMI and Diamond Star going on where you're outright SELLING those cars you're afraid of--at your own dealers!--it feels a little hypocritical to get picky about what your employees are driving. You can have a Prism on the lot, but not a Corolla? A Stratus but not an Eclipse? There aren't enough Picard facepalms on the internet for that one.

If you're so image-conscious that you can't handle the competitors' models on your lot, you'd better be ready to hand out free cars. And, if you're '90s GM, you'd better be ready for those free cars to still not be worth driving over the competition. Which brings me to my main point:

If you're worried about your lot being full of competitors' cars, you should probably take that as a sign that your products need work. You don't get to be the brand that builds the Cavalier and then get mad when your entry-level workers choose something else.

[PapaSmurf2k3]

Yup, Nissan had "Nissan/Infiniti only" parking when I worked there. It was basically anything near the gate. Oddly enough, they didn't mention datsuns.

[Bubba1]

To be fair, MoD, this practice began long before American joint ventures with Japanese companies. It was more of a union kinda thing that management embraced, (or vice versa), and popular among the big 3. Though I imagine some Japanese companies with American plants have done it as well. The reasons they did it was not just projecting an image that the employees stand behind the vehicles, it also promoted loyalty among the ranks, and more vehicles sales (albeit with a discount). Wasn't really that ridiculous sounding back during the malaise era for American carmakers.

[frapjap]

I think Andy mentioned something about that before. Either that, or boos and hisses from the plant workers.