‘Kansei,’ or ‘feeling right,

26 - Friday, June 22, 1990 - North Shore News

AU ToOMmM OT I

VE §

IS

an important trend in the ‘90s

VOLKSWAGEN CALLS it

and Honda refer to it as ‘‘Kansei.’”

‘‘Fahrvergnuegen.’’ Mazda
It is perhaps the most

subtle and important feature of automobiles in the 1990s.

Kansei is the feeling or sensa-
tion, pleasurable or otherwise,
that a driver experiences when
driving a car. It is a subjective
measure of a cars’s quality that
goes beyond nuts and bolts and
encompasses intellectual, emo-
tional and sensory perceptions.

In other words, kansei is how a
car feels through the seat of your
pants (or skirt, as the case may

Racing drivers often refer to the
experience of driving a racing car

as ‘‘being one with the car.’” They
also like to describe their cars as
an extention of themselves, like an
arm or leg. Though it’s hard to
conceive of a Rambler or a
Chrysler as an extra leg, most of
us who drive our cars on a daily
basis do want to feel comfortable
with our cars.

And there are literally hundreds
of things that contribute to the

Noilishore:

may vary between models.
14 inch alluy wheels

© AMIFM ETR auto-reverse cassette stereo
sound sysiem with 4 speakers

© Aulomatic power antenna

PARTS « « SERVICE «

700 Marine Drive,
North Vancouver

Factory built for the North American market. Equipment

* Dual power body-coloured door murors
© Body-coloured door handies
© power door locks

Nofthshore> ~
iamazoa

987- 4458

Oh what a feeling!

way we feel ahout our cars: size,
appearance, comfort, ride, han-
dling, sturdiness, and color are
just a few. Even the nationality of
a car can affect our perception.
For example, some people do not
feel comfortable driving an im-
ported car, and vice versa.

Television advertisements com-
monly use statistics to portray a
car’s virtues, such as 0 to 100
km/h acceleration times, top
speed, passenger room, trunk
space and other comparative
mumbo-jumbo. Some advertise-
ments concentrate on image
advertising where the customer is
supposed to feel macho, frugal,
pampered, adventurous, sporty or
excited when he or she steps into
the car.

But a car with one or a number
of the right ingredients may not
turn your crank once you sit
behind the wheel. A car’s image
can be destroyed in a single test-

SALES ° LEASING

Mon Thurs 79

q

PAIRTIOP AE! wp 2

drive. | have driven many cars
that looked good on paper and
“in the metal,’' but once on the
road I was sincerely disappointed.

Some current automobile adver-
tising reflects a new holistic ap-
proach. Emphasis is being placed
on customer satisfaction surveys,
such as the J.D. Power surveys in
the U.S. and ‘‘best-in-class’’
awards from the Automobile
Journalists Association of
Canada. Slogans such as “‘It just
feels right,’’ ‘‘I love what you do
for me,”’ ‘‘Have you driven a

Ford lately?’” are increasingly

common.

The most striking example of
this was the recent advertising

campaign for Nissan’s new line of
Infiniti luxury cars in the U.S. For
months, neither print nor televi-
sion commercials showed any pic-
tures of the car. Instead, flowing
streams, rocks, trees and land-
scapes were uSed to reflect the
harmony, peace and serenity
buyers might expect when driving
a new Infiniti.

Reflecting the new interest in

driver satisfaction is a new em-
phasis on interior styling. Exterior
styling has always been one of the
most important selling features of
new cars but now car manufac-
turers have realized that motorists
spend the Majority of their time
inside the car. It's always amazed
me how many cars have handsome
exteriors and shoddy interiors.

There is a_ side benefit to
“*kansei’’ that has not gone un-
noticed by the automobile com-
panies. People wha feel good
about their cars tend to get ‘‘at-
tached”’ to that brand of car. This
brand loyalty makes it easier for
the car company to move that
customer up to the next line of car
when it comes time to sell the old
one.

Many car companies have
learned, but some have not, that
if the ‘‘kansei’’ is not there, no
amount of impressive advertising
and statistics will make it a
pleasure to drive. Car owners
tnust be happy with the whole car,
not just the sum of its parts.

ITS HUGE!

YAYS ONLY!"

oe ~inl

* nein June ee .

Sunday June 24, til 6:00pm only w|

* NET OF ALL PROGRAMS - INCLUDES FREIGHT & P.D.I. - DL 4 7496 J ,

pwest Price: