97z28/m6

http://www.leftlanenews.com/toyota-m...ing-spree.html

JakeRobb

Interesting.

Personally, I think people that work at car companies should be encouraged to drive the competition.

Not great for business (and therefore probably not the best policy today), but it's best to know the enemy.

mdenz3

If GM did it, they would likely lay off everyone the day after they bought the cars.

anasazi

why wouldn't you want your managers driving the competition's cars?

you can't have everyone in a bubble reading market research and driving the competition's cars for a few hours or days at a time and expect to totally understand what you are competing with. someone's gotta be able to drive daily what you are trying to beat to experience what the bar truly is.

JakeRobb

True, and that's what I was suggesting.

However, if you're building cars to compete against what the competition has available now, you're always going to be behind the curve. It's good information, but it shouldn't be the only source.

However #2, if you're short on money and the market is in turmoil, there's something to be said for having your employees buy from within.

97z28/m6

would it not look bad in the way of even the managers don't believe in the product?

Koz2

I doubt it.

First of all, how does Joe Shmoe know that someone driving down the road in a Toyota works for Ford.

Second, if you know someone well enough to know that they're a manager at GM, you'd probably know them well enough to be able to ask "Hey, why are you driving that ________ instead of a GM", to which they could give you an answer that makes sense.

IMO, people who aren't car enthusiasts don't notice stuff like this. So I wouldn't see public perception changing if managers from company A started driving cars from different companies. Those that noticed would probably understand any explanation behind it (and like some here, even support it).

1fastdog

Lot's of people at GM do seat time in the competition.

AFAIK, the "Mona Lisa" building is still used as well.

97z28/m6

seat time is one thing but owning a competitors car to drive everyday is another.

Koz

Well no company would encourage its employees to BUY a competitors car. GM has tons of evaluation vehicles for higher-level employees to drive and evaluate. They get a brand new car to evaluate every 6 months or so. These aren't free for the employees, but it works out to be a pretty good deal in comparison with paying for a lease or to buy a vehicle. They also have a competitors test fleet. I'm not sure exactly how this works, but I think it's actually part of some employees jobs to drive them!

1fastdog

It is certainly a different thing indeed, but if one can't get the grasp of a vehicle after driving it in numerous situations, completely disassembling and reviewing every part and sub assembly closely can tell you a lot more than buying it and driving it for a year.

It doesn't take driving a car every day to figure if a car is worthwhile or has good ideas included.

JakeRobb

The quantity of information gathered from disassembly and analysis is certainly larger, but it's completely different information, and both sets of information are highly valuable.

True, but 15 minutes isn't enough either. At the very least, a car should be experienced by someone in the organization in each the following driving situations:

1. Gridlock
2. Multi-hour highway road trips
3. Challenging roads with lots of turns
4. Terrible pavement
5. Extreme weather conditions (heat, cold, ice, downpour, headwind, crosswind)

Above and beyond that, it's also helpful if someone spends time loading/unloading cargo (luggage, groceries, etc) into the car. Someone should check fluid levels, and change the oil without the use of air tools or a lift. Someone should try accessing the spare tire when the trunk/bed/etc is full of cargo.

My point is that you certainly don't have to actually own the car, but IMO you should experience all of the key points of car ownership as if you did. It doesn't even have to be the same person experiencing all of the aspects of a particular car (although that would be nice).

97z28/m6

but you can do that without owning it. my point is how does it look when you own it.

poSSum

I think the employees should have to buy their employers cars, at MSRP, and have to keep them for 5 years. Then they'd get a feel for what the cars are really about.

JakeRobb

As was pointed out earlier, most people would have no idea that a person driving a Ford worked for GM (for example), so it would "look" perfectly normal.

For those who actually know the person, and know where he/she works, they can ask, and he/she can give a well-reasoned answer.