I have noticed that some American Car Manufacturers seem to have lost sight of basic automobile marketing principals. So I have assembled some basic principals that should be taken into account when marketing American Cars to Americans. There are several groups that should be targeted by American Automobile Manufacturers and some key principals should be applied to each group.

Women: Women feel that they do not know enough about cars to make an informed choice about which automobile to purchase, so most of them ask a man to help them decided. So; to sell a car to a women, you need to know how to sell a car to a man (see below). The remaining women (who shop for a car without a man) make up such a small percentage of the American market that they should be ignored by American Car Manufacturers.

Green Planet, Tree Hugger Types: The only things these people hate more than America are: American Corporations and American Cars. No matter how much noise they make, and what you do to appease these people, they will buy their cars from Japan. Appeasing them is a waste of time; these people should be ignored by American Car Manufacturers. The caveat to this principal, however, is that although these folks think that "Americans should drive small, fuel efficient, economy cars," most of them feel that they themselves are the exception to the rule (for whatever stupid reason they come up with). These "exceptional green planet types" will buy full size SUVs and indeed they make up the largest portion of the "green planet" market (AKA liberal hypocrites). To sell cars to these people, listen to what they say, and do the opposite. They will buy the biggest SUVs with the largest engines available. Offer them a diesel (which gets slightly better mileage to help them feel good about themselves, but does far more damage to the environment because of its dirty emissions) and you will hit the "green planet" jackpot.

Men: Understanding how American men buy cars is crucial to your success. Men are very logical and methodical in their decision making process; except when it comes to choosing a car, men buy cars on pure emotion and adrenalin. They want cars that they can get excited about, cars that look good, cars that have power, and cars that sound great. If they sit in a car, and the salesman hears them say: "Now this is a driver's car," the car is already sold; all discounts need not be considered. The only restraint that is important here is with regard to fathers. Fathers don't buy two-door cars while their children live at home. When selling to Dad, you need an exciting, four door. When men buy light trucks (and SUVs), they want big trucks that look great and sound great. They need to be able to carry heavy loads or pull a big boat. They need space, lots of it; in SUVs, they need space behind the third row of seats to store their stuff. To sell cars to men, you need to market cars that men can get excited about: "driver's cars." The key point: men buy cars on pure emotion and adrenalin; they buy cars that excite them!

Summary: To sell American cars in America you need to offer cars that people can get excited about! Your product line should include exciting four-door cars and full size light trucks and SUVs.