Comments on: “Priced For Us All” And Starting At $19,800 http://thesocietypages.org/socimages/2009/05/03/priced-for-us-all-and-starting-at-19800/ Sociological Images encourages people to exercise and develop their sociological imaginations with discussions of compelling visuals that span the breadth of sociological inquiry. Fri, 25 May 2012 16:06:00 +0000 hourly 1 By: a westie http://thesocietypages.org/socimages/2009/05/03/priced-for-us-all-and-starting-at-19800/comment-page-1/#comment-36511 a westie Sun, 17 May 2009 00:04:12 +0000 http://thesocietypages.org/socimages/?p=8946#comment-36511 I agree with John, and was going to say exactly what he said. "Everyone" is code for "people who want a hybrid but find a base-trim Prius too pricey." Directly naming the Prius would bring up issues of truth in advertising law and encourage debates about the value of the vehicles (ie which gets better mileage, how much with GPS, etc), which is nebulous and could backfire. I don't think it's classist or anything. They just wanted a profound slogan, instead of a less impressive "10% less than the most prominent competition." Still, I think it'd be smarter to apply this tagline to a compact or an inexpensive fuel efficient sedan that gets Prius-like mileage at a lower price. It'd win over people who want to be green on a budget, and environmentalists would like it as it fights the claim that environmental action is something only the rich care about. Granted, they'd need to design such a vehicle in the first place, and the Fit isn't quite as good on gas as a Yaris, or even a Geo Metro. I agree with John, and was going to say exactly what he said. “Everyone” is code for “people who want a hybrid but find a base-trim Prius too pricey.” Directly naming the Prius would bring up issues of truth in advertising law and encourage debates about the value of the vehicles (ie which gets better mileage, how much with GPS, etc), which is nebulous and could backfire.

I don’t think it’s classist or anything. They just wanted a profound slogan, instead of a less impressive “10% less than the most prominent competition.” Still, I think it’d be smarter to apply this tagline to a compact or an inexpensive fuel efficient sedan that gets Prius-like mileage at a lower price. It’d win over people who want to be green on a budget, and environmentalists would like it as it fights the claim that environmental action is something only the rich care about. Granted, they’d need to design such a vehicle in the first place, and the Fit isn’t quite as good on gas as a Yaris, or even a Geo Metro.

]]> By: John http://thesocietypages.org/socimages/2009/05/03/priced-for-us-all-and-starting-at-19800/comment-page-1/#comment-30386 John Sun, 03 May 2009 23:10:33 +0000 http://thesocietypages.org/socimages/?p=8946#comment-30386 It is important to note that Honda's plan with the Insight is to price it several thousand dollars less than a comparably equipped (though larger) Toyota Prius. It is interesting that Honda is contrasting a $20,000 Insight with a $22,000 Prius and stating that the Insight is "for everyone" rather than potentially diluting its brand cache by saying it is "cheaper." It is important to note that Honda’s plan with the Insight is to price it several thousand dollars less than a comparably equipped (though larger) Toyota Prius. It is interesting that Honda is contrasting a $20,000 Insight with a $22,000 Prius and stating that the Insight is “for everyone” rather than potentially diluting its brand cache by saying it is “cheaper.”

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