What do car brand representatives actually drive?

[scratchpaddy]

Today, I went to the big new car show they have every Thanksgiving weekend at the Phoenix convention center.



Every brand in the show (not Rolls Royce, that was just a dealer teaser display outside) had at least one brand representative to talk up the cars and answer questions. After being asked several times if I had any questions, I came up with one: "What do you drive?"

Most of the time, the response was a pause and a nervous smile, followed by, "Well... I actually drive a <other brand>..." Only the Porsche lady refused to say what she drove, beyond the fact that it wasn't a Porsche. Everyone else was fairly open about it. Subaru was the only brand which every salesperson actually drove, but I expected that. Subaru owners are very loyal.

I was surprised to find out that many of these people, in the business of selling cars, don't actually own a car themselves. Most of them come from corporate headquarters in city centers across the country, places where cars are more of a liability than a convenience, like New York City. Nearly all of them were not local, and I even met one salesman who grew up in the same Atlanta suburb I did.

Here are most of the responses I got:

Acura: Acura TL
Audi: Honda Accord
BMW: BMW i3 & BMW X3
Buick: '67 El Camino, recently totaled, she gets by without a car now.
Cadillac: Toyota Camry
Chevrolet: Silverado 2500 & several other GM products; I gave him the "most loyal salesman" award
FCA: GMC Canyon
Ford: Ten cars ("I'm a car guy"), all GM products except for a '15 Prius which he despises and is about to trade in for a Ford Fusion Hybrid, not a Focus RS, sadly :(



GMC: No car
Honda: Honda Accord (duh)



Hyundai: No car
Infiniti: No car



Kia: Chevrolet Malibu
Lexus: No car



Lincoln: No car
Mazda: Mercedes CLS



Mercedes: No car
Mitsubishi: Chrysler 200



Nissan: Two '89 Honda CRX's, Scion xB, and many pairs of shoes ("If you have any questions about shoes, let me know")
Porsche: No comment
Subaru: Subaru Forester/Subaru WRX STi
Toyota: Lexus IS (same company, at least)
Volkswagen: Ford Focus



Volvo: Honda Civic ("I couldn't afford a Volvo")

[NEexpat]

I used to work at the local Benz dealership and if you looked in the employee parking lot almost all you would see was Toyotas and Hondas. If you did see a Benz it was usually a diesel and belonged to a tech. They loved the diesels.
Most of the sales guys, Toyotas and Hondas, but a few drove MB's. Of course all the top guys drove Benzes.
At the time I drove a Honda, and look this place would turn out their loaner cars (Benzes) every few years and we were given first choice, and as an employee you could get outrageous deals, and not many were interested.
Tech who had been there 28 years, told me only buy Benzes, Beemers, Audis, almost anything German, new, and get rid of them as soon as they are out of warranty. Too costly to maintain after that, Unless it's a diesel, god they loved the diesels.

For me it will only be a Toyota or Honda, last car before this was a 1988 Honda Accord that our family ran for 22 years and almost a quarter of a million miles, and would still be on the road if the right and left rear quarter panels above the wheel wells were not rotting off the car.

[ern-diz]

This was a fun read!

[scratchpaddy]

Yeah, I wouldn't dream of owning a German car. I love how they look, and Mercedes interiors are incredible, but I like a car that can be counted on for decades, and don't need more than a regular tool kit to work on. The Mercedes-driving Mazda rep was a very talented saleswoman, but not into cars in a gearhead sort of way.

I was surprised that almost none of the sales reps drove SUV's. The BMW guy had an X3 for trips too long for his i3 to handle, and the FCA and Chevy guys had trucks, but everyone else had cars. I was encouraged that the regular car is not dead yet.

[KimmoKekki]

Like we all know lads

[SirDigby]

I was trained as a VW tech. most of the techs at VW drive VW, as they don't have to pay for work. I drove a civic when I was there. when asked why I didn't drive a VW i'd reply, "i can't afford $5000 a year in maintenance." plus, I don't want to be associated with "VW people."
they are great cars when every thing is tight and working. 90's and 80's german cars are great too and are easy(er) to work on.
most richies out here drive Lexus. they are nice and have 4wheel drive. there is also a ton of Subaru. yuck. I think they are the worst.

[ern-diz]

Originally Posted by SirDigby

there is also a ton of Subaru. yuck. I think they are the worst.

Sheeeeeit, I'd take a WRX STI in a heartbeat.

[SirDigby]

Originally Posted by ern-diz

Sheeeeeit, I'd take a WRX STI in a heartbeat.

terrible. the "sti" is only a suspension upgrade that adds $10,000 to the cost of a wrx. for $10,000 you can get a much better suspension.
the flat engine is a good racing engine, but for every day use the piston dragging on the bottom of the cylinder is a terrible idea (imo) that will cause premature wear. the heads (2 of them) start to leak every 60,000 miles (or so) and need to be machined and sealed. I used to work at an Acura/Subaru dealership and that head mill machine was running all day, every day. it runs a boxster set-up, so it's like 2 two cylinder engines running at the same time. that's why they sound so stupid and sound like they are misfiring. then there is the AWD which is totally not needed on any street vehicle and leads to wasted money on tires. (imo) then, there is the type of people that drive Subaru; ether hippies or idiots. I don't want to be associated with ether group. (imo)
also, i live in CO, near Boulder, so my Subaru owner experiences my differ from those in other parts of the country/world.