Most corporations rely on clinic studies, marketing, and consumer research to tell them what they “should” produce and what consumers “want.” Once in awhile that process works, but for the most part you come out with vanilla products or total flops.

My question is, why not look to designers to…oh, I don’t know, design. Their is a reason we are payed for our insights and talent. Why not use it. Apple doesn’t do clinics and instead focuses on great designed products. Last I checked they were doing pretty well.
There is an article after the jump that talks about the OEM’s not knowing what consumers want. Well, here is a thought. Consumers always go nuts over concepts cars, so design the production cars closer to the concept cars, that was easy.

Make cars more emotional.

My parents (baby boomers) just bought a new car and almost every vehicle I showed them they thought was boring. And they are easy going consumers that get excited over dual exhaust. If that doesn’t tell you something about the current vehicles out then I don’t know what will.

Check out the article from The Detroit News and have a laugh at how lost these huge stubborn companies are.

Chrysler, Ford and GM have holes in lineups,
but are busy hunting for the key future trends

American automakers admit they are having a difficult time anticipating what consumers want, especially with consumers becoming more fragmented and choosy about everything they buy – from electronics to automobiles.
Chrysler officials admit they are faced with a hole in their product lineup, lacking an offering in the popular crossover segment. Ford is scrambling to revamp its Taurus sedan, and General Motors wishes it would have been quicker to launch a Chevrolet version of its popular crossover lineup, which is without an entry in the automaker’s top-selling brand. They’re moving quickly to correct gaps, while also trying even harder to ensure they are driving the trends instead of following them.
“This is important given the long lead times of our industry,” says Troy Clarke, GM’s North America president. “We need to sense what people will want four or five years from now.
Clarke traveled the United States, watching focus groups to see and get a sense of what piqued customer interests. GM also is trying to do more to tap its vast dealer network, said Mark Laneve, the automaker’s marketing chief.
Misjudging the trends is costly, but hits can be game-changing. Chrysler succeeded when it tapped into the emerging baby boomers demographic in the 1980s with the minivan. That’s why auto manufacturers are doing more than ever to get a feel of what consumers are looking for.
Some of Ford latest offerings, such as its Work Solutions that helps businesses manage their fleets and can take an inventory of all the tools in a truck, are a direct result of listening to and watching customers, said Mark Fields, the firm’s president of the Americas.
Chrysler is working to shorten the time it takes to get a vehicle from the design stage to the dealer showroom, said Frank Klegon, the company’s executive vice president for product development. The automaker brought a production version of its Dodge Challenger coupe to the show floor 21 months after it was approved.
Tracking consumer tastes, from holding focus groups to viewing Internet chat rooms, have long been a part of the auto industry. But the efforts these days appear to be more genuine, explained Jack Nerad, an executive market analyst for Kelley Blue Book. “It’s not just to validate their product plans anymore,” he said. “They are trying to gain real feedback.” (The Detroit News)