What car do you drive and why did you choose it

[Norm75]

Following on from the silly season thread, I thought I'd post this, just to get a little cross reference as to how relevant rallying is nowadays to the old adage, race on Sunday, sell on Monday.

To kick off I'll start with . .
Volvo estate . . Work horse, no reason other than had a few Volvo's now
Mini cooper s (r52) . . Wife's car for dog carrying/commuting
Subaru Impreza WRX . . A lot because of rally.

[Rallyper]

Since I was a kid Opel has been my favourite brand. Not only bcs my father had several Rekords 1,9, but also their success in rallying with kadett Rallye Sprint.
Owned one myself doing rallying in 73 -74 with a Gr1.

I always put a brand doing rallying for a better brand (except for BMW which even without rallying, is German high quality brand...) but still have older Opels, Astra and Corsa, which me and my wife going to town shopping with...

[RS]

Skoda Fabia Monte Carlo of course

Because I like the brand and their history and it is currently the most suitable car in their range for me.

[Tarmop]

Branding meant something in the beginning of 2000s, most lately. Now its all about cheap insurance, taxes, economy and other running costs, comfort + a long warranty. Sell as quickly as possible, when that ends and look for another bargain.

(This thread should be in a more sensible place, not under WRC)

[SubaruNorway]

Started with:
American 98' Impreza 2.5 RS
00' Impreza GT/WRX
Now i own a 340Hp 03 STI previously owned by Petter Solberg.
Got into my sensible 30s and also have a 05 Diesel Focus Wagon work car, mostly because i work at Ford.

[Norm75]

(This thread should be in a more sensible place, not under WRC)

I get that, but the silly season thread was becoming cluttered with the subject of rallying being relevant to car sales nowadays, so thought I'd post this here to try and get an idea if it actually is relevant nowadays.

Where do you propose I put the thread?

As for relevance, so far out of 25 or so posts, two people have cars that are production vehicles that are used in current rallying, one of which purchased because of the link to the rally car, and another not sure. So far, and this is a rally forum, goes to show that rallying is not the best place to spend money in an ROI point of view.

[Mirek]

As for relevance, so far out of 25 or so posts, two people have cars that are production vehicles that are used in current rallying, one of which purchased because of the link to the rally car, and another not sure. So far, and this is a rally forum, goes to show that rallying is not the best place to spend money in an ROI point of view.

That's not the correct point of view though. What You must look at is the brand. So far it's very clear that Ford or Škoda has much higher percentual share in this thread, i.e. among the rally-oriented people, than in the real world.

You can't base Your assumption on the share of Evos or Imprezas because these cars are
1) only available with two brands currently not involved in rallying on works level at all
2) very specialized, i.e. completely unsuitable for anyone who doesn't have them for fun driving but for everyday's life

The target is to enhance brand awarness and boost sales of profitable vehicles. As a result it makes much more if You raise sales of Fiestas by 1% over 10% or even 20% with Evos because Evo sales are very marginal and moreover not profitable. Evo is a pure image maker not a car to make profit from.

[Norm75]

That's not the correct point of view though. What You must look at is the brand. So far it's very clear that Ford or Škoda has much higher percentual share in this thread, i.e. among the rally-oriented people, than in the real world.

You can't base Your assumption on the share of Evos or Imprezas because these cars are
1) only available with two brands currently not involved in rallying on works level at all
2) very specialized, i.e. complete unsuitable for anyone who doesn't have them for fun driving

The target is to enhance brand awarness and boost sales of profitable vehicles. As a result it makes much more if You raise sales of Fiestas by 1% over 10% or even 20% with Evos because Evo sales are very marginal and moreover not profitable. Evo is a pure image maker not a car to make profit from.

Exactly right Mirek. Imprezas/evos etc are not relevant to what I'm getting at. Yes seems quite a lot of Skoda's, good car my brother has Octavia vrs, seems about half maybe bought because the brands rallying pedigree.
More interesting to know those that have bought a new car in the last year or two, and if the brand had any relevance in rallying and if that played a part in the purchase but still interesting none the less, seems it used to be more relevant than it is now.

[MrJan]

VW Caddy, because I can have a bed in the back and use it at various motorsport events or mountain biking....not really a whole lot of influence from the 'win on Sunday' idea.

[deephouse]

Peugeot 206, Audi A4 (B5), Mitsubishi Colt CZ3, again Peugeot 206. I really don't care about new car as long as it drives me from point to point and I haven't much cost with it.