Why do we fall in love, stay in love with certain cars?
Car love.
For some, it’s an obsession. One that rivals first love. Something that you never forget. And compare everything else to.
“I have learned that there is no known cure for this affliction other than death,” said Burt Richmond, managing partner of Chicago’s Collectors Car Garage. He gave his loyalty to a 1954 Commander Starlight after he worked across the street from a Studebaker dealership in his youth, enthralled and forever smitten by its style.
He’s not alone. “As I schmooze with other car enthusiasts, the thread that always comes up are these adolescent dreams that become repressed obsessions,” Richmond said. “It certainly rang true for me.”
A love like this breeds commitment and a loyalty that can last for years. That’s what happened when I was introduced to the Honda Accord.
My first was a used six-cylinder with a green exterior and beige interior. It didn’t necessarily call to me from across a crowded dealership lot, but after riding in it and feeling the pickup when hitting the highway, I was hooked.
I never looked back from the Green Hornet. I am an Accord loyalist. Low to the ground, my current sedan hugs turns like we hugged our friends when the Chicago Bears won the Super Bowl in 1986 — fiercely. And even though this one doesn’t have all the accoutrements of newer models, its presence in my life is like a cup of hot cocoa in a world of cold shoulders.
On the eve of last month’s Chicago Auto Show, I sought other car owners with a similar love.
John Schumacher, president of the Windy City Miata Club, fell in love with two-seater roadsters in the 1970s thanks to the British Triumph Spitfire. But it wasn’t until he came across the more reliable Mazda Miata that he and his wife found their forever car model.
“It’s the car and the handling itself. You’re really one with the road, the car is so responsive,” he said. “It’s the experience of the open car. You drive down Lake Shore, and you can smell the lake. You drive through the forest preserve, and you can feel the change in temperature. You’re just so aware of the world around you. The only thing better would be to be on a motorcycle.”
He’s been loyal to the model since 1999.
Why are we drawn to the same item again and again? What is it about the siren song of one model that keeps us loyal through refreshes and redesigns, through life changes and milestones?
According to Karl Brauer, executive publisher for Kelley Blue Book, there’s something about making a connection with a vehicle when you’re younger.
“When you’re younger and you buy that first car, and if it’s really a great experience, you feel like the car did everything you ever would have wanted it to do with minimal problems. You think, ‘How can I do better than this? Why would I walk away from this vehicle and this manufacturer, given my experience here?’” Brauer said. “But of course, that’s what the manufacturers want. They dream of having customers like that.”
John Hennessy, owner of River View Ford in Oswego, Illinois, can relate. But he says it’s a mixture of items, including the relationship with the dealer who sold you the car.
“It depends on the look. It depends on the comfort of the ride. It depends on the practicality of what you’re using it for,” said the father of four. “When you’re comfortable with a product, you love the product. You love the dealer. That drives that loyalty to keep buying that same vehicle.”
Case in point: Hennessy said he may drive a Mustang convertible during the summer, but he keeps coming back to the Ford Fusion, ever since 2013.
“You typically do see high loyalty rates for the same vehicle. That’s not at all unusual,” said Jennifer Caldwell, executive director of industry analysis at Edmunds, an online resource for automotive information. While the industry usually sees lower loyalty rates for some of the smaller vehicles, the highest loyalty rates can be seen for things like full-size pickup trucks, “because that’s for a specific-purpose vehicle that doesn’t go away from your life if you’re 25 or if you’re 45,” she said.
“I think that it’s human nature that, when something works for you, you continue to stick to it,” Caldwell added. “Also, if you were to look at a different car, it would be kind of starting from square one again, so I think that makes us inherently more loyal by nature.”
So here’s to you, Honda Accord.
I’m loyal to a fault for you and your adeptness to make my commute and road adventures as eventful or uneventful as I wish. I tip my hat to your black interior, gunmetal facade and Cd-playing greatness. Cheers to my 2010 Gray Ghost.