When it comes to buying a car, it’s often easy to get caught up in semantics. From the shape of the front to the material of the seats, we can often get distracted when making a choice about our chosen car. That being said, one factor often wins above anything else when it comes to determining the quality of a car manufacturer: prestige.
The term prestige in the auto industry, though, might sound quite odd. It’s not a person, so it might be hard to know that prestige means in this particular instance. Rest assured, though, that just like any other industry the prestige factor of the manufacturer matters a great deal.
So, when you might wonder ‘what does prestige mean in relation to a car?’ you are about to find out. Prestige might seem like something quite nebulous. But, in an industry as competitive and as challenging as car manufacturing, the prestige of a car brand is exceptionally important. This is why you so many people take care when choosing the car that they buy: they want to make sure they get the most prestigious model that they can afford.
What does prestige mean with regards to a car?
While commonly used in conjunction with making a brand more appealing than general, the term prestige is all about securing the respect of the market and building a reputation of excellence. Prestige is often a term which is overly used, though; the amount of car making firms which are actually prestigious is quite limited in size.
If we look at examples in car manufacturing, Porsche could be a good example of the concept of prestige on the road. Since 1931 when Porsche was formed, the car producer has positioned the brand in the prestigious bracket. This has been achieved by developing prestige around specific vehicles that Porsche produces. Some of these iconic vehicles include the Porsche 911. The Porsche 911 was designed and developed to be a high-performance sports car which has had a prestigious life.
For a car to be prestigious, all elements that make up that car have to have a certain degree to prestige to them. For example, take someone like Pirelli, who is one of the most prestigious names in car tyre world.. Their tyres can be found on just about any race track or motorway that you drive on across the world. Known for their consistency, quality and their pioneering innovations, Pirelli is more than just another manufacturer tyres and car goods: they are an elite name within manufacturing with good reason.
It comes from their ability to set in stone a clear set of purposes for their products. It’s also about the fact that they have maintained a consistent level of quality form product to product, across year to year. Prestige is not just about having one amazing release: like Pirelli has done, it’s about having amazing releases and market innovations time and time again.
In car manufacturing, then, consistency and continued ethical credibility is what builds prestige in such a challenging industry. The quality of power and performance matters, of course, but more important than that is making sure that the brand lives up to its values.
Every company in manufacturing is known for producing a few key performance enhancing solutions. From being more cost-effective to high performance capabilities, prestige comes from being able to live up to those extensive requests for quality year-in, year-out, regardless of the product or present market challenges.
For close to a century and a half, Pirelli has been a hugely prestigious brand. Their ability to create quality on a continuous basis whilst still fitting in with their market goals and aims has long been a major factor in their prestige. So, in the car manufacturing industry, prestige comes from making a promise and then sticking to it regardless of the challenges the brand might face.