n the late 1990s, Neil Peterson, then a Los Angeles public-transportation official, was traveling in Europe when he stumbled upon a new approach to owning a car. Car sharing, which became popular on the Continent in the 1980s, was aimed at people who owned a vehicle or were thinking of buying one but were turned off by the expense and hassle of maintaining the thing full time. Under car sharing, you didn't buy a car outright; you used it as you would a time-share property, reserving blocks of time that suited your needs. If you wanted only to drive to the market, you could rent it for an hour at a time with a low mileage limit. If you wanted to take weekend jaunts, you could buy a bundle of hours with a high mileage allowance. To pick up the car, you'd travel to the closest sharing outlet (usually just a walk or short bus ride away), and when you were done, you'd drop the vehicle off there. The concept wasn't new to the U.S. A number of small nonprofits sprang up in the mid-'90s that allowed residents to use a vehicle in their community on an hourly basis. But Mr. Peterson had bigger plans: He wanted to bring car sharing to large cities, and he wanted to turn a profit. Any entrepreneur knows it's tough enough trying to start a small business selling a garden-variety product or service. So how do you change the mind-set of a country that sees automobiles as symbols of status and freedom -- where people often wear their cars like they wear their clothes? "The automobile is part of the culture here," says Mr. Peterson. The Solution: Mr. Peterson started Flex car in Seattle in 1999 with just five vehicles. His first step, which he has repeated in other cities, was to partner with local public-transportation boards, universities and businesses to help market his program. For instance, in some cities Flex car has made deals with transit officials that let the company offer its customers passes for public buses and trains. And some employers partially subsidize Flex car memberships as a perk for their employees. Mr. Peterson's marketing tried to position car sharing as liberating, offering slogans such as "Why buy wheels when you can borrow them?" Flex car’s ads also urge drivers to "Shift your thinking" about car ownership--don't look at a car as a status symbol but as a means of getting around. Don't even look at it as property, in fact; think of it more as a time-share vacation home. Car sharing "gives you a short-term relationship, kind of like getting a motel room instead of buying a house," says Michael Marsden, a professor at Eastern Kentucky University in Richmond, Ky., who teaches about American car culture. "We as Americans love our cars, but they certainly drain time and money, and this is an alternative to that." Mr. Peterson also pushed price. The average cost of owning or leasing a new car, including things such as gas, insurance, depreciation and the car payment itself, totals $625 a month, according to the American Automobile Association. The average member in a car-sharing program spends less than $100 a month on car expenses. Flex car members pay a one-time $25 membership fee. Someone needing a car only occasionally can pay as little as $10 an hour with 10 free miles, plus 35 cents each additional mile. Those needing the car more often can select from five monthly plans starting from $45, for up to five hours and 50 But the idea of a large car-sharing program in Seattle encountered some bumps in the road. Ref Lindmark, a Seattle transportation official who helped get the Flex car program off the ground there, says the idea wasn't well received by a number of potential partners. Some rental-car companies, which he approached about starting a car-sharing program, didn't respond to requests. Some small neighborhood car-share organizations expressed their concerns that the idea just wouldn't work: Car sharing was a local, niche idea, they felt, and they didn't want to be part of a national operation. "We knew we were taking a risk," says Mr. Lindmark, outreach coordinator for the King County metro area's Car-Sharing Program in Seattle and a partner with Flex car. "But we thought wherever you have urban density, a good transit system and marketing opportunities, there's a good chance it could work." and Mr. Peterson discovered his customers weren't exactly who he expected them to be. Unlike in Europe, he found, people in the U.S. weren't necessarily interested in replacing their cars altogether, but rather in using the car-share program as a supplement to public transportation or a substitute for a second car. Question: Q.1a How do you get consumers to change ingrained behavior? Words limit: 250) Q.1 b by looking at the solution that people attach their image with their cars, so do you this this solution will help in changing this ingrained behavior? Give your opinion and provide reasoning
In the late 1990s, Neil Peterson, then a Los Angeles public-transportation official, was traveling in Europe when he stumbled upon a new approach to owning a car. Car sharing, which became popular on the Continent in the 1980s, was aimed at people who owned a vehicle or were thinking of buying one but were turned off by the expense and hassle of maintaining the thing full time. Under car sharing, you didn't buy a car outright; you used it as you would a time-share property, reserving blocks of time that suited your needs. If you wanted only to drive to the market, you could rent it for an hour at a time with a low mileage limit. If you wanted to take weekend jaunts, you could buy a bundle of hours with a high mileage allowance. To pick up the car, you'd travel to the closest sharing outlet (usually just a walk or short bus ride away), and when you were done, you'd drop the vehicle off there. The concept wasn't new to the U.S. A number of small nonprofits sprang up in the mid-'90s that allowed residents to use a vehicle in their community on an hourly basis. But Mr. Peterson had bigger plans: He wanted to bring car sharing to large cities, and he wanted to turn a profit. Any entrepreneur knows it's tough enough trying to start a small business selling a garden-variety product or service. So how do you change the mind-set of a country that sees automobiles as symbols of status and freedom -- where people often wear their cars like they wear their clothes? "The automobile is part of the culture here," says Mr. Peterson.
The Solution: Mr. Peterson started Flex car in Seattle in 1999 with just five vehicles. His first step, which he has repeated in other cities, was to partner with local public-transportation boards, universities and businesses to help market his program. For instance, in some cities Flex car has made deals with transit officials that let the company offer its customers passes for public buses and trains. And some employers partially subsidize Flex car memberships as a perk for their employees. Mr. Peterson's marketing tried to position car sharing as liberating, offering slogans such as "Why buy wheels when you can borrow them?" Flex car’s ads also urge drivers to "Shift your thinking" about car ownership--don't look at a car as a status symbol but as a means of getting around. Don't even look at it as property, in fact; think of it more as a time-share vacation home. Car sharing "gives you a short-term relationship, kind of like getting a motel room instead of buying a house," says Michael Marsden, a professor at Eastern Kentucky University in Richmond, Ky., who teaches about American car culture. "We as Americans love our cars, but they certainly drain time and money, and this is an alternative to that." Mr. Peterson also pushed price. The average cost of owning or leasing a new car, including things such as gas, insurance,
But the idea of a large car-sharing program in Seattle encountered some bumps in the road. Ref Lindmark, a Seattle transportation official who helped get the Flex car program off the ground there, says the idea wasn't well received by a number of potential partners. Some rental-car companies, which he approached about starting a car-sharing program, didn't respond to requests. Some small neighborhood car-share organizations expressed their concerns that the idea just wouldn't work: Car sharing was a local, niche idea, they felt, and they didn't want to be part of a national operation. "We knew we were taking a risk," says Mr. Lindmark, outreach coordinator for the King County metro area's Car-Sharing Program in Seattle and a partner with Flex car. "But we thought wherever you have urban density, a good transit system and marketing opportunities, there's a good chance it could work." and Mr. Peterson discovered his customers weren't exactly who he expected them to be. Unlike in Europe, he found, people in the U.S. weren't necessarily interested in replacing their cars altogether, but rather in using the car-share program as a supplement to public transportation or a substitute for a second car.
Question:
Q.1a How do you get consumers to change ingrained behavior? Words limit: 250)
Q.1 b by looking at the solution that people attach their image with their cars, so do you this this solution will help in changing this ingrained behavior? Give your opinion and provide reasoning.
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