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AUTO REVIEW
Porsche & Land Rover
‘experiences’
By Steve Schutz, MD
Slowly but surely the vehicles we buy are under the same circumstances. I can’t. With all that in mind I recently visited
being homogenized. Government regula- So, how do luxury automakers connect two automotive brand experiences, the
tions, customer expectations, and universal new Porsche Experience Center at the At-
benchmarking are driving automotive de- with customers when their products aren’t lanta airport and the Land Rover Driving
velopment so much that it’s difficult to much different from the competition? The School in Carmel, California.
make cars that stand out from their com- answer increasingly seems to be to get own-
petitors. ers and prospects out of their personal cars Sitting as it does next to a busy runway,
and into “experiences.” Presumably, when the Porsche center is an assault on the
Don’t believe me? Consider this: 30 customers are able to forget about their senses from the moment you walk in.
years ago you could ride blindfolded in the everyday realities — drive to daycare, then Brightly colored Porsche road and race cars
back seat of a Mercedes, BMW, or Cadillac to work, then to the grocery store, then are everywhere, and the modern architec-
and know after less than a mile which was home, repeat daily — and are brought to ture with its chrome, glass, and high gloss
which. Today I doubt many readers could a happier place where a particular vehicle surfacing grab your attention here, there,
tell the difference between a new Mercedes shines, those customers will be more in- and there. And there. They should teach
E-class, BMW 5-Series, or Cadillac CTS clined to buy that vehicle. an architecture class here, and maybe they
40 San Antonio Medicine • February 2016
