Question
Q. Read Case of drivedreamcars.com and answer the questions stated below? Friday night, after a longer and harder week than usual, Gordon drove out of
Q. Read Case of drivedreamcars.com and answer the questions stated below?
Friday night, after a longer and harder week than usual, Gordon
drove out of the staff car park onto the expressway in his trusty
old diesel estate. It was not the time for speeding. The traffic was
heavy, the night closing in and soothing Classic FM on the radio.
All was relaxing until a lad in a white van
swerved and pushed into the lane two cars up
front while gesticulating in a manner consistent
with his FCUK sticker in his rear window. A line
of drivers' minds were dragged from the FM induced mood as they slammed on brakes.
The traffic flow restarted and Brahms calmed.
Within minutes, the diesel estate pulled into the garage
between a Bentley Mulsanne S and a Porsche 911 Carrera
Tiptronic. Rob walked across. 'You're wanting the Ferrari
Testosterone, yes?' After a brief familiarization and swapping of
keys, Gordon left the family diesel and delicately eased the Ferrari
out of the garage. The 300 bhp engine behind the driver's seat
sounded so Ferrari. The car so light; the engine so eager. A slight
touch on the accelerator and the car exploded forwards. The
machine was eager to go but better to ease into the car's huge
potential rather than playing on a busy road.
Classic FM did not fit the enthusiasm and burr of the Ferrari
and no radio stations ever played anything remotely appropriate at
this time on Friday night. An old Bruce Springsteen album was in
the CD player. It kicked off with Born to Run - 'Chrome wheeled,
fuel injected and steppin' out over the line' - a rising song to blast
in the weekend. Life could not get much better than this, but it
did.
Out of the city and on to country lanes, there, at the side of
the road, was the lad with his white van. This time he was not
gesticulating at other road users but at his motor that was not
running. Gordon smiled and waved, as Springsteen burst into
'Thunder Road', and let the prancing horse free.
This is not a fairy tale. On Monday morning the Ferrari turned
back into a diesel estate and another week of work began. But
next Friday it was to be a family car with a difference - a Maserati
3200 GT. The cars are part of the stable of the Classic Car Club, a
membership organization that hires out cars to drool over. For
about 1,995 (A3,300) a year, members hire cars based on a points
system that varies with time of year, weekend or weekday and
make of car. The price includes everything but fuel. Some of the
cars are true classics, such as the Triumph TR6, Daimler V8,
E-type and Mark II Jaguars. Others, including a Porsche Boxter,
TVR and Aston Martin, are more modern but still interesting to
drive. All for averaging 50 per driving day - less than a normal
car hire and certainly for a lot less than owning a classic car.
As the Independent on Sunday commented, 'I've scratched my
head long and hard to find a catch: there isn't one.'
Whatever the dream that the Classic Car Club offers to its
members, the club has its owners scratching their heads too.
All members want to hire the same exotic open-topped cars on
sunny weekends in summer. Many times the stock of cars is all
out while on other occasions most rest in the garage. Downtime
can also be a problem. These cars are real classics and some
are ageing. Breakdowns can and do occur and take cars off the
road for weeks. There are also the speeding fines incurred by
members who do not realize they can exceed the speed limit
from a standing start in seconds in a car that is designed to attract attention.
Questions
1. What allows a small business, like the Classic Car Club, to
succeed against huge global players in the car hire business
and is it a business concept that could work elsewhere in
the world?
2. How could the club increase its income and even the load
on its cars by appealing to additional market segments or
segmenting its own customer base?
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