Electronic technology is providing suppliers and automakers another avenue for collecting consumer opinions ranging from future product impressions to vehicle ownership experiences.

With Visteon's recently launched VisionLab, an interactive research station, the supplier provides computer-generated information about future products. After consumers learn a few details about select advanced technology, the software program asks for feedback. "Consumers get an active role to help revolutionize technology," Dr. Marlis Hartmann, Global Account Manager for Visteon Corporation's BMW account, said during a Convergence 2000 panel addressing the topic, "What Got Us Here Won't Get Us There."

Ford Motor Company uses a number of websites to track consumer opinions. The bolt.com site, for example, seeks the teen audience's views on vehicle designs and the like, while iVillage.com venue wants to capture women's thoughts about Ford products.

"The web has clearly put consumers in the driver's seat when it comes to purchasing vehicles," said Mary Ellen Heyde, North American Vehicle Line Director for Ford Motor Co.

According to data from J.D. Power and Associates, so far this year 54% of new vehicle buyers have utilized the Internet in some fashion to assist with vehicle shopping. The Internet as a buyer's information assistant is projected to influence 73% all new vehicle purchases in 2003. "Internet savvy consumer can get information 24 hours a day, and they are likely to be more informed than the dealer," said J. D. Power III, Chairman of J.D. Power and Associates.

Electronic commerce is reshaping how suppliers and automakers look at product development. "The mindsets and practices that have worked in the past won't work in the future," said Brenda Cox, Manager of Electrical/Electronics for BMW Manufacturing Corp. in North America.

Kami Buchholz