I Need a Definition of 'Halo Car'

"Tim (Fractal Footwork)" (fractalfootwork) 02/25/2014 at 15:22 • Filed to: Nerdy Query, Halo Car, OppositeLock

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Does anyone have a good, quantifiable definition of halo car? I am writing a large document and need to clearly define the term 'halo car' in order to easily (mathematically) separate it out from any other car.

I need to be able to create an equation, and then the reader can take any car and determine from that equation if the car is a halo model or not.

My simple definition of a 'halo car', a car that signifies the pinnacle of a firm's technologies, is not enough to mathematically separate out a car from the field. I may have to separate out and only focus on performance halo cars because they provide quantifiable figures (horsepower, torque, lap times, etc.)

Lap times won't work for the lack of sample data.

I've thought of assuming a performance halo car to exist under the condition: x% greater horsepower than the average model's horsepower.

However, what does this percentage of performance definition do for cars like the Tesla Roadster? Do I add weight into the equation; can I add weight into the equation?

And then there is the question of 'green halo' cars, MPG? Yet, it can't just be MPG because, for example, the Prius is the green halo car for Toyota, while the Camry Hybrid is just a covert hybrid model. Perhaps, MPG plus hybrid/electric initiated model (the model is introduced as a hybrid/all-electric, so as not to confuse).

Any ideas?

Victorious Secret > Tim (Fractal Footwork) 02/25/2014 at 15:24

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I think of a Halo Car as a car that has such mass market appeal that it draws people to your brand.

You can have a expensive as balls halo car like the P1, which is the embodiment of everything the brand knows; you can have a reverse halo car that is so cheap but it offers such compelling performance or design or whatever else that people are still drawn towards the brand.

Jonny Edge (@thejonnyedge) > Victorious Secret 02/25/2014 at 15:26

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I thought a 'Halo car' was specific to manufacturer. It was their flagship or technological masterpiece car. Something to show what they can do. Maybe I'm wrong, but that's just what I thought it was.

Goshen, formerly Darkcode > Tim (Fractal Footwork) 02/25/2014 at 15:27

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The halo car shouldn't be attainable by the average man, but its manufacturer must have offerings aimed at the average man in its range. It must compile all the know-how of the brand. It must make its manufacturer look great in the eyes of the public.

ADabOfOppo; Gone Plaid (Instructables Can Be Confusable) > Tim (Fractal Footwork) 02/25/2014 at 15:27

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VW XL-1

Ford GT

Porsche 918

Tesla Model S

Nissan GTR

Any car designed to attract attention to a specific brand or manufacturer is what I would term a Halo Car.

Battery Tender Unnecessary > Tim (Fractal Footwork) 02/25/2014 at 15:28

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It's a highly desirable car that will drive people that can't afford it to buy cheaper cars of the same brand. A rolling advertisement for the brand.

Someone buys a Malibu instead of a Fusion because they like the Corvette. Someone buys a C-class instead of a 3-Series because of the SLS, a F-150 instead of a Silverado because of the Raptor, etc.

Tim (Fractal Footwork) > Victorious Secret 02/25/2014 at 15:30

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I totally and utterly agree with that.

The problem is that I have to mathematically quantify it, so I probably have to stick to performance orientated halo cars, instead of just naming halo cars off at my discretion over the reader.

feather-throttle-not-hair > Tim (Fractal Footwork) 02/25/2014 at 15:30

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It's anything that gets people into the showroom just to take a look at it.

Classically this has meant high performance supercars like the Viper, but i'd argue that most sports cars actually fit the bill. Yes people are buying C7's but how many people wistfully think "I've always wanted a corvette, maybe i can swing it..." before heading into a Chevrolet dealer and ultimately walking out with a v6 Camaro.

The C7 may not be as much of a halo car as the viper, but I still believe the corvette's number one purpose is to shore up image, rather than to actually sell. Yes, selling is a nice bonus, but it's secondary.

I'd argue the FR-S/BR-Z and MX-5 are all halo cars as well, though people dont think of them as such.

Where have all the lightweights gone? > ADabOfOppo; Gone Plaid (Instructables Can Be Confusable) 02/25/2014 at 15:31

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Add Viper to that list. Dodge's line-ups was a line-up of tepid sedans, trucks, minivans, and the Neon when it first went on sale.

Tim (Fractal Footwork) > Battery Tender Unnecessary 02/25/2014 at 15:32

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The rolling advertisement thing is something my professor was hinting at. Any idea on how to mathematically quantify it's purpose as a rolling ad?

Brian, The Life of > Battery Tender Unnecessary 02/25/2014 at 15:33

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The is the best answer. I actually got goosebumps when I first saw that my (then) brand new Fusion had the same "capless fuel filler" as the dreamy Ford GT ;)

BiTurbo228 - Dr Frankenstein of Spitfires > Tim (Fractal Footwork) 02/25/2014 at 15:34

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It's a car designed to garner public interest for a marque, either to directly draw people into dealerships or to lift people's perception of a brand and reflect positively on the rest of their range.

"Those guys make 'x' car which is incredible. The same company makes 'y' car, so if the same guys made both cars then car 'y' must be good too"

Victorious Secret > Tim (Fractal Footwork) 02/25/2014 at 15:37

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Yup, and since they have to quantify it I think the 918 is not a halo car.

It was built with accountants in mind. It was priced with accountants in mind. It is being sold in such large numbers because accountants won't stand for anything that so much as hits the bottom line. The 918 wasn't built balls to the wall. It was built to the wallet wall.

The LF and P1 by comparison were literally handed keys to Fort Knox and told to use what they needed, wherever they needed it.

McLarry > Tim (Fractal Footwork) 02/25/2014 at 15:38

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Definitive halo car:

More seriously, though...To me a halo car represents the pinnacle of a brand (so the LaFerrari may be Ferrari's halo car, succeeding the Enzo, but the rest of Ferrari's supercars can't be considered 'halo cars'). I also figure it as a supercar or ultra-luxury thing (eg Rolls Royce Phantom), not really a green car thing. Also, there's something of an essence of rarity and expense (the Prius fails on all three counts so far as I can see)...Rarity is a bit relative, of course, so Corvettes are not halo cars in the USA, but perhaps they are in Europe. Each automaker can have a halo car, and only one, but I wouldn't say they have one by default. Porsche had one in the Carrera GT and has one now in the 918, but in the time between the two the GT3-RS didn't just become the 'de-facto' halo car.

These are my ramblings, take them or leave them

Arch Duke Maxyenko, Shit Talk Extraordinaire > Tim (Fractal Footwork) 02/25/2014 at 15:38

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Highest Performance/Most Luxury, and highest price.

GhostZ > Tim (Fractal Footwork) 02/25/2014 at 15:43

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A Halo Car is a car that, in my mind, is built primarily for example and promotion and not for profit. It displays something new, unique, or appealing. It might make profit, yes, but it is not a profit-driven design like most cars are.

For example, the Jaguar F-Type is NOT a halo car. The XJ220, is.

hike > Tim (Fractal Footwork) 02/25/2014 at 15:43

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I'm not sure if it actually works out, but halo cars typically aren't directly the most profitable things in the world. The profit for them comes from attracting people into the showrooms. The Audi buyers who get an A4 because it has lights like an R8, or people who buy a BMW i3 because it is like a sensible i8 (which is a real "green" halo car).

Tim (Fractal Footwork) > Arch Duke Maxyenko, Shit Talk Extraordinaire 02/25/2014 at 15:45

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perhaps, but some companies don't have a halo car (that wouldn't work for Toyota)

Arch Duke Maxyenko, Shit Talk Extraordinaire > Tim (Fractal Footwork) 02/25/2014 at 15:46

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LFA

With-a-G is back to not having anything written after his username > Tim (Fractal Footwork) 02/25/2014 at 16:02

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It would be a car that has its economic justification (though it may be a loss leader in itself) based in large part on the increased sales it produces downmarket for the company.
You could probably do something with Bayesian methods to determine probability of buying an Avenger vs. Corolla given the existence of the SRT models. I haven't thought it through completely.

ADabOfOppo; Gone Plaid (Instructables Can Be Confusable) > Where have all the lightweights gone? 02/25/2014 at 16:02

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My list was not definitive.

quarterlifecrisis > Tim (Fractal Footwork) 02/25/2014 at 16:03

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Soooo...what type of class is this? Could provide some insight...

That being said, I don't think you're going to find a solid way to mathematically quantify this, because its a variable. Tata could argue that the Nano is their Halo car (which actually, could be quantifiable because of % less...bad example), even while owning prestigious marks. At the same time, VAG could be forced to choose between an R8, Veneno, and Veyron...all offering a certain something, but none of them being the same something. Aluminum/exclusivity/speed.

It's a bit sticky.

Tim (Fractal Footwork) > quarterlifecrisis 02/25/2014 at 16:26

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400 level Econ research class.

I agree that a Tata could be considered a halo car, if the halo in question is price. There are many halos, some are not easily measured.

MR2_FTW - Group J's resident Stig > Tim (Fractal Footwork) 02/25/2014 at 16:28

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The company dumps tons of money into it as an R&D exercise. It's an engineering platform, not a car made to make money. Most companies lose money or barely break even on halo cars, but they exist so that the technology developed can trickle down into the regular models.

CobraJoe > Tim (Fractal Footwork) 02/25/2014 at 16:33

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I think it's simply defined as the car that people want, but not the one they'll buy.

It's the object of lust that draws people into the dealerships, and then those people will drive off in a sedan or SUV because of some reason.

People will drive into a dealership dreaming of the CTS-V that will beat their neighbors M5, but drive off with a CTS-4 because they're afraid of snow.

Or they'll dream about a Mustang, but get a Flex because they have 2 kids.

Or they'll dream about a 911, but get a Boxter because they're only a middle manager.

They'll dream about a Corvette, but get a Camaro because they don't have enough credit.

They'll dream about an FR-S, but get a Camry because the thought of a sports car scares them.

Yes, the FR-S is a halo car by that definition. After all, it's gotten more press than the new Mustang or Corvette or P1.

quarterlifecrisis > Tim (Fractal Footwork) 02/25/2014 at 19:48

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Ahhh. This makes a wee bit more sense, paints a little better picture of the context. Not sure what your major is, or your deadline, but I would reach out to two groups of people. For the sake of you taking a 400 level econ research class, I'm going to assume its Econ. Which is either an Art or a Science, depending on where you go and the program....I digress.

1. Accounting Majors or possible Finance Majors. Accy folks can speak to the concept of goodwill, and how its valued. In this case, goodwill is going to be the attention brought to the brand, some of which results in additional sales of lesser vehicles. I've got a buddy that values intangibles for a living...this falls in that category.

2. Marketing majors. They should be able to attest to how organizations perceive the value I mentioned above.

Not sure if that helps at all, but those are a couple things I would look into in terms of how to do some mathematical quantification. My logic is, once you know that, you may be able to apply that to the rest of your paper.

Tim (Fractal Footwork) > quarterlifecrisis 02/25/2014 at 19:56

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Thanks.

BS in Econ if you were wondering.

I think I am just going to settle on an assumed horsepower percentage difference from the mean of the brand (lets say >150%) for performance halo models, and an assumed mpg percentage difference from the mean of the bran (lets say >150% again) for green halo models, and just stick to those two categories.

This makes it easy to run the regression model I was planning.

The only car that I can think will go missing that should be considered a halo model is the Tesla Roadster, but such is loss...

quarterlifecrisis > Tim (Fractal Footwork) 02/25/2014 at 20:30

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No problem. Good luck, personally, I disagree with the approach you're using...but for the sake of academia, it's probably easiest to do it that way.

Tim (Fractal Footwork) > quarterlifecrisis 02/25/2014 at 20:32

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Yeah, I just don't know how to gather the data in this short amount of time otherwise

quarterlifecrisis > Tim (Fractal Footwork) 02/25/2014 at 21:02

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No I totally get it for that. Like I said, wasn't sure on your timing and if this was going to be something thesis-esque (ok that's a bit on the ridiculous side, but you get the idea) or if it was going to be something more short-term. You can always figure in that it's based on theory. Highest Econ I took was 300 level, and thank god it was theory based.

toyotasupraman > Tim (Fractal Footwork) 02/28/2014 at 09:51

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Instead of using X money in advertising "non-halo" cars to increase their sales, use X money to design, build and advertise a "halo car", which due to it's mass-market appeal (due to technological level, performance, style, etc.) also increases the recognition of the brand, due to the relation "halo car from A is good, non-halo car is from A, there for non-halo car should be good".