As the motor industry enters the tenth year of its second century, it finds itself in a jam. Barring an innovation of the order of Henry Ford’s original mass production assembly line, demand across Europe, the US, and Japan has mostly matured; growth into the next century is likely to be no greater than 1 or 2 percent.¹ High new car prices, stagnating wages, and a supply of inexpensive, good-quality used cars have throttled back demand. At the same time, new entrants to the market, new regulations, too much capacity, and insatiable demand for fresh and differentiated products have eroded profit margins for many original equipment manufacturers (OEMs).

Motor manufacturers’ response has been to try to make their products more attractive, and so maintain price premiums, by actively managing brands. In contrast with packaged goods manufacturers, the purveyors of the world’s largest consumer item—the motor car—are relative latecomers to brand management. Instead of managing individual vehicle line identities, most car companies have until recently managed the overall marque identity (the values that make a Chrysler a Chrysler, for example). Today, several companies have brand managers charged with shaping the message and profile of individual cars to specific audiences,...