• by Erin Everhart , Staff Writer, 7 hours ago

Every industry has its varying degree of brand loyalists, and automotive is consistently one of the highest. In 2024 J.D. Power found that that top car manufacturers (Toyota, Honda, Lexus, Mercedes-Benz, BMW, Subaru, Ford) averaged a 59% loyalty rate across both the premium and mass market sectors.

I’ve never been a car person. It’s been a practicality purchase vs finding something that’s a reflection of my identity. I look for the brand that fits my lifestyle at that point in time when I’m buying it, so inevitably, I’ve swapped brands with every car I’ve purchased.

My first: a 1996 White Jeep Grand Cherokee that I bought with the tips I earned at Bruster’s Ice Cream when I was 16 years old. Her name was Polly, and boy did she purr (most likely because her transmission was shot and she shook every time I went over 55).

My cars got progressively nicer the older I got. When Polly broke down, I moved to a Toyota Avalon, then a Ford Escape, then an Audi A5 before finally landing on my present car: a 2015 Lexus ES 300h, more affectionally known as Lucy.

And, scout’s honor, it wasn’t until Lucy came into my life that I understood this steadfast loyalty for car brands. Yes, that’s right, we are a Lexus family. My husband has an RX (named Rex) and when it’s time to send him or Lucy over the rainbow bridge, I’m confident another Lexus will be taking up residence in our garage.

In an industry that has such high brand loyalty, how do you change someone’s mind? This week, we sat down with Lindsay Smelser, GM of Lexus Marketing at Toyota North America, to hear how she’s tackling that at Lexus. Listen to the full episode here.