9. Fixing the right price – structures, segments and stairways

case study 9.1: Fixing the prices of new cars – best and worst practice

In August 1959, the British Motor Corporation launched the most exciting car of its time. The magazine Autocar selected the Mini as its ‘Car of the Twentieth Century’. Alex Issigonis had designed an astonishingly space efficient vehicle – the transverse engine mounting allowed 80 percent of the car’s length to be devoted to passenger accommodation. The style had a classless appeal to motorists of all ages. The advertising promised, ‘The car of the future – now.’ The magazine Autosport reviewed the car under the headline, ‘BMC’s new baby’ and its car reviewer placed an order himself.

Yet BMC lost its nerve on ...

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