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Driven to Succeed
 When most people think about electric cars, says
Sean McNamara '83, they imagine putting around on slender paths on their way to
the next tee. But when they test drive the Impact, General Motors' experimental
electric car, "We tell them to get ready for a helluva golf cart ride. People
are stunned when the car pins them in their seat."
Even though the Impact emits no pollutants, reaches 60 mph in about eight
seconds and leaves test drivers with what he calls a "giggly" look on their
faces, McNamara, a Colby psychology major, says the marketing hurdle for
electric vehicles is the psychology of the American automobile driver. "We have
to overcome a hundred years of conditioning that says a car allows me to go
anywhere I want to, anytime I want to, with only five minutes necessary to
refuel," he said.
McNamara, marketing manager for General Motors Electric Vehicles, says 80
percent of Americans drive fewer than 40 miles each day, making the Impact's
70- to 90-mile range adequate. "Yet when you ask people about electric
vehicles, they feel constrained by the limited range," he said. "In reality,
they don't need it."
McNamara says the best marketing strategy for an American driving public
suspicious of an "extra agenda" will not feature testimonials from
environmentalists or utilities representatives. Instead, McNamara developed the
Impact Preview Drive Program, which will give 900 drivers from 11 cities a
chance to drive the electric vehicle for as long as two weeks. McNamara hopes
the preview drivers will be ambassadors for the new technology. "We have to
reach the early adopter customer in order to reach the mainstream customer," he
said. "The early adopter is someone who's not intimidated by new
technology--someone who has a strong income, is fairly well educated and is
environmentally concerned but not a zealot."
Calling his work a "hobby," McNamara says his upbringing and interests are
well-suited for marketing the Impact. Growing up in West Lebanon, N.H., he was
surrounded by automobiles--his family owned a dealership. In his sophomore year
at Colby, he took a Jan Plan psychology course with Professor Diane Winn,
during which he researched cognitive psychology in automotive advertising.
"After the course, I took the concepts back home to the family dealership,"
said McNamara. "We tried them out in the advertising to see what worked and
what didn't."
Mule Train
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