Lifestyle choices and Marketing messages

One may think they're making their own choice of vehicle based on their own needs, but are they really? How much do car ads on TV or radio or magazines etc influence their opinions? The people who place those ads must be getting some value out of doing so, or they'd have stopped running ads decades ago.

When SUV's became popular was it because the car companies were responding to their customer base, or did their advertising programs tweak and twist the customer base into believing they need SUV's? After all, SUV's are more profitable and it's quite convenient that they've sold so well.

It's apparent that vehicle manufacturers create vehicles to suit specific lifestyles, and embed those vehicles in a matrix of messages related to the lifestyle choice.

For example you don't see sports cars driving across the tundra and climbing rocky mountains. Sports cars appeal to a different lifestyle segment than the off-road enthusiasts. Vehicles built for off-road are the ones depicted climbing rocky mountains, while sports cars are shown speeding around race tracks or on highways.

Unfortunately in a large number of cases vehicles aren't used in their intended mode, but instead for normal suburban or urban commuting. The rugged SUV that's meant to be hauling hay every day to the back 40, probably is instead a grocery getter. In many cases it's complete overkill, but apparently driven by the lifestyle choices influenced by corporate marketing messages.