The End of the Affair

A key to any comeback by Detroit is reconnecting with car fanatics. Want vs. need

These days, Michael Underwood is sneaking onto the Web site of General Motors Corp. and building himself a 2009 Cadillac Escalade. He flirts with different colors, adds every possible option and admires features new to the 2009 model, such as a system that warns about blind-side traffic.

What he doesn’t do, however, is print the order and take it to his local Cadillac dealer. “I’m not going to do it,” he says.

The fate of the teetering auto industry hardly rests on whether Mr. Underwood decides to buy the 2009 Escalade. But it does rest on the battle between want and need. Automotive talk often focuses on practical matters such as price, fuel-efficiency and reliability. But what drives many sales is the romantic allure of a new vehicle.

Wall St. Journal