Cadillac...

The (next) question is, What does the customer buy?
The Cadillac people say that they make an automobile, and their business is called the Cadillac Motor Division of General Motors. But does the man who buys a new Cadillac buy transportatioin, or does he buy primarily prestige? Does de Cadillac compete with Chevrolet, Ford, and Volkswagen? Nicholas Dreystadt, the German-born service mechanic who took over Cadillac in the Great Depression years of the 1930s, answered: "Cadillac competes with diamonds and mink coats. The Cadillac customer does not buy 'transportation' but 'status' ". This answer saved Cadillac, which was about to go under. Within two years or so, it made it into a major growth business despite the depression.

The Essential Drucker
Peter F. Drucker
C Collins Business - HarperCollins