A rocky economic environment is one thing, but this should have automakers really frightened: In the 1980s, nearly four out of five car buyers were repeat customers, while that figure today is closer to one in five.

That's 20 percent. That number does not speak well for brand loyalty.

As the article mentions, the data -- compiled by CNW Marketing Research in Oregon -- suggests that modern car buyers are, thanks to the Internet, far more well-informed and savvy and that widespread innovations among all the carmakers have eroded the sort of inherent trust in a brand that created "GM families" and "Ford families" who bought from the same automaker for generations.

Of course, diminished loyalty isn't solely the result of nearly every vehicle having anti-lock brakes and side airbags. Part of the problem, too, is dilution. With the incredible success that Japanese and now South Korean carmakers have had in the past two decades, there are simply way more viable options than there were 20 years ago. Not to mention the fact that the traditional route of manufacturer advertising -- a vague but catchy slogan -- simply doesn't translate to consumers who buy mostly based on taste. The same catch phrase that makes a pickup truck seem macho and utilitarian probably doesn't make you want to buy a hatchback from the same company, and when each market segment is differentiated to that extent (think "Built Ford Tough"), buyers simply have a hard time seeing each product in a fleet as part of a larger, overarching brand.

What do you think? Are you a brand loyalist? Does the concept exist in any real sense anymore?