Even amongst cars that are very similar, image is a huge factor IMHO. Even if someone is cross-shopping between several generic midsized family sedans (a genre

Even amongst cars that are very similar, image is a huge factor IMHO. Even if someone is cross-shopping between several generic midsized family sedans (a genre that is arguably the epitome of "cars-as-a-generic-transportation-appliance"), other than significant price differences, people will probably choose the model that looks best to them.