Because the La Femme was listed as an option package, even the Chrysler Historical Collection is unable to provide information on how many La Femmes were built: all Custom Royal Lancer two-door hardtop figures were combined into one total for each year. Of the 506,972 Dodges built for 1955 and 1956, about 56,500 were Custom Royal Lancer hardtops.
Estimates from various sources suggest that as few as 300, or as many as 1100 — and certainly under 1500 — La Femmes were produced over the two years they were offered. A look at the figures, even though they are estimates, explains why there was no La Femme for 1957 — women simply had not responded to the concept of a woman's car.This TV Guide story came out after 1956 Dodge La Femme production was ended, based on the text. Alice Lon was featured on the Lawrence Welk TV show as a dancer. She can be found on YouTube in many Dodge and Plymouth commercials.Note that the text claims "Among Hollywood's unwritten rules of the rood is a law that says stars simply mustn't be seen driving common cars. Law-abiding Alice Lon above, for example, pilots a dainty Dodge called La Femme. Only 600 of these were made."
Through her silence, Her Royal Highness, the American Woman, had spoken.
Counterpoint:
To research my original 1988 La Femme article, I spent three full weeks in 1983 in the back stacks of the National Automotive History Collection (where Chrysler Corporation had donated its archives). I found NO reviews of the La Femmes. Zero magazine articles. Tom McCahill never reviewed or raced a La Femme. I found zero in-depth opinion pieces, packed with photos, as was common for all other cars. You can see ALL of what I found, here, on this web site.
At the same time that Chrysler Corporation was massively advertising, racing and otherwise promoting the C-300, the Fury and other hairy-chested special editions, they only promoted the La Femmes at dealerships, and not even ALL of them. If you saw one in a dealer's showroom, you were lucky. There was no money invested in getting La Femmes front and center in the buying public's eyes.
No wonder they came and went with so little public awareness.
An Opposing View
Joel Saegert, PhD, Professor of Marketing, The University of Texas at San Antonio:
I write to thank you for your article on the "La Femme"; a student in one of my marketing classes recently brought it to me (as he got it from your Web page) in the context of our discussion that demographics cannot logically be and are not in practice the basis for market segmentation. The La Femme is, I guess, "the exception that proves the rule." Nevertheless, it is difficult for me to understand your contention (in your follow-up article) that the La Femme was not a failure.
The only reasonable criterion for success I can think of is whether the producer considered the offering as providing hoped-for return on his/her investment. The evidence I would offer that the La Femme did not fulfill this hope is simply that it was not produced beyond the original 300 units.
At best, I can only see the La Femme as an ill-advised decision by someone in Dodge who was "behind his time" and who took marketing textbooks literally when they say that brands can be successfully formulated for demographic subgroups. The fact that the La Femme was not successful, and that there are no other examples of successful brands in the marketplace positioned for demographic categories,
I take as evidence for the principle that markets are successfully segmented on some other basis, namely the variation in want conditions that drive individuals to consider a product-category.
Perhaps you mean that the La Femme was successful at providing an interesting and unique item for auto aficionados and collectors and on that criterion, it appears to have been a hit. It certainly will provide useful discussion for my future classes on market segmentation.
At any rate, I much appreciate your making the example available to us. I will try to find occasion to refer to it future marketing discussions and if so, will certainly credit you for the thorough and original work you have undertaken.
My Response:
Thanks for your excellent feedback. I admire your viewpoint, and I can certainly learn from it. My main contention is that the La Femme was abandoned before its birth, unlike Chrysler Corp's other special-interest Spring Specials. Perhaps if it had been given a good chance, it would have sold more than the minimum.
At NO time do I believe that the LaFemme would have been a roaring success. It was aimed at a market that was artificially enforced - Women were being told over and over by the media to get back in the kitchen and bedroom, so that the menfolk could have all of the jobs. Women went along with this to a point, but I'm sure they would have stopped at something as cutesy as the LaFemme. It's just too Barby-Doll-ish.
A La Femme Fantasy:
Imagine a world where Dodge kept making La Femmes for years afterward, such as...
Continue to The Story of My Own 1955 Dodge La Femme...
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