Interesting topic HoH.
How do you kill fanboy behaviour? To be honest, I don't think you can. There are always going to be those few individuals out there which refuse to except when rival brands develop a better vehicles, etc.
On the otherhand - what actually defines someone as a fanboy? I think that like most things, this debate is nothing but an endless circle.
Now, I personally do not believe that I am a fanboy (anymore - read below). Why? Because I have appreciation for many different types of vehicles from around the world. That's not to say that I don't have a favourite brand though, because like most everyone else - I do
My favourite brand happens to be a company, which the majority of European enthusiasts absolutely hate -
Lexus.
As for the questions:
"How is that we never see the mistakes in our brand?"
Well I don't know about others, but I see plently of awful mistakes through out my favourite brand. For instance, I cannot stand and hate: the last generation LS; the last two generation of ES'; the RX; the new LX; the GX and the current generation SC.
That all being said, It's clear that I am open to criticism about my favourite brand and the same goes for my other favourite brands: Porsche; Honda; Mercedes-Benz; Pagani, etc. In fact, I'd swear than I'm criticizing my favourite brands more often than I am complimenting them.
"How can we change our perception of our view of other brands?"
I think that comes maturity, actually. Few will know this, but I was once a hardcore BMW fan myself and one that refused to accept that Mercedes made good vehicles. Honestly, I had an extreme hatred for anything produced by MB. Why? For the simple reason that they were not made by BMW or Lexus. Thankfully and obviously (as I stated above, Mercedes-Benz is now one of my favourite manufacturers) I grew out of that phase long ago.
"What drives us to stay loyal when other cars are better?"
I'd like to approach that particular question with a different question:
"Why do I stay loyal to Lexus when I'm often criticizing them for their designs and openly admit there are better drivers' cars, etc?"
You know, one philosophy that I've have always gone by is something along the lines of:
not forgetting what they once did.
While I'm not overly fond or even happy with many of today's Lexus products and often bitch about them - I stand by the company because I love what they once made/did. I will
never forget the products which they once made and that I absolutely loved (and still do):
^^ I love those old beasts. You name it - ES, GS, LX, SC , LS
Same goes for BMW and any other brand which currently makes products which I have no desire for. Just because I don't have a desire for a number of they're newer vehicles, but still love and admire the company should not label me as a fanboy.
Sorry If I mutated your questions..
