We have all seen then the bumper stickers that say I would rather push a Ford than drive a Chevy. For many people, it is the truth. There is a great deal of consumer loyalty when it comes to Ford and Chevy. In fact, there is even a Playstation 2 game called Ford vs. Chevy. It may have to do with owning a particular vehicle that excelled so they stayed with that manufacturer. Maybe their family owned Ford’s or Chevy’s and they went with what was familiar.

Ford and Chevy continue to be stiff competitors out there. Ford does seem to excel though in many areas. If you want speed the Ford Mustang will out do the Chevy Corvette hands down. Chevy is in the process of making a come back with the Chevy Camaro but fans of the Camaro aren’t taking to the new design very well.

Ford Pickups are available in a variety of sizes from small trucks to large work trucks. The Ford F-150 is their basic full size truck, but they have smaller models, such as the Ranger, and larger models like the F-850 for super heavy duty hauling. Chevy has several of them as well. The safety ratings for Ford are slightly better though when several of the same style of pickups were compared to each other.

Mini vans are very popular these days as they look sporty and they offer plenty of room. The Ford Windstar and the Chevy Venture both offer plenty of room. Yet the Ford Windstar is more stylish and offers more features.

Ford also has the Ford Escape, which Chevy does not really have a good answer to. The Escape has good mpg, at about 24, but it still has the power to tow 3,500 pounds with the towing package. It’s a great vehicle for anyone who does need the extra room and towing power larger SUVs offer, because the Escape is great on gas, easy and fun to drive, and affordable.

Gabriel Adams
http://www.articlesbase.com/automotive-articles/ford-vs-chevy-the-debate-goes-on-part-1-172546.html

I’ve seen this ongoing debate debate jump up again recently in
several Blogs and message boards and I can’t help but laugh.
It’s not a new debate… Ever since the long copy masters of the
early 1900’s, people have been arguing for or against the
practice.

As a copywriter and conversion specialist, convincing my clients
to test longer copy on their websites is often a very difficult
task. After all, online customers have microscopic attention
spans and are always in a hurry to move on.

Different visitors have different goals, different personalities
and different buying styles. Some visitors will want to read
everything you can give them before buying and then they still
need “more information” before they can decide. Others just want
to know “what are you selling”, “what does it do for me” and
“how much is it” and they want to know it NOW!

It may sound like an impossible task to write copy that sells
both of them… After all if you cut your copy to bone to sell the
second visitor, you won’t have enough information to persuade
the first visitor. And, if you waste the second visitors time by
forcing them to read a 20 page sales letter to “get to the
meat”, they will leave.

(Fortunately, there is a way to satisfy BOTH of them on the same
page… But more on that in a minute…)

There are two basic camps in this debate… The first group says
“Long copy ALWAYS outsells short copy”, while the second group
says stuff like “…as a consumer, I don’t have time to read all
that copy. I’ll NEVER buy from long copy.”

The part that makes me laugh is that 90% of the people in BOTH
camps have never scientifically tested copy of ANY length! They
make these statements of absolute facts, with no test results to
back up their claims.

The truth is, sometimes long copy out pulls short copy and
sometimes short copy out pulls long copy. But you have to TEST
it to know which is going to work for your site and your target
demographic. (Actually there is one absolute when it comes to
copy… Good copy always outsells Bad copy, regardless of length!)

Another thing to keep in mind is, just because you conduct a
test and find that a shorter version out pulls a longer version,
don’t automatically assume that “short copy is better than long
copy”. If you are testing a clear, attention grabbing short
message against a long, boring message, your test is not going
to tell you much.

Its much like comments I get from time to time about using audio
as a sales tool on websites. Occasionally a client will tell me
“we tested using audio and it didn’t work”. Well… Just testing
audio vs. no audio, doesn’t mean your test result is valid.
Perhaps your message was not effective, maybe they didn’t like
your voice. You need to test multiple audio scripts and even
multiple speakers, before you can draw a valid conclusion.

In the end the length of the copy is irrelevant, the response
rate is what matters.

From my own testing I have found, as long as you keep your
reader interested, keep your copy active and ensure a good flow,
longer copy usually out performs short.

To often, people who have heard that “long copy is better”,
write long copy for the sake of long copy. The result is usually
long-boring copy. Adding more words, just to have longer copy is
missing the point… The copy still needs to be tight, clean and
laser focused.

The good news is, if your prospect is truly qualified and in
real need (or want) of your product or service, they will read
everything you give them, as long as you keep it interesting.

My friend (and long copy sales letter king) Michel Fortin
recently posted an excellent article to his Blog about how to
keep long copy interesting. You can read it here:
http://michelfortin.com/archives/2005/05/how_to_write_co.htm

At the beginning I told you that there is a way to write your
copy to persuade and keep the interest of both long copy AND
short copy fans.

You can cater to both visitor types by using “Dual Readership
Paths”. You do this by using your headlines and sub-headlines
within your copy to tell the “scan and buy” visitors everything
they need to know to make their buying decision. By creatively
using your sub-headlines and bullet points you can persuade
those who do not have the time to read your entire message,
without sacrificing needed benefits and copy for those who won’t
buy without a “full” explanation of your product or service.

The bottom line is this…

The LENGTH of your copy is not what is important, it is the
EFFECTIVENESS and response rate that matters

Eric Graham
http://www.articlesbase.com/copywriting-articles/long-copy-vs-short-copy-if-youre-still-debating-this-youre-missing-the-point-761.html