Scenario 7

Multiple Choice

Scenario 7.2 Use the following to answer the questions.
Both the Toyota Sienna and the Nissan Quest were very popular choices for family vans. Toyota noticed that the majority of its customers were families with 3 or more children, and so they developed commercials that featured larger families. They also produced commercials that featured Hispanic-looking actors and for some markets, in Spanish. Alicia Desario and her husband were currently shopping for a van for their family. As Alicia listened to an advertisement on the television about the Nissan Quest, she noticed that the Nissan cost about $27,000 and had gas mileage of about 17 mpg. She recalled an earlier ad for the Toyota Sienna, which also cost about $27,000, but had gas mileage of about 21 mpg. She also liked the way the family was portrayed in the Toyota ad, showing the children in the back seats having plenty of room, watching the DVD players, and having their own sound controls. When she spoke to Carlos, her husband, about how much she liked the Toyota van, he replied that its gas mileage was too low at only 16 mpg. Since Alicia didn't agree with that number, he produced a magazine ad that supported his claim of the 16 mpg for the Toyota. Alicia couldn't believe that she had made such an error in hearing what the gas mileage was for the Toyota and the Nissan.
Refer to Scenario 7.2. Since Alicia and Carlos were using gas mileage as one of their evaluative criteria, they are most likely in the ____ phase of the consumer buying process.

A) problem recognition
B) external search
C) evaluation of alternatives
D) purchase
E) postpurchase