LSAT 159 | Section 1 | Logical Reasoning: Q9

LR Question 9 Explanation

QUESTION TEXT: Market studies confirm that consumers shopping for automobiles …

QUESTION TYPE: Paradox

PARADOX: Studies show that car buyers mainly look for the most reliable cars, but some of the most reliable models don’t sell well among consumers who say they are looking for reliability.

ANALYSIS: The question to answer here is: Why do consumers not buy some reliable cars, even though consumers mainly want reliable cars.

In general, the only reason for this would be that consumers have some other reason for not buying the cars, even though they are reliable. It is difficult to prephrase this one more specifically, but a general prephrase works just fine: look for an answer which gives a clear reason consumers wouldn’t buy a reliable car, even though they want one.

___________

1. This answer makes the situation somewhat more confusing. Consumers do claim to care about reliability, even more than another important factor such as efficiency.
    
   But consumers say they care about reliability, so why aren’t they buying the reliable cars?
2. CORRECT. If consumers choose based on reputations, and reputations lag behind actual performance, then a very reliable model with an old, bad reputation would sell poorly. This directly resolves the paradox by showing perceived reliability drives sales rather than actual reliability.
3. The question is about consumers who are shopping for new cars. This answer is about people who are not shopping for new cars. These are two completely different groups of people.
    
   Also, this answer says that some owners tend to hold onto their cars for the life of their vehicle. And after that? Then, presumably they will shop for a new car, and it remains true that some of the most reliable cars will not sell well with car buyers.
4. Are these car models reliable? Not clear. They don’t break down much, but they require a lot of maintenance.
    
   A fact about some cars isn’t an explanation for why people don’t buy some reliable car models.
5. Maybe you thought people buy unreliable models because they’re stylish. But the stimulus directly says that reliability is the top concern of car buyers. This answer doesn’t contradict that.