Marketing MixThe success of a company largely depends on adequate marketing. A company must have an adequate mix of all marketing elements and efforts to produce desirable sales results. This mix will include the variables and tools that a company will use to meet the business objective and the needs of its potential customers. This mix determined by marketing research and experimentation is commonly known as the marketing mix. This mix is ​​made up of four variables that the business world often calls the “Four Ps.” The four Ps are product, price, place and promotion. Through this article I will define how the use and effectiveness of these variables lead to the success of an organization when properly coordinated together. Product is one of the components used in the marketing mix to attract a company's target market. In relation to the marketing mix, product is defined as “an object or service that is mass-produced or manufactured on a large scale with a specific volume of units” (Wikipedia, 2006). Determining the product or service and who it will be produced for is the first step in marketing. In the automotive industry the product is a key element of the marketing mix. With the current trend towards preserving the environment and its natural resources, automobile manufacturers are developing products aimed at consumers with these concerns. These environmentally friendly vehicles include hybrids, electric cars, and cars that run on corn-based ethanol fuel instead of gasoline. By choosing to focus on environmentally friendly or "green" vehicles, automotive companies had to do research and find the needs and desires of their potential drivers. This research included traveling around the world and visiting countries where eco-friendly vehicles were already in use. Research and survey results revealed that “68% of respondents said they would be interested in purchasing an electric or hybrid car within the next three to five years. And about one in four said they would be extremely interested to purchasing an eco-friendly car". friendly car in three to five years" (Buss, 2001). After months of research, researchers discovered that consumers demanded the same power and performance as traditional vehicles, including affordable prices. With this knowledge, manufacturers marketed these products boasting the their EPA ratings and fuel economy.