Car Fight! Fiat And Nissan Trade Insults Over Who's Uglier
Forward contracts for popcorn skyrocketed at the Chicago Mercantile Exchange, the Tokyo Commodity Exchange and other world markets after managers of Fiat and Nissan traded barbs about beauty.
Matt Davis, head of Fiat brand product marketing, hit first.
Matt Davis of Fiat: “Visual pollution!”
Clearly referring to Nissan’s Leaf, Davis said: “Let’s be honest, ugliness is probably one of the worst forms of pollution.”
Today, Nissan hit back with gusto.
“Let’s face it, Fiat has not shied away from controversial styling themselves,” Nissan’s head of global marketing communications Simon Sproule told Hans Greimel of Automotive News [sub] today. “Many would describe many of their products as visual pollution. Take a long, hard look at the Fiat Doblo.”
Sproule of Nissan: “Look who’s talking!”
Once Sproule, a Brit, and usually a gentleman, (he joined Nissan from Aston Martin, Jaguar, Land Rover) was on a roll, he told Greimel that unlike the Fiat EV, the Leaf is a “fully functioning” car for families and daily use.
Then, he dispensed one of the biggest insult in the business, namely that the Fiat 500e is a quota car, and that the Italians don’t really mean it.
Good reporter as he is, Greimel immediately called Fiat in Turin, where a spokesman declined comment. They are probably thinking of choice words. Stay tuned.
Bertel Schmitt comes back to journalism after taking a 35 year break in advertising and marketing. He ran and owned advertising agencies in Duesseldorf, Germany, and New York City. Volkswagen A.G. was Bertel's most important corporate account. Schmitt's advertising and marketing career touched many corners of the industry with a special focus on automotive products and services. Since 2004, he lives in Japan and China with his wife <a href="http://www.tomokoandbertel.com"> Tomoko </a>. Bertel Schmitt is a founding board member of the <a href="http://www.offshoresuperseries.com"> Offshore Super Series </a>, an American offshore powerboat racing organization. He is co-owner of the racing team Typhoon.
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Nissan cars are ugly. The Versa is one of the worst designs ever. The Murano is so bad looking that it reminds me of the Aztec. And the list goes on. Fiat designs are interesting at least.
Ugly cars (or trucks)? Neither the Leaf or 500e are anywhere close to the eyesore that is the Toyota FJ Cruiser. It also gets the Dumbest Name award. Second place on the ugly list is the Nissan Murano convertible.