SEMA OEM Report: Scionara?
By Edward NiedermeyerNovember 7, 2008 -
Kia’s booth at SEMA was quiet and empty compared to the Genesis-fest at sister firm Hyundai’s space. But fewer fans meant a chance for a closer look at several near-production concepts that point the way forward for the “other” Korean budget automaker. And though Hyundai seems to have Lexus in its crosshairs, Kia appears to be gunning directly after another Toyota’s Scion. First up, Kia’s Soul Burner concept looks like a (not quite production-ready) alternative to Scion’s xD. Strip away the flame-tread show tires, and a few other tuner-show fripperies, and it’s a practical, flexible, stylish little hatch. The styling doesn’t exactly put the “b” in subtle, but it’s a reasonable compromise between practicality and urban chic. Fit-and-finish clearly needs some work (paint bubbles on a show car?). But a cheaper, better-looking (in the eyes of this beholder) xD should have Toyota sweating more than a little. Kia’s Koup Concept has an equally laserlike-focus on stealing sales from the Scion tC. The stylishly unisex Koup sports clean lines, sharp-looking head- and tail lights, and a surprising impression of quality compared to the Soul Burner. Slap a Honda badge on the Koup and you might think it was the next Civic Si. Put it next to a tC with no badges at all, and you might have a hard time guessing which came from the world’s most successful automaker.
Posted in Marketing | News Blog | 9 comments 
SEMA OEM Report: Jesus Died For Chrysler’s Sins
By Edward NiedermeyerNovember 7, 2008 -
OK, before we get into the gory details, let’s take a moment to acknowledge the fact that Chrysler’s presence at the SEMA show was something of a minor miracle. Of course, there are presences and there are presences. Chrysler’s display was tucked far away from the highest-trafficked areas of the Las Vegas Convention Center. And its stand was the only major OEM presence on the ground floor of the South Hall, which was otherwise packed with wheels, tires and cheesecake. Of course, if you never found it you’d not have missed much. The whole shebang could be summed up in a single word: Challenged. There were about equal numbers of new and vintage Challengers making up the vast majority of the Mopar display. Sure, there were a handful of lifted Rams and Jeeps, but otherwise it was all Challenger, all the time. In the interests of complete fairness, Chrysler also showed a Landaulet version of its 300C and there was a Viper as well. But no Calibers, Chargers, Avengers, Sebrings, etc. Not that they were necessarily missed, but it definitely gave the impression that ChryCo’s corporate masters were spending as little money as possible in order to highlight only the most strip-and-flippable brands in the stable. And though the 300C-ized Magnum’s crucifix art pictured here seemed to sum up Chrysler’s tragic circumstances, it was not part of the Chrysler display.
Posted in Marketing | News Blog | 5 comments
Auto-Internet Uber Alles
By Martin SchwoererNovember 4, 2008 -
Posted in Marketing | Media | News Blog | Sales | 18 comments
Ford Has a Brainwave: Build the Cars People Want to Buy
By Robert FaragoOctober 30, 2008 -
Ford tells us that J.D. Power tells them that “30 percent of new vehicle shoppers who walk away from a dealership do so because the dealer did not have the exact vehicle with the colors and options they wanted.” Yeah, right. That what they say… Never mind. As suspicious as this factoid may be, Ford has decided it should use one of them there computer-type things to “determine the vehicle configurations customers in different regions of the country most want.” And once they do that, why not “significantly reduce the number of orderable combinations across its vehicle lineup”? You know; like, I’m thinking… Honda! “For example, the new 2010 Ford Fusion will be available in 104 popular orderable combinations, compared with 2,602 configurations for the 2008 model year. For the entire Ford brand, the company has reduced orderable configurations by 90 percent from the 2008 model year.” No seriously. This makes sense. It’s a good sign the lights are [still] on in Dearborn. Long overdue.
Posted in Marketing | News Blog | Sales | 36 comments
Bob Lutz’s Nine Greatest Hits
By Justin BerkowitzOctober 29, 2008 -
Being Bob Lutz has a fantastic job. He’s rich as sin (thank you, Daimler, for buying Chrysler), and he has Czar in his unofficial title with GM. He can say whatever he feels like, whether it’s about global warming (”a crock of shit,” in his words) or random price projections for meeting the next round of EPA standards. During Maximum Bob’s epic career, he’s “championed” some very interesting though chronically unsuccessful products. Some of these were on sale twenty years ago, others are on sale today. And still others will likely never see the light of day. While so many cars have been touched by Lutz’s magic hands, we present to you his big nine.
Posted in Marketing | Media | New York Auto Show | News Blog | What Ever Happened To? | 32 comments
Mark LaNeve: GM To Launch Toe Tag Sale Early
By Robert FaragoOctober 27, 2008 -
News flash! Automotive News [AN sub] finally talks to someone on the record! And it’s no less a personage than GM Marketing Maven Mark LaNeve, the man in charge of managing The General’s declining ad budget. To celebrate the occasion, AN’s crack reporters resort to the lazy journalist’s best friend: Q & A. The resulting edit begins with the usual “these grapes are not sour, there must be something wrong with your taste buds” waffle. LaNeve would have us believe that the new media is so wicked cool GM doesn’t really need to spend as much money as it did before the last of the corporate cash pile went up the chimney. “When a lot of the digital technology was new, all marketers were learning. As you learn, you get more efficient and you spend less money to get the same results, the same impact, the same reach in the marketplace. That is why I am comfortable with some of the cuts we are making. We are a whole lot better at search, at digital, at working with our third-party partners like Edmunds.com and The Truth About Cars.” Just kidding. About TTAC. Anyway, AN raises the spectre of GM’s octo-brand stretch. Pah! “We prioritize the launches. The key launches are the Chevrolet Traverse, Camaro and Equinox. Cadillac has the CTS wagon, CTS-V series and CTS coupe on the horizon. And the Buick LaCrosse and GMC Terrain are two big launches.” THOSE are GM’s priorities? My children’s children’s children’s tax money is so dead. More revelations after the jump.
Posted in Chapter 11 | Marketing | News Blog | 12 comments
Feel the Cash Burn: Chevrolet to Make “Significant” Cuts to Sports Advertising
By Robert FaragoOctober 27, 2008 -
Bloomberg reports that the American Revolution may have to continue (start?) without America’s small town atheletes. “Chevrolet will stop promotions tied to college sports and only advertise during games, said Philip Caruso, national promotions manager. The brand will also eliminate partnerships with some of the smaller sports such as skiing, he said.” When you’re shutting off escalators and limiting voice mail to save some money, excising a big chunk of change like this makes sense. That said, check this out. “The economy is making us re-look at everything we do,” Caruso said in an interview after awarding Major League Baseball’s Roberto Clemente Award at the World Series in Philadelphia. “It’s cutting back mainly spending in the sports area and promotions as a whole, and then reallocating in some of those areas that help grow our business.” So, does that mean the previous ad spend wasn’t helping them grow their business? D’oh!
Posted in Marketing | Media | News Blog | 12 comments
Every 2008 BMW Available at 0.9% Financing
By Justin BerkowitzOctober 23, 2008 -
All of them. Including the M3, M5, M6, and Alpina B7. That would be 0.9% financing.
Minimum credit score is tier one (701+). From 24 months to 60 months. The program has been going since October 1, but was not heavily publicized (outside of the Sunday newspaper ads that are usually credibility-free anyway). We’ll be eager to see what the October sales stats look like. I’d imagine someone at BMW HQ will be eager to see them, too.
Posted in Marketing | News Blog | Sales | 25 comments
Wild Ass Rumor of the Day: Buick Fires Tiger Woods (or Vice Versa)
By Robert FaragoOctober 23, 2008 -
What’s up with The Detroit News? When it comes to partially or completely unattributed rumors surrounding the GM - Chrysler merger, there’s no source vague enough to warrant exclusion from their news pages. But when they’ve got a hold of a really juicy rumor, they get all coy on us. There’s no reason for “GM mulls Tiger Woods’ Buick contract” to exist– other than as a nudge, nudge, wink, wink word in your ear Guv’nor that The General and The Tiger are about to go their separate ways. How’s this for a suggestive juxtaposition: “Buick, which has had an endorsement agreement with the world’s No. 1-ranked golfer since 1999, has no plans “right now” to scale back its golf sponsorships, [Woods' agent Larry] Peck said in a telephone interview. The company’s stock has dropped more than 74 percent this year to $6.19 at Wednesday’s close, and GM has cut 53,000 union workers since 2005.” Given The General’s exsanguination, Woods’ other agent was appropriately sanguine. “I want to see where they are, and they want to see where we are,” [mark] Steinberg said. Will they wave at each other? You know, as GM says goodbye? Look for a Tiger at a BMW, Mercedes or Audi-sponsored event soon.
Posted in Chapter 11 | Marketing | News Blog | 16 comments
Motor Trend Pimps The Caddy Future
By Edward NiedermeyerOctober 23, 2008 -
We’ve long held that Cadillac is one of two “core brands” for GM that should be preserved (along with Chevy) at all costs. To compete with the big boys of luxury (Hyundai, anyone?) Caddy needs new product, and unlike Pontiac it’s going to get it. But will Cadillac’s product pipeline be filled with unique, desirable products or cannibalistic also-rans? I know, let’s ask that font of balanced coverage and journalistic integrity, Motor Trend! In fairness, MT admits that “It’s been four or five decades since Cadillac built a car that came close to being ‘The Standard of the World.’” “But” comes the now-customary about face that emerges any time a mainstream journo discusses the failure of an American automaker, “with the new CTS, and especially the world-beating CTS-v sport sedan, (Cadillac’s) rehabilitation is well underway.” Oh really? Let’s take a look.
Posted in Future Vehicles | Marketing | Media | News Blog | 19 comments
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