When it comes to inside dirt on the happenings in Auburn Hills, Allpar tends to deliver the goods. Today they have what they say could be Dodge and Chrysler’s new marketing taglines, to wit:
- Life is best when driven
- Imported from Detroit
Of course, we must note that marketing is an irony-free zone. These slogans could just as easily be a practical joke as the real thing. After all, what right-thinking automotive marketer would not only associate its products with Motown, but do so in a way that actually reinforces the market’s preference for imports? Especially considering an Italian firm is paying said marketer’s salary. Say what you want about “Life is best when driven,” at worst it’s painlessly generic. “Imported From Detroit,” on the other hand, is the modern “Not Your Father’s Oldsmobile”: self-aware and self-destructive.
I know that I shouldn’t go there, but isn’t the 300 assembled in Canada?
Details, details.
You can use “facts” to prove anything.
“imported from Brampton” just doesn’t have the same ring to it.
But “Straight outta Brampton” has a better ring to it.
But “Straight outta Brampton” has a better ring to it.
NAILED IT!
For a North American-specific vehicle like a full-size pickup or an RWD V8 sedan that costs less than a 1-bedroom condo, this Starbucks-drinking leftist likes “Imported from Detroit”.
If I had been the US government, I’d have forced the Big 3 to make factories in America before I’d have handed them a dime in subsidies.
What about the UAW tax?
Both the Canadian and Ontario governments made significant investments into Chrysler and GM specifically to keep jobs in Canada. It isn’t just US taxpayers that have stakes in these companies.
What happened to my father’s Oldsmobile? Are dead brands now non-persons?
Corporations are now persons with the same rights as people. That should scare the shit out of you.
Freudian/Sloanian slip. Apologies.
Wow, that Olds campaign was so destructive that it even wiped the brand off our memories about it!
The real problem with the ” this is not your father’s Oldsmobile ” is that my Dad’s Oldsmobile has class and power, as in Cutlass Supreme of beauty, 1968 and the other 1972, before the demise of Olds. I bought the ’87 98Regency and wished I had the old RWD instead. Actually, the other choice that year was the Cutlass 442, which I should have bought at a price actually higher than the 98 so called luxury auto. The Cutlass was still RWD and had a better tranny and well just about everything.
This is off topic, but I was wondering, just why did GM decide to kill Oldsmobile rather than Buick? I don’t remember any specific reasons and I’m pretty sure China didn’t matter then so what made Olds expendable?
Supposedly Olds was more of a “damaged brand” than Buick was. (Rolls eyes.) GM was never very specific as to their reasons. Here’s one man’s theory.
http://www.joesherlock.com/nwsltr19.html
Here are three slogans I just thought up in about sixty seconds, I would say equal to or better than Imported from Detroit:
1) Take pride in your ride.
2) The legend continues.
3) Level up.
Oh here are a couple more, stream of thought even!
4) Raise the beat.
5) The new classic.
6) Get yours.
No charge Chrysler. You’re welcome.
For all the improvements made on the Compass, GC, Wrangler, 200, 300, and Durmagnum it appears that Chrysler still sucks at mottos.
And they still haven’t even begun to address the horrible “i am. i live. i fart. Jeep” monstrosity.
…Or wait, did they change the Jeep motto? Come to think of it, they’re moving so fast with everything I can’t even remember.
Unfair as it may be, “Imported from Detroit” is risky, given many peoples negative perceptions. Think crime, decay, lost jobs etc.
Off the top of my head:
1) American Style
2) Imported from America
3) Legendary
4) Simply the best.
5) Fine car. Smart owner.
I think “Simply the Best” was either a tagline or a jingle in commercials from the mid-90s. I can’t remember what for though, for some reason soap/shampoo, coffee, and commercials from Ford or GM (any of the multiple brands) come to mind.
Maybe Allpar got it mixed up and this is actually the new slogan for Lancia.
How About….
“Buy our crap or we will get our political terrorists to steal from you again”.
I guess Detroit does resemble a bombed out third-world city so the slogan makes some sense.
Will they still use that “Sniveling Brat” voice-over in their idiot-box commercials?
I bet Detroiters find it humorous. A few years back, Ford had some cnc milled license plates for their show cars that said stuff like “Yeah, that Detroit” and “Rustbelt, shmustbelt”.
A couple more from the ’04 NAIAS:
The Mustang’s plate read:
Made in
DETROIT
as God Intended
The Cobra’s plate read:
Made in
DETROIT
And A Fine Piece It Is
Links to Pics:
Here’s another on a Shelby concept”
“room for cream”
What if the 300 is a hit in Europe and/or China? Fiat has made great strides in a very short period of time.
Damn, give them a chance to get the products developed. What do you want? Detroit was THE Motor City for decades. This may be the beginning of the new Detroit. It is the last real manufacturing left in America. We need to rally around anything that moves forward quality American products.
It is time for America to be great again. All the Fascist talk on this site is just disgusting.
Heh. New slogan…”Buy a Dodge or you’re a fascist”. I know that Dodge and Chrysler are, due to all the bailouts, more of a “zee people’s car” than the veedub ever was but is a person really fascist if they don’t want one? It’s a car, not a political statement or act of patriotism. Continuing to market them as such will only continue to fail. If the car was good enough you would not have to call people fascist or scream “buy America!” as loud as you can to sell them.
“Imported from Detroit” would be a slogan used outside the US. Exporting US made cars could help in lowering our outrageously high trade deficit. If that is a political statement, then so be it. I am rooting for American manufacturing to come back and help restore our faltering economy.
What are you talking about? Where’s your evidence that Detroit is “the last real manufacturing left in America”?
I dare you to find any sort of credible numerical evidence that refutes my contention that the USA manufactured far more in the last ten years than in any decade in the past.
As part of my job, I’ve visited upwards of fifty plants all over the US over the last three years. They were huge profitable operations generating millions of dollars, tons of products for export, and providing thousands of good-paying jobs. Exactly 1 of them was in Detroit, 2 of them were in Michigan. None of them was related to automotive.
You seem to post comments like this often. I’d really like to know what it’s based on. I can assure you that the plant I’m sitting in right now is “real manufacturing”, that it is in America, and that I’m more than 500 miles outside of Detroit.
I live just a few miles from an athletic shoe manufacturer and I’m not even close to Bertel’s time zone. Yes, they still make sneakers here in the USA. There are more local examples including some of the best bicycle manufacturers in the world.
http://www.newbalance.com/usa/#/factories
That’s all well and good, but can you get them in Bugatti Yellow??
-otherwise offered in Europe as … AB-Bugatti Yellow
-or at least Nick Hogan Yellow?…
“Life is Best When Driven” brings to mind being chauffeured, which I don’t think is the image they are trying to create.
“Imported from Detroit” isn’t as bad, but it does raise an eyebrow to the fact that Chrysler was owned by the Germans, and now is owned by the Italians.
Chrysler needs a slogan that reminds people of their big bad V8, and positions the Chrysler brand as premium without making it sound too much like a stuffy luxury mark. I’d go with “Chrysler – The Power and Class of America” or just “Chrysler – Power and Class” (both shamelessly stolen from the UMMB).
I thought Chrysler was owned by the Government and that they stole our tax dollars.
”
I thought Chrysler was owned by the Government and that they stole our tax dollars.
”
Yes, but you are forgetting the part where they -gave- it to Fiat afterwards. So, the Government no longer owns it…. and isn’t giving our tax dollars back. In fact, they just failed in an attempt to get more of them
Dang I like – “Imported from Detroit.” I like the cheekiness of it.
+1
My thoughts exactly, there’s a simple cheek to it that really appeals
Taken for a ride…
“Life is best when driven” Is Fiat USA’s slogan…which you can see in the commercial ya’all linked a couple weeks ago, also…some of the banner ads on this site are for the Fiat 500. These banner ads also contain that tag line.
I like Imported from Detroit. Alot will depend on usage, I think, but to me it fits pretty clearly in with the attempt to move the Chrysler brand up a few notches and market it as an “Import fighter”.
Given that folks in Detroit are already living in “Mad Max” times (h/t Moe the bartender on “The Simpsons”) the slogan “Imported from Detroit” conjures up images of Mel Gibson using a heavily armored tractor- trailer to haul new 300s to the safe zone.
“I’ll drive that tankah…”
Does anyone cross-shop Chryslers with imports anyway? What import is it that competes with the Charger or Challenger exactly? The 300 is a pure Tony Soprano ride all the way…I can’t imagine anyone saying “hmmm…should I get the 300 or the A6”? If you’re not the kind of person who buys American because its American, you’re not looking at a Chrysler. Ford and Buick maybe, but not Chrysler. Nobody can buy an Avenger over a CamCord (or Mazda 6) unless (1) its damn near free or (2) they are wedded to American cars. I think this is similar to the Apple Pie-Flag Waving GM pickup ads, plus an attempt to restore pride in Detroit manufacturing. It could work on the target audience (none of whom live in Manhattan).
When I think about why to be proud to be an American, Detroit-made Chryslers aren’t exactly the first thing that comes to mind.
Interesting you chose to picture the Chrysler 300. The next Lancia Thema will be based off of it. I wonder if they’ll sell the Lancia and Chrysler in the same markets, e.g., Italy? Seems doubtful.
I have been mulling these taglines over for way too long today. They are both kinda clever, but will probably have a shelf life of about 10 days.
Since Chevy is deep under fiscal water and went with a submarine motif (‘Run Deep’) maybe Chrysler can take a similar inspiration. I’m thinking ‘Chrysler: Up Periscope’ or maybe ‘All Hands Brace For Impact.’
The new 300 is pleasant enough, but I keep thinking, “Chrysler 300: Why Yes, It Does Sort of Look Like a Genesis, Now That You Mention It”. “Life is Best When Driven” is utterly meaningless; “Imported from Detroit” is a little better (to the rest of us, Detroit as a place is pretty foreign, anyway).
“self-aware and self-destructive”
There’s your tagline, Pentastar.
“‘All Hands Brace For Impact.’”
Mighty scary words when 150 feet away from an aircraft carrier during a refueling operation when rudder control is lost.
I think the use of ‘imported’ is meant to be ironic . . . as though ‘Detroit’ might as well be another country. Seems that Chrysler’s been running some pretty hipsterish spots lately.
I did like the one that ran over the summer, with G. Washington routing the redcoats in a Charger . . .