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Category: Marketing
We’ve been quite vocal in our opinion of “Car of the Year” awards such as those sold handed out every year by Motor Trend. Even worse are those awards bestowed by non-automotive rags where a COTY announcement ranks right up there with their pronouncements of the years trendiest sunglasses or the best place for killer mojitos. Yet, for whatever reason, Esquire has decided the world needs yet another of these useless (to everyone but their advertising department) awards.
USA Today is in the thrall of . . . the Ford Escape Hybrid. As is the President of these here United States, who traded his gas-hungry Chrysler 300C for the gas – electric trucklette. No surprise, then, that we’ve heard rumors of shortages. Well, not rumors, exactly. More like an open admission by FoMoCo’s El Presidente del Americas. “We are constrained by the amount of components, including batteries, that the supply base can provide us,” Mark Fields said in December ’08. Same spin again in January ’09, via a Blue Oval Boy on Edmunds. The scuttlebutt: Ford loses money on every Escape Hybrid they sell; so it sells as few as possible. Of course, that doesn’t stop The Glass House Gang from using the vehicle to earn brownie points with the MSM . . .
Ford is starting to get pissed off at the feds for rewarding their cross-town rivals’ failure, taking bread off their table. On Monday, FoMoCo spinmeister Mark Truby pointed out that “If you’re competing against a company that’s majority owned by the U.S. government, that does raise certain concerns about what the competitive dynamic will be for the industry.” Translation: will Chrysler and GM use taxpayer money to keep customers from defecting to The Blue Oval Boyz (amongst others). Yes they can! The Associated Press reports that Chrysler is tapping into bailout bucks to launch a fresh round of incentives to keep pumping blood into the Auburn Hills automaker’s corpse: 0 percent financing for 60 months or up to $4,000 cash back on “certain” 2009 Chrysler, Dodge and Jeep models. Oh, and Chrysler owners get $1,000 loyalty cash towards a new 2008 or 2009 car. Yes, 2008. Chrysler says the promotion runs until July 1. At the least.
I’ll have Mr. SV-1 on the blower tomorrow at 9:30 a.m. EST. I’ll try to get him to join us on CoveritLive. But, if not, your questions?
Actor Mathew Modine votes aye over at HuffPo, calling our four-wheeled friends “the new pariahs.” After informing us that the world’s resources are finite, bicycles rule, and that there’s much to be learned from a baby’s first steps, Modine finally gets around to making his argument.
“We must look at the automobile as a cigarette–a cancer stick–a nail in our collective coffin. The sexy lifestyle that the tobacco industry sold to us contains the same advertising lies and poison which the automobile industry sold and continues to sell to the world. Look at the ads for automobiles and you’ll begin to recognize the lies. You’ll see open roads with happy smiling drivers. Ask yourself, When was the last time I was NOT stuck in traffic?”
Interestingly, the lasting impression from Modine’s rant is that actors’ opinions are like all forms of advertising: facile and misleading.
Kijk op: http://www.dewaarheidachtermini.nl/ – De Vereniging Verontwaardigde MINI Rijders onthulde op 22 april de waarheid achter MINI. Deze licht ontvlambare Amerikaanse advocaat ziet een rechtzaak tegen MINI wel zitten! Bekijk zijn commercial op http:www.dewaarheidachtermini.nl
RLS1400 recently bought a used Mazda from Ramsey Chrysler Dodge. The sales manager just sent him this e-mail:
Hello, My name is Regis J. Larkin Jr. and I am a sales manager with Ramsey Chrysler Dodge and Jeep. I would like to take the time to tell you why you should buy your next domestic product from us. Contrary to all the negative propaganda in the media let me be the one to assure you we are going nowhere. The fact alone that the PRESIDENT of these UNITED STATES BECAME DIRECTLY INVOLVED IN OUR RESTRUCTURING SHOULD SAY A LOT. THINK ABOUT THAT. THEY ARE SO SURE ABOUT US AND OUR PRODUCT THEY ARE GUARANTEEING OUR LIFE TIME WARRANTIES. Thats pretty aggressive don’t you think. In the coming weeks a lot of smaller dealers will be closing. However RAMSEY CHRYSLER DODGE AND JEEP will be going nowhere. In fact we are in the process of redoing our showroom for your comfort and convenience. During times like these we must stand together AS AMERICANS.
Speaking with the New York Times, Ford Marketing maven Jim Farley had some soothing words for Ford dealers: we’re not going to cap yo ass [paraphrasing]. Yet [extrapolating]. Farley’s also taking the opportunity to hammer home Ford’s mantra: we didn’t take government money, so we’re cool, right? This time, Farley went further, predicting that FoMoCo could benefit from the death of those Detroit automakers who did/do. “Mr. Farley was particularly critical of the Chrysler plan, noting how it would affect millions of consumers with little warning. ‘It seems very abrupt and unplanned,’ he said. ‘You don’t orphan four million customers overnight without some fallout.’ Some of those customers, primarily those in rural areas, will migrate to Ford dealerships, he said. ‘It really depends on how G.M. and Chrysler handle these orphan owners,’ he said. ‘If they don’t give them a lot of attention, it will result in consumers going to other brands.’” Hint. Hint. Of course, there be dragons. And Farley knows it.
I’m no stranger to this ungodly hour. Having raised four daughters, I know why the early bird gets the worm: Lumbricus Terrestris hasn’t had time for a cup of coffee. Still, needs must. TTAC may have crested 1m viewers per month, but we’re still eyeball based. Our survival still depends on ad revenue. So we need to give as many potential readers as possible a “taste.” Hence the early hour. I’m about to get picked up by a local car service to take me to a radio station to argue against CAFE standards and for a gas tax. Should be fun. Tell all your friends! Well the ones with small children. Thanks. [click here to listen to the interview on WNYC Radio and Public Radio International’s “The Takeaway”]
The Detroit News reports that Ford’s wind-down of its Mercury brand continues apace (i.e., very slowly). Now that the mothership has eliminated its standalone Mercury franchises, they’re using the same process of attrition to grandfather the brand’s models to death. As of Thursday, Ford will no longer build the Mercury Sable. I know, it’s a crime, right? “Ford only sold 1,158 Sables last month, down 37.8 percent compared to April 2007.” Yup, the Sable’s another D-platform loser. “That will leave Mercury with just four models,” the DetN writes, displaying an uncanny knack for numeracy, “including the Mountaineer and Grand Marquis, both of which are scheduled to be killed over the next couple of years. Mercury is supposed to get a new small car, but Ford has no other models planned for the brand at this time.” At this time? Brrrr. Will someone please close that door? Hang on; what’s this?
Let’s face it? I’ve been covering GM’s slide into bankruptcy for well over four years now, and it never ceases to amaze me how the people inside the company persist in trying to paper over cracks in the company’s operations that make the Grand Canyon look like a paper cut. In this case, a personage no less than Vice Chairman Tom Stevens gets in the Fastlane to tell the world that GM doesn’t have a fucking clue what it’s doing with its products or brands. “Although Saturn’s future is likely not to be within GM now, I can assure you our commitment to hybrid, plug-in hybrid and advanced battery technology is a key element of GM’s reinvention. I’m pleased to let you know the plug-in hybrid technology will be applied to one of GM’s four core brands. Stay tuned for which one, and in the meantime, I’ll enjoy reading the speculation.”
Automotive News [sub] reports that Ford has decided to shelve plans to introduce a diesel F-150 in 2010. Last spring, Ford demoed dealers with a 4.4-liter oil burning V8 F-150. It boasted an estimated 350 hp and 500 lb·ft of torque—more power and twist than the F-150’s 5.4-liter gasoline V8 while quaffing 20 percent less fuel. And then F-150 sales dried-up and gas prices cratered—especially relative to diesel. “No new date has been scheduled [for the diesel pickup],” Mark Fields, Ford’s president of the Americas, told Automotive News late last month. “We’re still looking at the appropriate time to do that. We’ve put it on the back burner for right now.” According to AN‘s source/speculation, the diesel F-150 has officially been delayed until 2013. “But it will likely be canceled outright unless diesel prices fall substantially below gasoline for a prolonged period.” And then what? You’d think Ford would want a fully developed, tried and tested diesel F-150 in their quiver ahead of any such completely unexpected development. Then again, money’s too tight to mention.
In his cut-and-paste letter to ex-Chrysler-as-we-knew-it employees, ex-Chrysler CEO Bob Nardelli refers his ex-troops to a website set-up to explain just how bad their post C11 situation isn’t. The electronic hand-holding portal—www.chryslerrestructuring.com—offers nothing more than the press release and the letter (which refers to the site that refers to the letter). Slightly more reassurance is available at www.scoopchrysler.com. (I’ll refrain from making any canine scatology comments.) The second site provides workers with a simple C11 Q&A. Those looking for a little truth and reconciliation action are bound to be disappointed, as this answer to “why?” shows: “Companies file for Chapter 11 for a number of reasons, but generally they are seeking to protect their assets while trying to address financial problems – such as excessive debt, insufficient liquidity, unreasonable contractual obligations, and/or unmanageable liabilities. The process also is sometimes used by companies to sell assets free and clear of any obligations.” “Unreasonable contractual obligations.” How . . . reassuring.
Whiskey Tango Foxtrot indeed. How could Toyota Prius, The Next Generation, not offer direct access to Apple’s technophile (technophobe?) gizmo? No USB paradise by the dashboard lights? True story, brought to you by PriusChat (motto: “Press our buttons”). “The USB integration won’t be available out of the factory until September, and it will only come with the Navigation option package that is available in the Prius III, IV, and V. Customers who buy their Navigation-equipped Prius before September will be able to have the USB kit installed at the dealer, but at their own expense. There are no specifics right now, but it looks like in September when the USB connectivity is added to the Navigation package, the price of the Navigation package will be going up. It hasn’t been established yet whether that price increase would be the same as the price a dealer will charge to install it, or if the dealer-installed USB will be more expensive.” It doesn’t take much Insight, or a Honda Odyssey without iPhone integration, to realize that this is a major marketing misstep by the ToMoCo. Did you know that Microsoft’s Zune can operate through your vehicle’s FM radio? Just sayin’.
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