Bentley CEO Franz-Josef Paefgen had a little kaffee und kuchen with the Financial Times Deustchland, kicking things off with a representative combination of Germanic bluntness and English understatement. "I loved the car and the company, but if you saw the scale of the challenge and the inexperienced workforce, it was a bit of a challenge." Und now? Bentley's racked-up €107m profit in the first nine months of this year. But Paefgen warns that Bentley's endive days are over. "You should not expect another 15 per cent growth now with all the basic models now in place. The growth will be more moderate and the business more stable – not exploding as it was over the past five years or so." Responding to Bentley's "growing exposure as a fashion brand," Paefgen's glad not all his customers are "football stars and other trendy people," and claims Bentley's protected by its "very strong connection with our traditional brand values." Amongst which fuel economy does not rank, and that's a BIG problem. "'If everyone is going to reduce CO2 emissions by 20 per cent, we have to do at least 20 per cent, or maybe more. This is accepted. There is no problem.' But he admits that if particularly stiff limits on CO2 emissions were imposed 'there will be no Bentley any more.'" Oh dear.

Even a freshman marketing student knows you don't launch a multi-million dollar ad blitz for a new product if you don't have the product on hand to sell. Yet that's exactly what GM did with the redesigned Chevy Malibu. GM says they sold about 7K Malibus in December. That's about the same number as in December '06. What they haven't said is how many unfilled orders or deposits they've taken for future delivery. Yet GM marketing maven and spinmeister extraordinaire Mark LaNeve told the Detroit News it'll be spring before production meets demand. That's despite ramping up production at a second plant. Monster Mark gushes, "they're selling well in Southern California. They're selling well in Flint." I'm happy to hear they're selling somewhere– because Malibus don't seem to be going anywhere in the southeast. I have yet to see a new 'Bu on the road in the Atlanta area; the only one I've seen outside a showroom was somewhere on an interstate in Texas. On my way to visit the family at Thanksgiving, I saw the car you can't ignore at a Chevy dealership in central Alabama. When I went back at Christmas it was still sitting in the same spot. How about you? Have you seen the new Malibu in the wild, or have you only spotted GM's next next big thing at dealerships (if at all)? Let's get empirical! Em-piri-cal. 

As Bloomberg reports, it all comes down to this: do you count Scion sales in Toyota's sales totals or not? If you do, Toyota can– and will– claim bragging rights as America's best-selling car brand, topping the '07 sales charts. If you don't count Scion, Chevrolet reclaims its title from Ford; an honor Chevy last earned in 2005. "Through November… Toyota sold 2,101,804 cars and light trucks, for a 35,524-unit advantage. Without Scion's 121,237 vehicles, Chevrolet would be on top by 85,713." Argument for Scion's inclusion: "Toyota spokesman Xavier Dominicis: 'We've always counted it that way, and it's sold only at Toyota dealerships.'" Supporting logic: Lexus products aren't considered Toyotas because they're sold in discreet dealerships. Autodata includes Scion in its Toyota-brand total. Argument against assumptive Sciontology: "'I don't think for a second that Scion is a Toyota vehicle; it's clearly its own brand,'' said Tom Libby, an analyst for J.D. Power and Associates. 'You might as well count Pontiac vehicles as Chevrolet sales if you think Scion's a Toyota.''" Supporting logic: Libby's employer and Ward's Automotive separate Scion from Toyota in their tallies. To its credit, Bloomberg plays the GEO card; the now-defunct brand (R.I.P. 1977) brand sold through Chevy dealerships. Back in the day, GM combined GEO and Chevy's sales totals. Ah, but according to Chevy flack Terrance Rhadigan, GEOs wore the Chevrolet bow tie, while Scion's aren't branded Toyota. We report, you decide.  

Would a new car buyer opt for a Ford just to get a $350 voice recognition system for their iPod (or similar) and Bluetooth-enabled phone? When Ford launched the national ad campaign for their in-dash Microsoft gizmo– selling the "new" Ford Focus entirely on its SYNCopation– the automaker revealed their faith 'n SYNC's ability to move the metal. Cynical observers might say the strategy is a desperate eHail Mary (lousy cars? syncing sales?). But credit where credit's due: it's a welcome move away from selling Fords based on price. And guess what? It's working! At least according to Cars.com. "Ford insists the 12 SYNC-equipped Ford, Lincoln and Mercury vehicles now offering it are moving off dealer lots twice as fast as those without it." Hang on. That assertion doesn't mean Ford sales are improving; it simply says Ford customers want a SNYC-equipped FoMoCo product rather than one without. Question: do Ford dealers have enough SNYC-equipped models? Are they having to discount non-SYNC models? Cars.com ignores these and any other interesting issues. But if it's hard numbers you want… "Ford says a survey of SYNC buyers found 80% say it was easy to learn and use and 90% would recommend it to others." That's not necessarily a good thing. Ford's got an 18-month exclusive on the system. After that, it's anybody's game. 

Do this job long enough and your BS detector gets quite the workout. But rarely does an article telegraph the discrepancy between PR plans and the incipient rush of cold reality in such obvious terms. Lisa Taylor is the testy spinmeister in question: spokeswoman for the Kansas Department of Agriculture. Or the U.S. Department of Transportation. Either way, she's promoting a pilot project that will allow Kansas gas stations to install pumps that dispense a variety of ethanol blends and "let consumers choose what blend they want." Yup, you heard right; a Sunflower state motorist will be able to choose between E10, E20, E30, E50 or E85 depending on, well, who the Hell knows? Anyway, as the Kansas City Star rightly reports, it's just a theory. The state is simply lowering regulatory hurdles, rather than subsidizing the "pour your own" ethanol pumps. In fact, only 28 stations in Kansas sell E85, and not a single one of them is a deep-pocketed nationally-branded franchisee. So, as you might expect, The Star reveals that "so far no sites for the test have been announced." Which triggered Ms. Taylor's ire. We're betting she doesn't get the last laugh on this one.

According to a New Year's PR greeting from ToMoCo Prez Katsuaki Watanabe, Toyota is going so damn green you'd be hard-pressed to find it in a field of clover. Just before I nodded off (sorry), Watanabe pledged to "contribute to the sustainable development of society and the earth in the future" in three main areas: research and development, manufacturing and social contribution. Yada, yada, "sustainable mobility," "cellulosic ethanol," "planting trees" and "hands-on environmental education at the Forest of Toyota." And now for the real news: Toyota wants to achieve "hybrid vehicle sales of 1 million units annually as soon as possible in the early 2010s," and put a Synergy Drive (possibly lithium-ion equipped) into every one of their models (hybrid Tundra?). As for those pesky quality issues dinging their brand rep, Watanabe is so committed to rectifying the situation he's quoting himself: "I am always saying that 'without improving quality, Toyota cannot expect to grow', and I believe that quantitative growth is the result of improved quality. For this, we understand well that corporate management must achieve growth that maintains a balance between corporate activities and environmental preservation, as well as between volume and quality." What, a pragmatic approach to multiple demands rather than seamless spin and endless hype? Where's the fun in that?

When BMW launched MINI stateside, its U.S. ad agency's unconventional approach (heavy on internet-based viral marketing) did wonders for the brand. Now that the new German-built, Jeremy Clarkson-reviled MINI Clubman is set to cross the pond, the automaker's "brand advocacy partner" Butler, Shine, Stern, & Partners (a.k.a. BSSP) has devised some, uh, "unique" cross-branded swag. Brandweek reports that the Sausalito-based agency has hooked-up with Visionaire, a NY publisher of themed, multimedia magazines to create the the $250 “Mini Clubman Vinyl Killer" edition. The package includes five picture-disc 12-inch records and a portable record player with a small Clubman replica for a cartridge. No really. There's also the MINI Clubman Onitsuka Tiger. The bespoke running shoe sports the MINI logo on the heel, and comes in color schemes to match those available for the Clubman (including black/silver and cream/British green). As you might expect, Brandweek analyzes MINI's most recent marketing plans with something approaching a Zen koan: "There is a place for Mini to work on selling to more hipster-oriented consumers, and it lies somewhere between Scion and Mini." So now you know.

Volvo is adopting the the Big 2.8's' overarching management strategy for '07: cut your way to prosperity. Automotive News [AN, sub] reports that Volvo's sliding sales have reached the point where the brand sells just 260 vehicles per dealer per year. FoMoCo's Swedish division is taking action, "asking its unprofitable and marginal dealers in the United States to give up their franchises." Asking? As in pretty please? The article takes its sweet time getting to the meat of the matter– how much Ford's going to pay these svag dealers to shutter their showrooms– and then serves-up a side dish. AN reveals that Volvo U.S. CEO Anne Belec has already allocated funds for the buyout program but "declined to say how much or how they would be used. Neither would she say how many stores are targeted for closing but made clear that it is more than a handful." I think they forgot to ask "Can you be any more vague?" In terms of actual news, Volvo's abandoning its sponsorship program (goodbye tennis) and leasing programs (in favor of low-interest loans), and focusing its marketing on larger and more heavily loaded cars (just in time for the compact C30's arrival). Volvo's retail advisory board chairman and store owner Ben Stein is not impressed. "The dealers are getting tired of a cut-cut-cut strategy," he said. "We need a game plan for sustained growth." Ya think?

I recently visited the Saturn website to check on an Astra factoid. I was surprised to discover that the brand has dropped the "American" part of their "Rethink American" advertising strapline. It's now just "Rethink," with various bits added as and when needed (e.g. Rethink Hybrids). The idea of a generic prefix, followed by a campaign-specific suffix, is not new. Mercedes dropped it's "Engineered like no other car in the world" shtick a long while ago, in favor of a revolving series of "FILL IN THE BLANK like no other car in the world" pronouncements. Nissan has been shifting this and that for some time now, from Expectations to, uh, I can't remember. Which is the problem. While a flexible strapline certainly helps the marketing mavens, like any brand extension, a one-size-doesn't-fit-all marketing solution weakens the impact of the original, highly-focused brand promise. In fact, none of these automakers keep their strapline front and center on their web pages. In any case, Saturn's shift in my expectations got me to re-thinking like no other journalist in the world. What IS a Saturn? I rang up Kyle Johnson, Saturn's Director of Communications, to ask him about the streamlined strapline, cupholders and Saturn's Unique Selling Point.

MINI's mini-suv finally has a name. Auto Motor und Sport (via motoring.co.za) reports the maxi-MINI will be called the Crossman, continuing their theme of names that start with "C." The not-so-mini MINI will be built by Magna in Austria, marking the marque's first foray away from the UK's auto industry. MINI Magna expect to produce about 45K Crossmans (Crossmen?) a year after the model's 2010 launch. Crossman consumers can opt for front wheel-drive or all wheel-drive. So now we'll have the two-door Cooper, the Cooper convertible, the four-door Clubman and the Crossman. It shouldn't be too long before BMW completes the bastardization of the MINI brand by producing a pickup version, maybe called the El CaMINI.

GM has announced its intention to raise prices on its '08 model year cars and light trucks by about 1.5 percent, to cover "steel and commodity costs." But not on vehicles facing stiff competition. Reuters lets GM Marketing Maven Mark LaNever ring in the changes. "While most cars and trucks in our portfolio will go up between $100 to $500, in hotly contested segments, many vehicles such as the Saturn Aura four-cylinder and the all-new Malibu LS will have no increase." So… which vehicles can "afford" this increase? Why the Cadillac XLR! Yup, Caddy's priciest model, a $97kish vehicle that's sold just 1622 examples year-to-date (down from last year's 2917), gets an extra $1500 on its sticker (ready for discount?). GM PR declined to name any other specific vehicles facing the price hike, lest we call attention to their relative sales. In any case, you've got to wonder about the timing of the announcement– smack dab in the middle of GM's Christmas Toe Tag sale. Are they trying to say "get 'em while they're cheap?" As Reuters points out, the whole price hike deal is a bit odd. "GM is boosting prices as it tries to stick to a strategy of lower incentives and clearer pricing, after a decade of big discounting programs eroded profits." 

We've wondered about this for a long, long time: who's going to own America's internet-savvy car customers? It's a three-way race between carmakers, dealers and independent websites, all vying to provide the best automotive information in the most attractive form, and then leverage their e-relationship for long-term customer loyalty. Not a lot has happened on the CRM (customer relations management) front; when was the last/first time you received a well-targeted email from any member of this troika? Meanwhile, Peter Krasilovsky says the various players are successful at different stages of the car buying (what about owning?) process. "It's not winner takes all," the program director for The Kelsey Group tells Marketing Daily. "I think there is a realization that OEMs [Original Equipment Manufacturers] are not going to dominate the market. There is a realization that some people will go to the manufacturers' sites, and then there's a person who wants to shop different vehicles, and there are people who want to be part of the car universe and not just when they are buying a car." To increase their e-appeal, dealers are adding appointment-making capabilities to their websites and "increasingly doing e-mail offers with coupons for services, even newsletters." Is that the sound of the "junk" button I'm hearing? The battle continues. 

Looks like I'm going to have to cash in a savings bond I got for my Bar Mitzvah. I know it's Risky Business, but Mitsubishi has just announced pricing estimates for the new Evo. Edmunds reports that the basic five-speed manual model will cost American buyers $33k to $34k (including delivery). The Evo MR with the dual clutch transmission (dubbed SST) is the apple of my automotive eye. That bad boy's gonna clock-in at $38k to $39k. Whoa! That's not just a Hell of a lot of money for a transmission and some tuning, it's a Hell of a lot of money for an Evo. The previous generation race rally replicar ran $29k for a stripper (and the car), $34k for the top o' the line are you really that mental, can you afford the dental version. The Evo's new sticker sticker strategy puts the models deep into real car territory, knocking on the door of the stupendous BMW 335i twin-turbo. The new Evo may again have what it takes to run with the big dogs, but there's bound to be blood on the showroom floor.

Automakers spend tens of millions of dollars on consumer research, determining which of their vehicles best fits each demographic at what stage (i.e. age) of a consumer's life. Gaywheels seems to feel carmakers' marketeers are missing the GLBT boat. So they've put together a list of vehicles that "suit the four primary phases of gay life." Stage one: "Young, Single and on the Prowl." Car-up with the Volvo C30, Jeep Wrangler or Infiniti G37 Coupe. Stage Two: "Coupling Period." Move on to the Cadillac CTS, Lincoln MKX or VW Passat. Stage Three: "Partnered for Life." The new couple need a Mercedes GL-class, Buick Enclave or (pre-face lift?) Subaru Tribeca. Stage Four: gay geezerhood "The Golden Years." Snag an Audi S5/A5, Jaguar XK convertible or Lexus LS 600h L. So where do the VW Beetle convertible, MX5, Porsche Boxster, PT Cruiser, MINI and VW Eos fit into any of this? Your guess is as good as mine.

From the "Things That Leave Us Scratching Our Heads" Department: Nissan is going to build rebadged Frontier pickups to be sold as Suzukis. According to a press release on PRNewswire, the Suzuki Something-or-the-Other will begin rolling out of Nissan's Smyrna, Tennessee plant sometime in 2008. The truck is planned only for the North American market, where the Nissuki will join rebadged Daewoos in Suzuki dealers' showrooms. Maybe Suzuki should talk with Mitsubishi, Mazda and Isuzu about their success in trying to sell a mildly restyled and rebadged truck already sold by a larger auto maker, before Nissan starts cranking them out in numbers.