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.

The appropriately-named website Familycarreview.com recently got some seat time in the forthcoming 2011 Nissan Quest, and they’ve found an unusual feature for a family-oriented minivan: an “Adult Entertainment” category in its navigation system. Wildly inappropriate for a family-oriented minivan, or the key to to putting some real swagger in Nissan’s wagon? We report, you decide… [Hat Tip: our strip club-loving pals at AutoSpies]

Thought the Toyota brand had been dealt the death blow during the recall crisis? That brand seems to be more resilient than imagined: The latest Kelley Blue Book Brand Watch study has Toyota on top “as the most-considered auto brand among new-car shoppers.” That according to a press release just released by KBB. Read More >

The Compass has long been Jeep’s answer to the Cadillac Cimarron, failing to live up to the brand’s ideals while simultaneously cannibalizing its platform-mate(s). But apparently the refreshed anti-Jeep is about to get a dose of Jeep’s signature marketing: Trail-Rated status. According to the rarely-wrong-about-these-kinds-of-things Allpar.com

the 2011 Jeep Compass with Freedom Drive II will be Trail-Rated, the first time a Compass has achieved that designation. To accomplish this, the Compass moved the rebound springs to the same architecture as the Grand Cherokee, and raised the height by one inch for models with Freedom Drive II.

And if a Patriot can be “Trail-Rated,” why not a Compass? On second thought, why invest in a new Compass at all, Trail-Rated or not? Either way, we’re tits-deep in irony considering Dodge’s Ralph Gilles recently “revealed” that Dodge’s outgoing models all rode higher than the competition, and that

Lowering the car looks better. It looks a little bit smarter. It handles better. And more important is the fuel economy

Or, as Ripley doubtless said with his dying breath, not.

It’s a strange question to ask, considering that Hyundai is already selling the Genesis and Equus luxury sedans, but apparently Hyundai decided to bring out the cars before launching a brand. According to the Wall Street Journal

There are three branding scenarios under consideration. The most likely is to create a subbrand called “Genesis,” and sell the models under the same dealership roof as Hyundai but in a separate part of the showroom, possibly with dedicated salespeople, said John Krafcik, the president of Hyundai Motor America.

The other scenarios are to keep the premium cars badged as Hyundais, or—in the most ambitious move—spin off the brand into separate dealer facilities, much like Lexus or Honda Motor Co.’s Acura

Those are the options, but for a little more context, let’s check in with Hyundai USA boss John Krafcik…

Read More >

According to Acura’s press release:

On sale at Acura dealerships on November 23, the 2011 TSX sedan with 2.4L I-4 engine has an MSRP of $29,610 for both manual and automatic transmission models. Equipped with the available Technology package, the MSRP is $32,710. The TSX sedan with 3.5L V-6 engine has an MSRP of $35,150, or $38,250 when equipped with the Technology Package.

The 2011 TSX Sport Wagon goes on sale December 21 with a base price of $30,960. When equipped with the available Technology Package, the TSX Sport Sedan will have an MSRP of $34,610 [emphasis added].

But even if we ignore Acura’s confusing typo, there’s still plenty here to not understand. Why is the “Wagon Tax” $1,350 for standard TSX models, but $1,900 for Technology Package-equipped sportwagons? Put another way, why is technology $550 more for five the five-door models? And another thing: if there’s no price difference between the manual and automatic transmissions, why isn’t a manual transmission even an option on the Sportwagon? Why not put a price on the autobox and let Wagon buyers get their Technology Package for the same price as sedan buyers? Remember when things were simple in Acura pricing-land?

When we asked TTAC’s Best And Brightest whether Chevy should stick with the “Aveo” nameplate for its new subcompact offering or move in a new direction, only a few seemed to believe that “Aveo” carries much equity at this point. But then, it’s not like Chevy has a lot of small-car “heritage” to draw on… Sprint, Vega, Monza and Citation all have their obvious limitations. The B&B’s debate was typically dynamic, but it seems that this discussion has gone back and forth at the RenCen as well. GMI reports:

GM has struggled with the Aveo’s name for the last two years. According to sources former U.S. marketing chief Mark LaNeve originally wanted to rename the Aveo to “Viva.” Then–following GM’s bankruptcy filing last year–Bob Lutz ordered the Aveo name to stay put…

The lackluster image of the current Aveo has left GM’s new marketing chief, Joel Ewanick, to conclude that the car needs to be renamed. Although GM has not formally announced the new name, GMI sources are stating that GM has signed off on the name “Chevrolet Sonic.”

According to U.S. Trademark records General Motors LLC filed for a trademark on the name “Chevrolet Sonic” on October 5th.

GM raised a few eyebrows when it priced its new Cruze compact at or above the base price of its closest competitors, marking a shift upwards in its pricing strategy. But with loaded LTZ versions of the Cruze crossing the $24k mark, one obvious concern was cannibalization of the forthcoming Buick version of the Cruze, the Verano. GM has yet to officially announce pricing for the Verano, but an online survey of Buick dealers has leaked to GM Inside News, showing that GM is eying a price range of $21k-$26k for the new Verano, a price point that certainly overlaps with the higher-trim Cruze models. And with the 2.4 liter four-banger from the Regal tipped as the Verano’s base engine, the case for the similarly-engined (and not all that much larger) Regal is made a little less convincing by the addition of the new compact Buick. Hit the jump for GM’s proposed trim levels.

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GM’s attempt to sell cars via eBay resulted in 45 cars sold in the first nine days. A month later, the idea was abandoned. I wonder why. A few weeks ago, Kia said they would try eBay. No word yet on any results. Now, China’s Geely joins the on-line fray. Read More >

From Germany to China, and from Brazil to Korea, TTAC’s staff spans the globe to bring you the best automotive content on the web. What we don’t have, however, is a staffer in France, so we can’t tell you exactly what is going on in this video promo for the forthcoming Mercedes SLK. What we can tell you is that we never expected a Mercedes to be sold using French sensuality. It just goes to show that you never know what to expect…

Hyundai has been working its way out of the low-cost, low-quality basement for some time now, but even with the introduction of its Genesis luxury sedan, the brand has maintained a certain amount of working-class value appeal. That image has served Hyundai well over the last several years, when an economic downturn has sent record numbers of customers to Hyundai dealerships in search of a deal. But with a new upscale-looking design language transforming solid but uninspired offerings like the Sonata into memorable designs, Hyundai wasn’t likely to remain the scrappy, more-for-your-money underdog forever. And sure enough, Hyundai tells Automotive News [sub] that it’s getting away from the solid values of quality and practicality, and moving into the tenuous world of “premium” brand placement. Executive Vice President for global marketing Cho Won Hong explains

In the past 10 years, we have been very successful in building an image for quality. From now on, our direction will be defined as new premium or modern premium. We have been doing quite well in building good functional quality. But we still have some room to improve our emotional quality, and that is related to our brand strategy. That’s why we set modern premium as the brand direction for the next five to 10 years

We’ve been following the race for the #1 luxury brand in the U.S.A. for quite a while with rapt attention, and have been predicting all along that it will come down to the wire. It looks even more so after dissecting the November numbers. Or rather after leaving the dissecting to Bloomberg. Read More >

The designer of Cadillac’s recent ULC city car concept seems to think so. Niki Smart tells Autocar

The time is ripe for Cadillac to make this car. We need a bigger spread of models, particularly for Europe. The Mini’s success is proof of people’s open-mindedness.

Whether or not Cadillac needs a subcompact car in its lineup, Smart’s point that the MINI is proof of consumers’ “open-mindedness” is worth examining. Specifically because MINI was launched as a unique brand, its success is more of a testament to the brand’s slick marketing than any consumer “open-mindedness.” After all, BMW made certain to launch the MINI as a MINI before bringing out a BMW version of its front-drive chassis… and when it does bring out a BMW-branded version, it can probably expect a certain amount of pushback from hard-core fans of the brand.

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Just two short years ago, Volvo’s press flacks were talking a big game about Volvo’s luxury aspirations, saying things like

We want to continue to compete with Mercedes, BMW and Audi. We’re working to improve the premium-ness of the brand and our products.

Even as recently as this year, Volvo execs have made much of the need to “not damage the Volvo brand.” But, having been bought by the Chinese automaker Geely, the Swedish brand has changed its tune. Autocar quotes Volvo’s new CEO, Stephen Jacoby, saying

Let’s ditch this talk about premium. It sounds like a pricing strategy and it’s got an expensive ring to it. We need to focus on elegant Scandinavian simplicity, our own unique identity, and not copy our competitors.

Read More >

…and this is Fiat’s. The Italian brand left the US market in 1982, but it has returned with a first ad that seems like it was made sometime in the late 1990s. It’s a good thing the 500 has been relatively well–received, because it isn’t cheap and it clearly doesn’t have a fraction of the MINI’s marketing mojo. Between this, the “my tank is full” Ram ads (not to mention the entire first wave of “New Chrysler” ads), and the hallucinogenic Caravan spots, it seems like Chrysler’s Olivier Francois should be up for some kind of special award this year…