This is America man… you can have your electric car and your freedom too.

There’s no doubt about it, the Chevy Volt sounds best when you’re just selling the concept. And no wonder: the concept came was born of Bob Lutz’s unique insight into the American psychology… not to mention a psychologically-charged desire to rub the Prius’s nose in some mud. But what nobody seems to be pointing out is the fact that the flip side of being “all things to all people” is fundamental compromise. And in the case of the Volt, the risk is that it won’t be as good of an electric car as the Leaf and it won’t be as good of a gas-powered car as any other hybrid. If GM’s pitch that Volt equals EV plus Freedom doesn’t take, the car will go nowhere fast… so how does the first attempt strike you?

As surveys go, the Morpace Omnibus Study [full results in PDF here] isn’t perfect. But even though it’s based on only 1,000 online respondents, it’s chock full of provocative insights. Of course Automotive News [sub] misses the best one, in its haste to trumpet the headline

Buyers usually don’t consider loyalty when choosing dealerships

I had the pleasure of spending part of a dinner at last week’s Volt press launch chatting with GM’s marketing honcho Joel Ewanick, better known for his work as “marketer of the year” at Hyundai. Ewanick’s a confident, engaging guy, and when the “Don’t Call It Chevy” mini-embroglio came up over desert, his eyes took on a mischievous twinkle. As other GM communications and PR staff recounted their stories of the 24-hour madness that followed the release of a memo which indicated that the term “Chevy” was no longer a welcome marketing feature, it became clear that neither Ewanick nor any of his staff had any regrets about accidentally launching a full-blown public debate over the value of the term Chevy. The very debate, it seems, reconnected the brand that had tried everything marketing-wise with its hidden core: consumers care enough about Chevrolet to have a popular and affectionate nickname for it. And what started as an unnecessary PR blunder seems to have given birth to Chevrolet’s newest marketing tagline: Chevy Runs Deep. Or, as Chevy’s ad man Jeff Goodby puts it

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Speaking of confused advertising directions, BMW and its US-market ad agency GSD&M Idea City have parted ways according to Automotive News [sub]. GSD&M was responsible for the poorly-received “Joy” campaign, which BMW had adopted as a global campaign. And according to the report, BMW didn’t call off the relationship. The ad team pulled the plug because

Relationships are no longer strong with the marketing team, particularly in the wake of [BMW USA marketing boss Jack] Pitney’s death; the agency wasn’t making enough money on the account; and there wasn’t an opportunity to do the kind of work the agency had hoped to undertake.

Here’s hoping a new team helps BMW get its advertising mojo back. With Cadillac’s CTS-V going after the German sports sedan jugular with one of the best ads of the year, and luxury competition heating up in the US market, this is not a moment to get caught napping.

Reaction to recently-released images of the updated Dodge Journey interior has been varied, but if there’s a consensus, it’s that improvement is undeniable, but that Dodge will need to update more than the interior in order to make the Journey truly competitive. And that’s the diplomatic way of putting it. One reader even wrote in (in the spirit of International Caps Lock Day) to say

I OWN A 2009 DODGE JOURNEY AND IT IS THE BIGGEST PIECE OF CRAP I HAVE EVER OWNED DODGE SHOULD BE ASHAMED TO SELL THIS KIND OF CRAP TO HARD WORKING AMERICANS I WISH I COULD DRIVE IT RIGHT THOUGH THE SHOW ROOM.

Point taken: the Journey needs to be improved. So why is Dodge selling the (as yet unimproved) crossover as “World’s Best Vehicle(?)” Sure, they’re trying to be cleverly ironic, but doesn’t it just highlight the fact that you’d need to be cross-shopping a bare metal armored car in order to think highly of the Journey? On the other hand, we’re not exactly sure how we’d sell the benighted Journey ourselves. Hit the jump for more questionable (or not?) cross-shopping, courtesy of Dodge’s too-cool-for-reality Mad Men.
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A few days ago I wrote about Ralph Nader asking Toyota to break down their somewhat suspect figure of “$1,000,000 every hour” on safety. Well, quite surprisingly, Toyota answered back. (Read More…)

Part three in our ongoing series features Honda’s Odyssey, and makes “hipper than thou” minivan marketing an official trend (remember kids, you need three to make a trend). Post-irony never saw this one coming…

Toyota has been taken to task quite a few times over the past few months. But now it’s time for Ralph Nader to take his pot shot at them. Why so late?

Ralph Nader is no stranger to calling car companies out on their safety. He took GM to task over the safety of the Corvair. Claims which the NHTSA and Texas A&M University studied and dismissed, but were backed up by John DeLorean. But now Mr Nader has Toyota in his crosshairs. (Read More…)

TTAC’s long been used to playing the “heel” of the auto journalism world, and sure enough, our skeptical approach to the Chevy Volt is already renewing accusations that TTAC “hates GM.” For the record, this accusation doesn’t fly. We have the tendency to obsess on GM because that company’s rise and fall is the most compelling story in the automotive world. To read GM’s history is to watch a person claw their way up a cliff by his bootstraps, and upon reaching the top, spend the next several decades strangling himself with the very same bootstraps. I challenge anyone who is interested in the world of cars to look away from that.

In any case, our Volt coverage has focused thus far on dispelling myths, so in the interest of seeking the truth everywhere, I thought we should take a moment to make a few Volt myths of our own. After all,  despite planning to build only “10-15k” Volts next year and 60k in 2012, Automotive News [sub] says

And even though my personal and professional obligations to the truth make me the worst marketing candidate ever, I may just have an idea of where to start…

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What does the line “It’s More Car Than Electric!” mean? Beats us, but apparently it’s supposed to make you want to buy a Chevrolet Volt. Maybe “The electric car you can just put gas in on those days when you’re not giving a crap about the environment” was too long. Perhaps “It’s actually a series hybrid” didn’t pop with consumers. And maybe “Avoid the scary Range Anxiety® you get with ‘real’ electric cars” was too aggressive. All we know is, GM has registered “It’s More Car Than Electric,” and it’s time to get used to it. Meanwhile, how did we not find the ad parody above sooner?

It’s not that the ad itself fails to mention the car it’s actually promoting, namely the Subaru Legacy. After all, if Subaru wants to entertain enthusiasts without actually indulging in the kind of gauzy praise they lampoon so effectively here, that’s fine by us. No, the only problem with the whole “2011 Mediocrity” campaign is that Subaru’s own Tribeca was clearly styled by the very designers they mock in this spot. And in this day and age, bland, uninspired crossovers are at least as lampoonable a cliche as the bland, uninspired sedans that Subaru slams (and which earned Toyota the cash for a 16.5% stake in Subaru’s parent company). Still, this is a ballsy move for a brand that is already growing like gangbusters in the US, and it shows just how far off the mark Volkswagen’s current attempt at US market growth is likely to be.

The first 9/10ths of this strange Nissan Juke spot is the typical youth-oriented car commercial: much sound and hipness, signifying nothing. Which is probably why the unexpected ending makes such an impression. Say what you want about Nissan’s decisions regarding the Juke’s styling and marketing, nobody can accuse the brand of living in the past.

Over the last 24 months, the Mercedes R-Class has motivated a mere 6,469 Americans to plunk down $50k+ for a Mercedes-badged non-minivan. Now that it’s received a much-needed facelift that removes most of the slug-inspired design cues, will it sell any better? From the ash heap of history, the Chrysler Pacifica has recorded a “no” vote. What say you?

Gimmicky sales techniques are tough. On the one hand, Hyundai’s 10 year warranty and Assurance buy-back program have helped it become one of the fastest-growing auto brands in the country. On the other, Chrysler’s free gas giveaway, “lifetime guarantee” and its latest, the “regret-free purchase” offer, have all come and gone without materially moving the needle for the beleaguered automaker. In fact, cars.com reports that just 21 buyers opted for the option of returning their Chrysler within 60 days instead of a financing deal. Which makes sense: people buy Chryslers because they’re cheap and they offer lots of incentives. If we’re honest, the option of returning a car because it is of lower quality than the competition shouldn’t really appeal to deal-minded consumers. Which is why only Ram now offers the “regret-free” deal, while the rest of Chrysler, Jeep and Dodge’s nameplates have loaded back up on incentives. It’s clearly what brings the customers in.

To hype its forthcoming Leaf electric car, Nissan has reached for the most manipulative imagery in the green marketing playbook: the Polar Bear. They’re cute, they’re cuddly, and because their icy habitat is being destroyed by regular cars, they will hug you if you buy an EV. Meanwhile, the causes, trajectory, and impacts of global climate change (not to mention its possible solutions) remain extremely abstract and far-away when compared to the political and economic ramifications of global oil undersupply. Too bad market failures and geopolitical instability aren’t as emotionally manipulative as those fuzzy bear guys…