Bloomberg reports that GM has already pulled off one of the ballsiest IPO moves ever, by asking banks bidding to underwrite its IPO to use fees to subsidize the purchase of GM vehicles by its employees. According to the report, a GM document sent to bidding banks solicited

ideas as to how we can use the IPO to reposition GM and its vehicles within the investment community including your firm’s willingness to reinvest any portion of any underwriting fees into the purchase of GM vehicles for your employees and/or company use.

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Kia may be dumping its generally bland model names for the increasingly favored “alphabet soup” paradigm, but Land Rover has gone the opposite direction, naming its “LRX” concept the Range Rover Evoque at its official unveiling [presser here]. Ironic, considering that the alphanumeric crowd is forever insisting that its unintelligible gobbledygook conveys an upmarket image. How very provoq-ative…

According to BusinessWeek‘s David Welch, GM’s New York market share has slipped below ten percent for the first time, prompting The General to consider a 5th Avenue GM “salon” showcasing the company’s products. Now, the arguments against the idea are too easy: spending government money on some of the world’s most expensive real estate isn’t great PR-wise. Besides, isn’t GM trying to emphasize the individuality of its brands, and break down the monolithic image of GM as the all-seeing, all-rebadging automaker? Wouldn’t a GM “salon” go against the alleged independence of, say, Cadillac? On the other hand, GM does finally have some good products, and can’t afford further erosion in market share in America’s affluent coastal cities. Would it really hurt to showcase them in a prominent setting? It’s a debate that’s surely racking the RenCen at the moment, so why not weigh in before a decision is made. Is this a plain bad idea? Should a variation of the idea move forward, possibly highlighting individual brands in a more targeted manner? Or does GM need a world-class flagship retail outlet in order to manifest itself as a world-class automaker?

Since the start of the World Cup, chief sponsor Hyundai has already miffed the Catholics, and one of its ads accidentally caused British viewers to miss England’s first World Cup goal. So, to get things back on track they’ve apparently decided to sponsor… a giant vuvuzela? “Annoying” and “mildly offensive” were probably not the brand values Hyundai was looking to promote when they decided to sponsor the event. But hey, at least they’re not throwing competitors in jail.

The Wall Street Journal [sub] asked several Chrysler dealers about the newest hotness being developed in Auburn Hills, and came away with the tales of a “man van” that Chrysler hopes will lend the Dodge Caravan some masculine swagger. According to the WSJ, this re-man-ification of the minivan includes:

a slightly sportier look on the outside, possibly finished off with a black-and-gray interior trimmed with hot-colored stitching on the seats and steering wheel

Oh yes, and some “edgy” ads laden with tired cliches of sexual politics. In short, they’re sending the 2008 “Caravan R/T” concept into production. But why?

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People really viewed the Peapod as an incredible case study in how you could – in modern times – bring forward a completely new idea in the automotive sector in the space of just several months. It was pretty phenomenal

Remember the PeaPod? It was “the new wave car for the younger set” masterminded by former Chrysler “Chief Innovation Officer” Peter Arnell, during the chaotic “try anything” years of Cerberus ownership. It was supposed to start going on sale last October, but the division (formerly known as GEM) was spun out of new Chrysler during bankruptcy and hasn’t been heard from since. Surprised?

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With Cadillac’s sales remaining stubbornly slack, the GM luxury rband is looking for every opportunity to win back customers. Image-conscious fashion victims have the CTS Coupe to coo over, but what about the Consumer Reports-reading luxury buyers who want a well-managed, hassle-free customer experience? Cadillac is trying to make inroads with these buyers as well, introducing a 4 year, 50,000 mile maintenance program for all 2011 model-year vehicles [full presser here]. The program includes

scheduled oil changes, tire rotations, replacement of engine and cabin air filters and a multi-point vehicle inspection

Sorry CTS-V drivers, but that doesn’t include free tires. And as much as we might like to laud Cadillac’s decision to back up its products, this move doesn’t really get them ahead of the game. Instead, Cadillac is only just keeping pace with the likes of BMW, which has offered a four-year, 50k mile scheduled maintenance program for some time. So now Cadillac can say that buyers who switch from BMW won’t be surprised by first-year maintenance costs, eliminating one possible frustration on the customer experience level. Still, this is hardly a perception-shifting, Hyundai Assurance-level gimmick for the luxury game. [Update: The BMW program does not include tire rotations. Standard Of The World after all?]

With apologies to Robert Burns, the best laid schemes o’ mice an’ marketers gang aft agley. That’s certainly what’s happened to MINI’s plan to race a Porsche 911. Porsche said “no thanks” to MINI’s challenge, which is exactly what MINI was looking for. Then Hyundai had to come in and force MINI out of its underdog status, making it defend itself against a cheaper competitor. And the search for a meaningful race-as-marketing-stunt continues…

It’s all speculation until we get official pricing from VW of North America, but according to Autoblog, the new Jetta will be priced starting “around $16,000” when it shows up stateside this October. With Chevy’s Cruze starting at $16,995, we face an interesting prospect: VW’s entry sedan might well be cheaper than Chevrolet’s. Of course the base Jetta will continue to be saddled with its predecessor’s agricultural 2.5 liter, but the Cruze’s base 1.8 hasn’t exactly earned many accolades either. Of course the base Cruze comes with a goodly amount of equipment, but it’s got an uphill fight on its hands if the more desirably-branded Jetta pips it on pure price point.

So, this was all about new markets where the Chevrolet brand is relatively unknown. In other words, the markets where consumers are just as likely to call their Chevrolet a “ChevWoo” or “Daewoo” as a “Chevy.” The reality is that nothing hurts the Chevrolet brand abroad more than the continued existence of the Daewoo brand… by comparison the use of a familiar nickname is a minor issue. And what is going to be easier for a non-English-speaker to say, Chevrolet or Chevy? Anyway, based on the harried, apologetic tone in this video, it’s pretty clear that GM would rather this controversy had never started. So why did the new ad boys feel like dropping “Chevy” was so important?

It appears that MINI’s challenge to Porsche won’t play out at the racetrack. The following letter [via MotorAuthority] is Porsche USA’s Detlev Von Platen’s response to MINI’s Jim McDowell.

Dear Jim,

Imagine our surprise to discover our former employee, now the head of Mini, has challenged us to a head-to-head race. As you surely know, Porsche has a long history of racing success, with more than 28,000 wins over the last 60 years. In our early days, we pitted ourselves against the giants, so we’ve been in your shoes.

But as you also know, Porsche doesn’t race for fame, stunts or publicity. We race to challenge ourselves; we race to push sports car technology; we race to translate every win on the track to our cars on the road.  If you need a reminder of our intent, please take a look at this short video: http://tinyurl.com/37xdjqx
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We’d ask that whether you’re talking to a dealer, reviewing dealer advertising, or speaking with friends and family, that you communicate our brand as Chevrolet moving forward. When you look at the most recognized brands throughout the world, such as Coke or Apple for instance, one of the things they all focus on is the consistency of their branding. Why is this consistency so important? The more consistent a brand becomes, the more prominent and recognizable it is with the consumer.

From a GM memo, signed by Alan Batey, vice president for Chevrolet sales and service, and Jim Campbell, Chevrolet’s vice president for marketing [via NY Times]. Chevrolet spokesfolks confirm the decision to abandon “Chevy,” saying the move comes from Chevrolet’s new ad agency of record, Goodby Silverstein. Chevrolet employees are reportedly already using a “Chevy Can,” similar to a “Cuss Can,” in which employees must deposit a quarter every time they say “Chevy” instead of “Chevrolet.” They’re serious about this thing.

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Wait, Steve Jobs is signing up for an EV at the rollout of the new iPhone? Is the zen master of Silicon Valley a Volt guy or a Leaf lover?

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What?: A race between a MINI Cooper S and a Porsche 911.

Where?: Facebook, and presumably an extremely twisty track.

Why?: Brand equity. Publicity. Mid-life crisis sales. Making sure nobody knows the Cayman exists.

Google Trends says it’s so, according to gm-volt.com [via Autoblog]. The Leaf also has 54,000 Facebook fans to the Volt’s 24,000. Plus, the Leaf has 130,000 people on its official “interest list” while the Volt boasts a mere 42,000. The danger here: that Leaf beats the Volt to becoming the EV segment’s first successful brand, earning it “the new Prius” status that Bob Lutz so badly wanted to bring home to Detroit. [Hat Tip: gslippy]