Autoblog

Ford announced earlier this summer that it would delay the launch of its ultra-important F150 full-size truck by a few months to help dealers clear out left over 2008 inventory. For the record, the new truck's launch was originally scheduled for October before being moved to December. Finally, Ford has split the difference and will begin marketing its F150 in November. Jim Farley, main marketer at the Blue Oval, cites two main reasons for the revised decision. One: its dealerships culled their old supply faster than anticipated, and two: Dodge just launched its new-for-'09 Ram. Ford obviously doesn't want its cross-town rival to steal all its thunder.

Expectations for the new F150 seem appropriately timid. Current market conditions, including the relatively high price of fuel and the difficulty in securing credit, mean the the days of Ford selling a million tucks a year are over. Still, there is a large market left of users who depend on their trucks for work, and Ford's targeting them. We'll see how it goes beginning next month.


[Source: Inside Line]

If you've got it, flaunt it. The super high-end automotive market has been counting on that attitude for years, and it may now be coming back to bite them. It seems that sales of luxury marques such as Bentley, Maybach and Aston Martin have been on a downward trajectory over the last year. Despite the fact that there are a number of people who still have plenty of dough to purchase these expensive toys, public perception is causing some of them to hold back and keep those fat wallets in their pockets.

To combat the problem, some high-end brands are choosing to aim even higher. If ex-customers with a net-worth of less than $5 million find it socially unacceptable to make a purchase, Bentley has said it will begin marketing to those with at least a net worth of $25 million. Let us add that we've driven a few Bentleys and Rollers and can say with certainty that they are definitely conspicuous in a sea of CamCords and Mustangs.


[Source: Advertising Age]

Vehicle sales are brutal everywhere of late, but Volvo has been tanking long before any industry-wide slowdown took place. That makes the March 2009 arrival of the XC60 crossover that much more important, as it's the first all-new Volvo (besides the low volume C30) in many years. Since customers have been turning away from the Volvo brand of late, marketing will play a big part of the XC60's success. Volvo has unleashed its new campaign for the CUV already with the tagline, "The new Volvo XC60. From Sweden with löv." We get it. Volvo is stressing its Swedish roots in marketing its new vehicle. Hey, it works for IKEA, right? Volvo even utilized the Swedish spelling for 'love' to give its new crossover more Euro appeal.

Our tipster Caitlin didn't think it works at all. The reason? Löv means 'leaves' in Swedish and has nothing to do with that certain brand of affection that makes our cheeks blush. According to Caitlin, Lov without the umlaut means 'vacation' or 'break', which sounds like a better advertising angle for a CUV than leaves, but just doesn't look as "Swedish" in print. The proper translation of 'love' into Swedish is "kärlek", so when you begin seeing the XC60 on U.S. streets next March, just remember that it comes from Sweden with kärlek. Thanks for the tip, Caitlin!


[Source: Volvo]

Motor Trend says on its blog that they are busily putting 17 new or newly redesigned cars through an "exhaustive evaluation process" that will result in 10 finalists for their Car of the Year award. With cars like the BMW 1 Series, Nissan GT-R, Audi A4, Acura TSX and Pontiac G8, we'd have a hard time choosing five more. Wildcards are the Hyundai Genesis, the Mazda6, the Volkswagen CC and the Dodge Challenger.

They'll be competing with the Acura TL, Honda Fit, Jaguar XF, Lincoln MKS, Nissan Maxima, Pontiac Vibe, Toyota Corolla, and the Toyota Matrix.

As a member of the Armchair COTY Comittee, which ones are on your top ten? Is the GT-R a shoe-in or will the Challenger win on pure musclecar charisma? The magazine will announce the winner in its January issue.

[Source: Motor Trend Blog]

If the song is true that "to everything, turn turn turn, there is a season, turn turn turn," then we're going to need a lot more seasons for the Fiat 500. In addition to versions by StudioTorino, Diesel and Abarth, not to mention a convertible and an F1-themed run of 12, Fiat is making a special edition 500 to celebrate the car's appearance in the movie Lupin III: Green vs Red.

The Japanese anime film itself celebrates the 40th anniversary of the Lupin III series of movies, which began in 1979 when gentleman thief Lupin III used a yellow Fiat 500. While the film is out now on DVD, the special edition Fiat 500 in yellow livery and graced with Lupin's image won't come around until the latter half of 2009, and probably only in Japan. If Fiat keeps this up, it might just challenge the Ford Mustang for the title of Most Gratuitous Special Editions Differentiated by Inconsequential Details. Thanks for the tip, catgirlshyla!

[Source: Fiat 500 News]

Dodge is looking to spur sales in Germany while at the same time increase the country's birth rate in a new marketing campaign that's one for the ages. German women who come to a Dodge dealership with proof of procreation and the resultant pregnancy will get a discount on the Dodge car or minivan of their dreams. Apparently, the birth rate in Germany is precariously low, which has led Dodge to, ahem, conceive this idea. Expecting moms get nine months (clever) deferred financing if they can present proper proof of their pregnancy. Considering women have to pee on those sticks to find out if they're preggo, we hope local German dealers have plenty of latex gloves and disinfectant on hand. When my wife had some odd cravings when she was pregnant, but never once did she ask for a Dodge. She did tell me once, however, that the Dodge Ram logo looks like a uterus, so maybe this campaign makes sense after all.

[Source: Obscene Desserts, Photo by Viewmaker | Creative Commons 2.0]

It's a fact that the English language is currently being sliced to ribbons. Spelling and grammar have gone out the window, and elocution is such a lost art that we're amazed when a speaker can manage a paragraph. It's interesting to see where these shortcomings manifest themselves. One would assume that an advertising agency, being in the business of communicating, would double- and triple-check a message before sending it out for the world to see. Imagine our surprise, then, when across our digital desks slid a memo from Carmichael Lynch trumpeting the Minneapolis, MN agency's relationship with Subaru of America.

It didn't start well. The subject header of the email read: "Subaru 360 Goes Airbourn (sic) To Find Home on 10th Floor." Interesting capitalization, and a very creative spelling of airborne. Bush league for an agency that handles Harley Davidson, Jack Link's, Cargill, and Toys 'R' Us, to name a few. Intrigued by the mention of a 360, Subaru's diminutive first stab at automobiles, we read on. Carmichael Lynch, upon landing the Subaru of America account in 2007, located a 360 and had it spiffed up for display in the company's 10th floor lobby. While small, the only way to get the little Subie ten stories up was a crane, which hoisted the car through a window last Saturday. Delightful little story, and we were inclined to give the wacky subject line a pass until we read the last sentence, which started: "Today's Subaru Forrester..." Whoa. If we were SoA, we'd be incensed. Spelling bee time: Forester. F-o-r-e-s-t-e-r, Forester. Forest is a chronically misspelled word, but it's still intolerable when it's the very firm being paid to represent the actual product.

Well, now we feel better. Check out the pictures of the 360's crane ride in the gallery, and hit the jump to see the original text of the email from Carmichael Lynch.


[Source: Carmichael Lynch]

Cowboys and truck-lovers unite for the Texas State Fair every year around this time. It's where big-time truckmakers often release special editions of their pickups just for the Texas market, again underscoring just how important the Lone Star State is for sales. So it is this year with the 2009 Dodge Ram Lone Star edition. Starting life down the assembly line as a Ram Crew 1500 SLT in either two- or four-wheel drive, various chrome accents, 20-inch wheels (either painted or chromed) and big 4-inch dual exhausts integrated into the rear bumper have been added. Inside, a lighting group is standard equipment along with an up-level leather steering wheel. Lest those following you don't know what or where you're driving, a Lone Star badge is affixed to the tailgate left of the huge Ram-head logo. Very subtle. The good news is that Texans won't be charged an arm and a leg for the Lone Star edition, as it adds just $1,500 to the price of a HEMI-equipped Ram, a big savings over the $3,560 it would cost to replicate otherwise. If all of this is enough to make you want one, and you live in Texas, expect the Lone Star to reach your favorite dealer sometime next month.


[Source: Dodge]

Last year, many people got their first glimpse of Hyundai's new Genesis luxury sedan as the Giants beat the stuffing out of the Patriots during Superbowl XLII. Pleased with the results of that effort, Hyundai is coming back to the big game, this time with the Genesis Coupe. Outgoing creative agency Goodby, Silverstein & Partners is handling two 30-second commercials featuring Hyundai's sporty new rear-drive two door. While the agency change has raised some eyebrows, Hyundai insists that it will continue to work with Goodby for quite some time, even as it transitions creative duties to World Marketing Group, already handling media buys for the automaker. We'll have to tune in for all four quarters to see if the jilted ad folks mailed it in, but judging from the quality of Goodby's work on the Genesis Sedan - and the target-meeting 8,000 units sold - the pigskin-centric effort will likely meet with success.

[Source: Brandweek]

Head to Maserati's website and you're greeted with a tantalizingly coy poll, asking users to guess what event will take place on October 2nd, the first day of the Paris Motor Show. The overwhelming popular opinion is that a new car will be debuted, possibly the smaller Maser that's supposed to take aim at Porsche. A test mule was spied a while back, though that car didn't have the folding hardtop the new mini-Maserati, based on a hacked-down GranTurismo, is whispered to be carrying. We'll all just have to wait, each day feeling longer than the next. What else could it be, other than a car? The idea of generating such buzz over a new website, logo, or advertising campaign (all three are choices) is ludicrous, but the rest, including a new production facility could seem plausible. Even more intriguing, it could be all of the above. We want a smaller Maserati, and we're going to hold our breath until we turn as blue as the website's banner image to get one. Thanks for the tip, Jvijil.

[Source: Maserati]