Flybrian

It was cute for President's Day...for about 30 seconds.

Hey if you want to take anymore interior pictures, feel free!

Actually, that Mercedes unit looks worse. At least the single-DIN Honda unit gives you a cubby hole...

...and more can be found in...

LaNeve to Campbell-Ewald: Fix Chevy's Ads Auto News: GM Marketing Chief Applies Pressure as Sales Slip By Jamie LaReau Link to Original Article @ AdAge DETROIT (AdAge.com) -- General Motors Corp. marketing chief Mark LaNeve is sending a blunt message to Chevrolet's long-standing ad agency, Campbell-Ewald: Fix Chevy's car ads. In an interview with Automotive News, Mr. LaNeve said he wants to push Chevrolet cars as a "smart choice" offering a better price than its Asian rivals -- and comparable quality, too. Communicating brand benefits "You're paying a premium" with Japanese cars, Mr. LaNeve said. "You're not getting better quality, you're not getting better performance, you're not getting better fuel economy -- you're just paying a premium. We have got to get that communicated." Mr. LaNeve said he has asked Chevrolet General Manager Ed Peper and Campbell-Ewald to improve the Chevrolet car ads. His comments appear to be raising the pressure on Mr. Peper -- and Bill Ludwig, the agency's chief creative officer. Through May, Chevrolet sold 333,420 cars, down 0.6% compared with the year-ago period. Through that same period, Chevrolet truck sales were off 4.6%. Analysts blame the falling truck sales on high gasoline prices and a decline in the truck segment rather than on the brand's truck ads. Could jolt ad industry Mr. LaNeve's wake-up call seems likely to send shock waves through the advertising community. Last year Chevrolet spent $756 million on advertising, more than any other GM brand. With that kind of spending comes pressure. Campbell-Ewald has handled Chevrolet's advertising since 1922. And in recent years it has created such memorable spots as Bob Seger's "Like a Rock" truck ads, "An American Revolution," the "Heartbeat of America" tagline and Chevy's current "This Is Our Country" campaign for the Silverado pickup. But Mr. LaNeve has proved to be willing to shake up longstanding business relations. Last year Campbell-Ewald lost a piece of its Chevrolet business to Deutsch, Los Angeles. Deutsch handled negotiations for Chevrolet's 2006 Major League Baseball and motorsports ad campaigns. Interview with agency nixed Campbell-Ewald's Mr. Ludwig was willing to discuss his agency's work, but Chevrolet vetoed the interview and refused to make any car executives available. Last June, Mr. LaNeve fired Cadillac's ad agency, Leo Burnett Detroit, and hired Modernista to do Cadillac's creative work. Leo Burnett had held the Cadillac account since 1935. Burnett created Cadillac's "Breakthrough" spot featuring Led Zeppelin music that fueled Cadillac's turnaround and propelled Mr. LaNeve, then Cadillac's general manager, into the upper reaches of GM management. Yet Mr. LaNeve pulled the plug on Burnett once the Cadillac ads had grown stale.

Heh well if you do, just let me know. I have time off between classes now and all I ask is reimbursement for fuel and a ride to the airport!

Well, if interested in anything down in Florida, let me know. I'd be glad to help you out in getting the car up there. Sometimes, the professional shipping can be expensive.

Where do you live, YJ?

1998 Bonneville SLE $3200 OBO Desperate to sell... http://tampa.craigslist.org/car/345339661.html

Promotion Problem Minivan launch raises questions in Chrysler's marketing department By MARY CONNELLY | Link to Original Article @ AutoWeek | Updated: 06/05/07, 8:52 am et DETROIT -- Chrysler group dealers start ordering the company's 2008 minivans this week, and Chrysler's promotion of the vehicles raises several major marketing questions. For instance: In an era of crossovers and strong competition from Japanese automakers, how will the company position the redesigned Dodge Grand Caravan and Chrysler Town & Country in the U.S. market? And how will the company better define and differentiate its brands? Yet another question: Who will oversee the minivan launch? George Murphy, the Chrysler group's senior vice president of global brand marketing, resigned last week. The company has not named his successor. The 2008 minivans represent "a big deal and a big opportunity" for Chrysler, says Bud Liebler, a former Chrysler executive who runs a strategic communications firm in suburban Detroit. Advertising should emphasize that "Chrysler is still the minivan king," he says. Go-to vans "The message they have to get out is that if you are in the market for a minivan, Chrysler is where you have to go first," Liebler told Automotive News. "This is not a design story. This is a story about interior functionality." George Peterson, president of AutoPacific Inc., a consulting firm in suburban Los Angeles, says the minivan market "is going to be deteriorating." Chrysler faces strong competition from the Toyota Sienna and Honda Odyssey, he says. To meet that competition, Peterson says, Chrysler must define its redesigned minivans as benchmark vehicles with "a high value proposition." The minivan launch comes at a time of turmoil for Chrysler's marketing operations. Chrysler CEO Tom LaSorda and dealers have complained that the company's recent advertising often did not include enough product information. BBDO Detroit is the Chrysler group's longtime ad agency. Introducing the minivans enables Chrysler to strengthen its brand images, analysts say. "Dodge is the strongest," Liebler says. "'Bold, powerful, capable' were the words used 15 years ago. They are still going that way. Jeep has gone astray, trying to be too many things to too many people. "Chrysler is still trying to find its soul," he says. "What is its center? What is the core? I was there when the PT Cruiser was named a Chrysler, so I am not pointing fingers. But is it really a Chrysler, or does that confuse the brand?" Peterson says: "Many folks don't know what the Chrysler brand is. Is it a luxury brand like Cadillac or a premium brand like Buick? It's like walking a tightrope. "Chrysler had a great opportunity when they launched the 300 and 300C to establish the brand at a higher than premium level," Peterson says. "But they have precluded that with the Sebring and PT Cruiser in the lineup. The product line is too broad to pull off being a luxury brand." Dealers' choice John Schenden, a Denver dealer who sits on the Chrysler-Jeep National Dealer Council, says Chrysler group advertising should emphasize product features and price. "Show the vehicle as much as possible, interior and exterior," he says. "Have a short message on pricing or incentives." Jim Arrigo, chairman of the Chrysler-Jeep National Dealer Council, says he expects advertising for Chrysler and Jeep to focus more on brand identity and vehicle nameplates and less on sales events and incentives. "Bring the Chrysler brand back to what it was in the past," says Arrigo, who owns a Dodge-Chrysler-Jeep dealership in Palm Beach, Fla. "Try to get more passion back in the brand. People don't know about us, about the quality of the products we have."

GM Awards Advanced Development Battery Contracts For Chevrolet Volt E-Flex System Contracts Mark Important Step in Developing Range-Extender and Fuel Cell E-Flex Variants WILMINGTON, Del. – General Motors has awarded two contracts for advanced development of lithium-ion batteries for its electric drive "E-Flex System," it was announced today at GM's annual shareholder meeting. GM selected two companies out of the 13 technical proposals it considered to provide advanced lithium batteries for both range-extender electric and fuel cell variants of the E-Flex architecture. The E-Flex electric vehicle architecture underpins the Chevy Volt concept car shown earlier this year and is being developed as part of GM's strategy to diversify transportation away from petroleum. One contract will go to lithium-ion battery supplier Compact Power, Inc., based in Troy, Mich. CPI is a subsidiary of Korean battery manufacturer LG Chem. A second contract has been awarded to Frankfurt, Germany-based Continental Automotive Systems, a division of Continental A.G., a tier one automotive supplier that will develop lithium-ion battery packs. GM continues to assess other solutions to quickly bring lithium-ion batteries to production. "The signing of these battery development contracts is an important next step on the path to bring the Volt closer to reality," said GM Chairman and CEO, Rick Wagoner. "Given the huge potential that the Volt and its E-Flex system offers to lower oil consumption, lower oil imports, and reduce carbon emissions, this is a top priority program for GM." The E-Flex System was first shown as the plug-in battery electric propulsion system for the Chevrolet Volt concept vehicle at the North American International Auto Show in January. A plug-in fuel cell variant of the E-Flex system was shown at the Shanghai Auto Show in April. The "E" stands for electric drive; the "Flex" represents the architecture's adaptability to be configured in several vehicle packages operating on various sources of electricity. These suppliers demonstrated solutions that best met the specific energy, power, mass and durability requirements for the battery in the E-Flex range-extender variant. The battery for the fuel-cell variant requires half the energy and power, but must be integrated and connected to the vehicle in a similar way. "This technology is developing rapidly," said Denise Gray, GM director of hybrid energy storage devices. "These contracts are an opportunity to deeply understand the differing battery technologies before making a production decision." The signing of these advanced development battery contracts for the E-Flex system is the latest proof point in GM's effort to transform the industry by diversifying automotive transportation away from petroleum with a range of propulsion alternatives. These include: A diverse lineup of hybrid models now in production, including: The GM diesel hybrid electric system for large city buses The Saturn Vue and Saturn Aura Green Line hybrid models Coming this fall, models of the Chevrolet Tahoe and GMC Yukon SUVs that feature the world's first use of the 2-Mode hybrid system, providing a more than 25-percent improvement in fuel economy to what is already the industry's most fuel-efficient full-size SUVs. Due next year is a front-wheel-drive 2-Mode hybrid Saturn Vue Green Line, with plans to make a plug-in version of the Vue that has the potential to achieve double the fuel efficiency of any current GM SUV. In May, GM completed the longest fuel cell-vehicle demonstration drive in history with the 300-mile drive of the Chevrolet Sequel. It is also a leading producer of E-85 capable bio-fuel vehicles, with more than two million on the road. Additionally, GM provides more vehicles that achieve 30 mpg highway than any other manufacturer in the U.S. market. GM is also the first automotive member to join the U.S. Climate Action Partnership (USCAP), a group of global companies and non-governmental organizations formed to support an economy-wide, market-driven approach to reducing carbon emissions.

Not quite that high on the hp.

Oh you can't get that Demolition Man Aurora at Toys R' Us anymore.

I could contact for you. What do inquiring minds wish to know?

Yup. Picking it up in early August, driving down to Lorton, Virginia, docking her on the Auto Train, and ta-da! Florida she'll arrive.

I love the 3800, Ocn, but not...that...much. I think the mid-70s rating was about 105hp. Riiight. In this car. No, its the 455.

Corvette_Dude for the win.

Do you see me driving something bigger than 17 1/2 feet long? Someone was 3/4 right in this thread.

I know you asked Enzl specifically, but IMO, the biggest argument against the Avalon comes from within Toyota. Get a similar car on a newer platform with a larger trunk (?!?!) and save money by buying a Camry, or spend the extra few grand and get that newer platform with a more refined ride and more gadgets and an undoubtedly better interior design with the ES350.

TTAC tries to be alot funnier than it really is and usually isn't that entertaining of a read. When you see a publication put out contrived titles like TWAT and TBAG, you can get a pretty good read about the professionalism at work. Again, alot of the 'bias' isn't malcious contempt for a certain product; its simply poor journalism.

DING DING DING! No.

What 'infficiency' are you referring to, the 13mpg highway inefficiency or the 19'-long inefficiency?

Most of my disgust and irritation comes from seeing perennial 'cute' references to the V4-6-8, 350 Diesels, Cimarron, Omega, and even the goddamn Corvair in regards to current and future products, yet no one sees rustbucket Pony references or T100 jokes or comments about all the worthless midsized junk VW made in the late 80s. GM 'never learns' about rebadges when it comes to the G5, but let's make no mention of the poorly-disguised QX56/Armada or the historic SLX and Passport faux-pas. Scion is a posterchild for success (and within itself, it isf), but no one points out that its very existence proves that a) Toyota had completely failed with its Genesis Project cars and - more disturbingly - b) cannot market youth-oriented products under its own parent banner, something Nissan, Honda, even Chevy and Ford manage to do. We hear nonstop the ticking of Buick, Pontiac, and Mercury 'death clocks,' but what about Mitsubishi's flatline pulse? Speaking of them, what about the horrendous paint quality issues those cars had? And the foolish and downright hillarious schemes they unsuccessfully used to lure in customers? And I am almost completely confident in saying that only on this website were people enlightened to the fact that over 50% of Hyundai's brand-new Sonata production ended up in rental fleets[/b]. This stuff just isn't mentioned. People are always quick to call out the negatives in spite of the positives, and such is true with writings in the automotive press. And perhaps you're right that 'the media' is not to blame, rather certain idiotic editors on staff of various publications who let their own bias or attempts to be hip and cute outweight real journalism. I must say on my part that I have no problem with a review that calls a spade a spade, but I do take issue with one that chooses to needlessly beat, kick, stop, and disect that dead horse for no real purpose.

Fixed. No, I'm serious. There's 2005 LaCrosse and an '05 base-as-hell Vibe around here.

This is the only Toyota I'd drive...