Comment on other blogs.

I commented on Gregs blog about sports and how the coach always takes the fall, i agreed with this because in every poor situation there needs to be a fall guy. I also commented on stepanies blog because she is correct that companies are always searching to find the next "It" celebrity to endorse their product.

Vee Dub not In Da House

Its no secret that Europeans love the hot hatch, and its no secret that they have every reason to. Its also apparent that Americans do not. In America the bigger and boxier your car the better. The Colonies seem to care more about sheet metal than a supple interior, ample cargo space and dart like handleing. This is why we will never see the Scirroco
. The Volkswagon Scirroco is the sport compact to trump all sport compacts; and because we would rather drive giant barges its not coming to America.

Volkswagon knows that after the Jetta its best selling vehicles in America are the Rabbit, and my personal favorite car the GTI
. This little devil is the perfect blend between luxury, sport, and utility. With a 201 hp engine (updated to 210) it is zippy and civilized at the same time. Sadly it shares all but its interior and metal skin with the Scirroco. VW is afraid that if it brought this car to America it would cut sales out of the GTI market. This is because if Americans had a choice between the upright hatchback style of the GTI and the low sleek profile of the Scirroco, the GTI would be no more than a memory. VW must realize that the costs would outweigh the profit by having two very similar cars with similar prices competing in the same niche market, and Darwin will be the first to tell you that when two beasts compete for the same niche extinction is inevitable.

Chevy Cruzes through VMA's

If you were watching the VMA’s chances are you’ve been thinking about buying a Chevy ever since. Chevy placed cars from their line up in a few different acts at the event, most notably during hip hop group N.E.R.D’s performance. Chevy says that they were trying to create a drive in movie theme for the background but c’mon Chevy be honest.

N.E.R.D looked nothing short of foolish on stage performing in front of 6 or 7 Chevy Cruse, a car that the company intends to use to compete in the compact class against the Honda Civic and Toyota Corolla. Cars associated with rap stars are usually big, fast and shiny – not compact economy cars. However the car should do well until the new Civic is released, and nobody wants a Toyota after the recent issue with unintended acceleration (why haven’t people been shifting into neutral?).

Chevy also took advantage of this airtime to continue force-feeding the Camaro to viewers by placing them throughout the crowd. This too seemed awkward particularly when the cameras would pan through crowd shots and briefly focus on the car.

This is the second time that Chevy has chosen the right media outlet, but acted in the wrong way. I think the company needs to take it easy on the subliminal advertising. Its getting to the point where the consumer may feel like they are being brainwashed into a decision.

Is this ethically wrong for Chevy to be saturating the media through blockbuster hits and programs like the VMA's? Its not for me to say, but consider how you would react if instead of a Chevy Cruze on stage it had been a giant Marlboro Man poster. For images of the Chevy Cruze click the link below.

http://cars.about.com/od/chevrolet/ig/2011----Chevy-Cruze-photos/

More Than Meets the Eye

            Recently more than ever before the auto industry is getting very theatrical. It seems that most car commercials these days resemble something closer to a theatrical trailer than a commercial. Companies like BMW went as far as creating a mini series starring Clive Owen. For the most part the series consists of Mr. Owen getting out of ridiculous situations thanks to the superior ability of BMWs.

            Of course there was also the shameless advertising by GM in the Transformers movies. Is it ironic that Bumble Bee’s (Chevy Camaro) first duel ended with him destroying a Ford Mustang? I think that’s the only Camaro to beat a mustang since 1968.

Below is a link to BMW mini series:

http://www.chasingthefrog.com/BMW_Films/bmw_films.htm