Marketing

Q&A

AutoNation swipes at third-party car sites as it builds digital footprint

3:26 pm U.S. ET | April 23, 2014

AutoNation wants to reduce its dependency on online lead generators and third-party shopping sites. The United States' largest dealership group plans to build up the group's Web sites to capture online shoppers, part of a multiyear, $100 million campaign to rebrand itself.... Read More »

J.D. Power to buy Korrelate to measure digital ad spending effectiveness

10:00 am U.S. ET | April 23, 2014

J.D. Power is acquiring analytics company Korrelate in a move to measure consumer online shopping behaviors and trends, the company said today.... Read More »

LETTER TO THE EDITOR

Kill the Mustang? We 'went ballistic'

12:01 am U.S. ET | April 21, 2014

I enjoyed the stories about the Ford Mustang in the April 14 issue.... Read More »

For the best of Burgundy's 70 Dodge takes, find a bootlegger

12:01 am U.S. ET | April 21, 2014

Music fans crave bootleg recordings and unreleased studio tracks.... Read More »

Fiat's discount seeks parking-lot converts

12:01 am U.S. ET | April 21, 2014

Some Fiat employees at two Italian factories got a surprise recently.... Read More »

New reality: Think crash, not just flash

12:01 am U.S. ET | April 20, 2014

Safety watchdogs at the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety and Consumer Reports magazine had an outsize effect on the cars unveiled at the New York auto show last week.... Read More »

Audi starts digital agency review

3:18 pm U.S. ET | April 18, 2014

Audi of America has begun a review of its digital agency business, people familiar with the matter told Advertising Age, an affiliate of Automotive News. The pitch is part of a routine process that Volkswagen's luxury brand initiates every few years, industry executives said.... Read More »

VW plans major World Cup ad push to counter Hyundai

6:30 am U.S. ET | April 18, 2014

Volkswagen is planning a major World Cup advertising push that will go head-to-head against official automotive sponsor Hyundai.... Read More »

VW plans major World Cup ad push to counter Hyundai

April 18, 2014 06:01 CET

Volkswagen is planning a major World Cup advertising push that will go head-to-head against official automotive sponsor Hyundai.... Read More »

LUCA CIFERRI

Renault uses Formula One to win Chinese buyers

12:01 am U.S. ET | April 18, 2014

Renault is using Formula One to promote its brand in China ahead of the French automaker opening its first car factory in the world's biggest auto market.... Read More »

AutoNation says Q1 net income rose 15% to $95.1 million

7:11 am U.S. ET | April 17, 2014

Despite 10 weeks of problematic winter weather to start the year, a late March rebound in dealership traffic helped drive AutoNation's net income 15 percent higher in the first quarter of 2014 from the year-earlier period, the company said today.... Read More »

AutoNation stepping away from third-party leads

7:15 am U.S. ET | April 17, 2014

AutoNation, tired of paying high prices for online leads, plans to de-emphasize third-party lead providers such as TrueCar, AutoTrader.com and Cars.com, CEO Mike Jackson says. He says he will strengthen AutoNation's Web site and digital presence to build traffic and sales.... Read More »

JIM HENRY

Inquiry into alleged CFPB bias picks up steam

12:01 am U.S. ET | April 16, 2014

The issue of whether, ironically, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau allegedly discriminates against its own employees has got legs.... Read More »

Customers' luxury motivation turns to self-reward, execs say

1:48 pm U.S. ET | April 15, 2014

The definition of luxury automotive brands, and the motivation of luxury-car shoppers, is changing from an outward-directed display of wealth to a self reward for a successful customer. That was the conclusion of a panel of luxury-brand executives at the NADA/J.D. Power Automotive Forum in New York today.... Read More »

AUTOMOTIVE NEWS EUROPE E-MAGAZINE

VW Marketing VP on how automaker keeps its products fresh in customers' minds

April 14, 2014 06:15 CET

VW is determined to keep improving how it launches vehicles and how it uses the massive amount of analytical data it gathers as it strives to reach 10 million vehicle sales this year, Simon Thomas, VW's marketing VP, told Automotive New Europe.... Read More »

SPEAKING ENGLISH

'Villains' campaign aims to recast Jaguar's reputation for badness

12:01 am U.S. ET | April 14, 2014

A Shakespeare soliloquy might seem out of place in a car ad, but Jaguar wants to make a key point -- that it is a quintessentially and unapologetically British challenger to BMW, Mercedes-Benz and Audi.... Read More »

ADP Dealer Services to spin off, go public

12:01 am U.S. ET | April 14, 2014

Hot U.S. auto sales and the rise of online shopping have triggered a frenzy of merger and capital-raising activities among auto-retailing vendors.... Read More »

Honda, Acura, dealers tangle for Google ads

12:01 am U.S. ET | April 14, 2014

A battle is shaping up among Honda, Acura and their dealers for control of Google shoppers. Competition for keywords can drive up Google ad prices. It's a quandary Honda Motor Co. and its Acura brand seem intent on tackling.... Read More »

Honda Fit raises the ante for subcompacts

12:01 am U.S. ET | April 14, 2014

In the subcompact segment, small can no longer mean cheap. It's not only price but a product's execution that makes the difference between a sale and a walkaway. With the 2015 Fit, Honda looks to be leading the pack -- at least on the execution side.... Read More »

Hype, hipness, price propelled the Mustang to early success

12:01 am U.S. ET | April 12, 2014

Behind the record-breaking sales and cultural shockwave created by Ford Motor Co.'s original pony car was a massive advertising campaign with a scale and message that broke new ground for the era. Automotive News at the time called the Mustang's advertising bonanza "one of the largest promotional splurges in history."... Read More »

How Ford's pony car survived a brush with death

12:01 am U.S. ET | April 11, 2014

A 1987 issue of AutoWeek magazine featured a shocking cover story that revealed Ford's plans to build the 1989 Mustang on a Mazda front-wheel-drive platform. Howls of protest eventually prompted Ford to reverse course. The Mazda-designed Mustang, code-named ST-16, would become the Ford Probe and join the Mustang in Ford showrooms.... Read More »

Whereabouts of the first Mustang remain a mystery

8:32 am U.S. ET | April 11, 2014

Because precise production records were not kept at the time and the early cars were not built in sequential order, no one knows the serial number of the first Mustang built.... Read More »

Ford moves Europe exec Cortesi to global corporate communications role

April 11, 2014 06:01 CET

Ford of Europe executive Elena Cortesi has been given a global role as the automaker's corporate communications manager.... Read More »

The pony car was all about personalization -- 'do your own thing'

12:01 am U.S. ET | April 11, 2014

Try to think about the Ford Mustang from a rational perspective, and its phenomenal early success just doesn't compute. The Mustang was a two-door, sporty car, the very definition of a niche product with limited appeal. It also was developed on a shoestring budget. But it roared out of the gates.... Read More »

JAMIE LAREAU

Subaru-sponsored study identifies safe dog harness

6:21 pm U.S. ET | April 10, 2014

In the book Citizen Canine, author David Grimm examines whether dogs are on the edge of becoming legal “persons” in this country. For those who think the answer is, or is close to becoming, yes, Subaru of America has significant news: Only one of the 11 dog harnesses designed for use in cars can be rated “acceptable.”... Read More »

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