marketing » Australian Car Advice

Lotus unveils Eco Elise Concept

July 10th, 2008 3 Comments

Already touted as the manufacturer of some of the most fuel efficient performance cars on the market, Lotus has taken this concept one step further after revealing its Eco Elise technology demonstrator ahead of its official British Motor Show debut.

The Eco Elise takes a somewhat passionate approach to the environment, sporting some highly unusual green design elements extending to more than just the contents of the exhaust.

Toyota world’s most respected company

July 7th, 2008 282 Comments

If Toyota fans needed any more ammunition to support their brand, here it is. More than 60,000 people in 27 countries have anonymously voted Toyota as the world’s most respected company.

Scoring 86.53 out of 100 in a survey conducted by New York-based private research and consulting firm Reputation Institute, the Big T came out as number one amongst the world’s top 1,000 companies on perceptions of trust, esteem, admiration and good feeling.

FPV turns to CGI for TV Campaign

July 4th, 2008 35 Comments

FPV has taken a unique approach to its television advertising for the new performance FG Falcon range, calling on the power of technology to showcase its new models on the small screen.

Rarely using television to advertise the brand, rather than take the traditional approach FPV has created its new generation ad campaign exclusively with Computer Generated Images (CGI).

Australian Top Gear - presenters announced

May 29th, 2008 36 Comments

After going over a staggering 4000 video entries, the three presenters of the Aussie version of hit UK TV program Top Gear were announced last night at a function in Sydney.

Charlie Cox, Warren Brown and Steve Pizzati are the inaugural presenters for the program and come from a diverse set of backgrounds.

Cox, 47, is a motorsport commentator who worked in Sydney in the ’80’s before moving to the UK where he won several motoring titles in the ’90’s.

Brown, in his mid-40s is best known for his work as a cartoonist in The Daily Telegraph and also has a passion for historic cars.

Finally, Steve Pizzati, the youngest of the group - in his 30s - works as an advanced driving instructor and a race driver for Porsche Australia.

Producers claim that the Australian Top Gear will have a distinctly Australian feel, but will still be based on the popular UK version of the show.

Hyundai to spend $80 million on Genesis marketing

May 27th, 2008 19 Comments

Hyundai is set to spend USD $80 million on a marketing campaign to launch its new Genesis luxury sedan in the United States. This makes it the most expensive marketing campaign the Korean manufacturer has undertaken to date.

The $80 million dollar tag is enormous, considering Hyundai only expects to sell roughly 30,000 units of the rear-drive Genesis in the first year in the U.S. However the plan is simple, by giving the brand an upmarket image, it will help improve sales of all models. The Genesis will become the Halo car for the brand.

New car advertising spend rising

March 20th, 2008 29 Comments

Last year saw Australians buy more cars than ever. The sales figures went Toyota (22.5 per cent market share), Holden (14.0 per cent) and Ford (10.3 per cent). Logically, the dollars spent advertising these brands should correlate to sales success, but such is the beauty of the advertising world that the figures hardly interact.

Figures released today by Nielsen media research show that new car advertising is on the rise, with an 8% overall increase in car manufacturer spending. Out of the top 50 advertisers for 2007, eight were car manufacturers, but not in the order expected.

Prius to become its own brand?

March 12th, 2008 19 Comments

Hundreds of millions of dollars later, the word Prius is now synonymous with images of green trees and happy Penguins, so it’s no wonder that Toyota is considering making a whole new brand actually called Prius.

It makes sense, of course, with the company already working on a hybrid variant of every model, perhaps selling them under the Prius brand makes more marketing-sense to the customers? Prius Camry? Prius RAV4…? How does that sound? At least you’ll know it’s a hybrid.

Microsoft working on in-car advertising

March 10th, 2008 16 Comments

It’s that special time in the morning, usually between 7-8:30am when the majority of us get in our cars and drive to work. It’s when traffic is standing still and the last thing you can tolerate is annoying ads, but that’s just what you might get if Microsoft has its way.

The software giant’ s in-car system, Microsoft Sync, which is currently deployed exclusively in American delivered Ford vehicles, has some amazing features. It can connect (via Bluetooth) to 12 phones, it can read out new SMS messages and you can then reply by verbal command - it can even make you coffee…

Audi R8 the Iron Man choice

January 22nd, 2008 8 Comments

Cross promotion of cars in major Hollywood films is nothing new, from Aston Martin for everyone’s favourite secret agent to Lamborghinis for Batman, manufacturers are queing up to be associated with the right superhero.

The latest to join the list is Audi with its new R8 supercar. The car will be the centre of attention in the new Iron Man movie – based on the Marvel Comics character of the same name.

Pre-Production Camaro front-end revealed

January 12th, 2008 16 Comments

Chevrolet has tempted enthusiasts with yet another image of the undisguised pre-production 2009 Camaro Coupe, more than likely captured testing right here in Australia.

In one sense, these images serve only to build hype for the Camaro prior to its release later this year. However accompanying this latest release are GM’s doubts surrounding various design features such as the headlamps, indicating they may be more interested in consumer feedback to ensure the Camaro is the best it can be.