KEY POINTS:
Hyundai's new advertising campaign in the United States aims to convince car buyers that the brand offers more than entry-level vehicles at cheap prices. The campaign, called Think About It, reflects Hyundai's effort to move its model line upmarket. It focuses more on vehicle quality and warranty coverage than on individual models. A print campaignfeatures sumo wrestlers. The giant wrestler in one corner of the ring represents Hyundai's 10-year/160,000km new-vehicle Powertrain warranty. The puny wrestler in the other corner represents lesser warranties offered by carmakers such as Honda and Toyota.
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Carmakers are using widgets to deliver advertising content directly to consumers. A widget is a software application that can be embedded in a web page or saved to a personal computer. Honda in the US teamed with Yahoo! to create a promotional widget that provides local traffic data. "Marketing works best when it supports information, tools or technology that customers seek," says marketing analyst Ann Palmer.
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Toyota is hinting a new sports car may be on the drawing board to fill a gap left by the retirement of the MR2 two-seater this year. "We used to have a lot of sports cars, but not any more," said Kazuo Okamoto, executive vice-president for research and development. "So now we want to try it again." The MR2, which dates back to 1984, was renamed the MRS in 1999.
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In 1957, Shoichiro Toyoda was a young man working his way up the management ranks. His family's car company had just exported its first car, the Toyopet Crown, to the US. It flopped. Driving downhill, he said, was the only way he could get the underpowered car to merge into fast-moving American traffic. The Toyota company suspended its car exports. Toyoda, now 82, the son of the founder and Toyota's chairman until 1999, is preparing to celebrate 50 years of business in the US.
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Sales of hybrid petrol-electric vehicles in the US so far this year are up 50 per cent on last year. Oklahoma's 143 per cent rise in registrations of new hybrid cars and trucks was the highest. Hawaii was the only state to report a fall. The Toyota Prius and the hybrid version of the Toyota Camry were the most popular models. Motoring industry research group R. L. Polk predicts total US hybrid sales will exceed 300,000 this year, or more than 2 per cent of all sales. Aucklanders so far this year have brought more than 50 Prius hybrids. WE ARE THE WORLD Male motorists in New York who paid $6 for a topless car wash were short-changed - the topless washers were firemen. Young women held up signs advertising the car wash and directed drivers behind a tarpaulin. The money went to charity.
