Automotive News - June 2, 2008 - (Page 20)

20 • JUNE 2, 2008 Survey: Going green can get your auto ad noticed Mary Connelly mconnelly@crain.com Consumers pay attention to auto TV commercials with environmental messages, a new study suggests. Two Lexus commercials that promote environmental benefits of the luxury brand’s hybrid technology were among the 10 most-recalled auto spots that first were broadcast from Jan. 27 to May 2, says IAG Research, a New York marketing firm. IAG says the Lexus hybrid ads do not focus on a specific model “but are more about (the brand’s) hybrid capabilities in general.” The ads show the badge of the GS 450h with other models in the background. “In today’s climate, you can see consumers are really responding” to the Lexus spots, says Sallie HirschJohnson, an IAG senior vice president. The two Lexus commercials are 30second versions of a 60-second spot. Using “multiple ads that build on one another helps support viewer recall,” Hirsch-Johnson says. The most-recalled commercial in the IAG survey was an Audi spot for the R8 sports car that premiered during the Feb. 3 Super Bowl telecast. The 60-second commercial spoofs the movie The Godfather. Inrix: Router can reduce traffic delays Leslie J. Allen lallen@crain.com The ads for Lexus hybrids: The world is a better place when you have an “H.” Two Toyota commercials with racing themes also made the top-10 list. A 30-second Chevrolet commercial featuring race driver Dale Earnhardt Jr. was the best-liked commercial during the survey period, IAG says. IAG measures viewer recall of auto commercials that run on 22 U.S. broadcast and cable networks. It surveys more than 5,000 consumers. c The leading provider of U.S. traffic information for navigation systems says its latest breakthrough could significantly reduce traffic delays. Inrix Inc. has announced what it is calling its “third generation” routing engine. As with current systems, the new technology relays real-time traffic information. But the new technology adds what Inrix has dubbed time-intelligent routing. It automatically calculates alternate routes as it receives information on traffic jams. It factors in traffic conditions along those alternate routes so that it does not send the driver on a route that would be worse than the original one. In-dash and portable navigation devices, mapping Web sites, mobile phones and other devices that offer navigation would use the routing engine. Inrix gets data from commercial fleet vehicles that it has equipped with transmitters to signal details of their route and speed. It also uses data from states’ department of transportation road sensors, toll tags, cellular handsets and other sources. The routing system is one of several announcements Inrix made during Telematics Detroit 2008, an industry conference. Web tools, too Inrix founder and CEO Bryan Mistele said the company also has developed a Web-based tool kit that will make it easier for companies to build navigation systems. The Connected Services Platform will let companies incorporate features such as traffic, news, fuel prices, stock reports, weather, local search and other information in their telematics devices, he said. Mistele said four or five customers are expected to announce telematics systems based on the technology by year end. In addition, Inrix said it had expanded traffic coverage area to include information for 800,000 miles of U.S. roads, including, for the first time, side streets and arterial roads. The additional coverage is possible through real-time, historical and predictive data. Inrix’s predictive database considers billions of bits of information, including weather, school schedules, sporting events and concerts and special events. High school project The company began as a project of Microsoft founders Bill Gates and Paul Allen, who as high school students in suburban Seattle founded a traffic data analysis company they called Traf-O-Data. Gates’ fascination with the idea of using technology to predict traffic patterns continued after the formation of Microsoft and led to his creating a traffic unit within Microsoft Research. In 2005, Inrix spun out of Microsoft Research as an independent, private company. It now is the leading provider of traffic information in the country, providing data to 85 portable navigation devices, including those made by TomTom International BV and Garmin Ltd. Automaker customers include BMW, Volvo and Mini. c http://www.imbranded.com http://www.imbranded.com

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Automotive News - June 2, 2008 Gas prices fuel industry's new era Chrysler faces tricky dealer mergers Honda may crank out more Civics in N.A. Mercedes will move into Chrysler Pacifica studio Ford to offer hatchback version of Fiesta Prestige Automotive sells stores but keeps Black Enterprise top spot Dealership marketers take to text messaging Senate to hear personal pleas on roof crush rule Magazine: Chrysler, Fiat are talking Former Fla. dealer gets jail for bilking bank That guy Alfred had possibilities Ford will make next Mustang look smaller Pontiac subcompact may come to U.S. GM: Battery glitch cuts hybrid sales Porsche exec: CAFE 'will not change our nature' Japanese rivals race for lithium batteries Jatco boosts CVT capacity in Mexico for N.A. vehicles Mercury deserves a better chance Rising gas prices have changed the U.S. market Marketing and sales: Context and content Mexico's Nemak grows beyond North America Buyers didn't quit GM; GM quit on its buyers Brand perceptions change slowly Bloggers are journalists, too Nice HQ, Nissan, but where's Nobe? Chrysler's Chernoby: Growing up gearhead Picture this Mitsubishi hopes new gearbox widens Evo's appeal Openlane gets funds Obituaries Survey: Going green can get your auto ad noticed Inrix: Router can reduce traffic delays Mazda6 gets own platform for U.S. ... sort of Mazda6 set to take on mid-sized sedan heavyweights Troubled or not, the United States still beckons What's next? More transplant models headed this way Exports help as Mitsubishi sorts things out Irma Elder: 'This is one of the toughest times we have had' Fitzgerald: Dealers, consumers need alliance Can Bertone design a comeback? Family-owned business struggles for survival Some design houses fall on tough times Hughes: Not a subscriber? No problem American Axle lines up new non-U.S. business GM think tank works to boost service business Toyota offers gas card as tire incentive VW turns to common software to develop products Continental's Calif. office targets Asian carmakers ZF sees chassis, axle opportunities in N.A. Flex: A new Ford image ... or just over the top? Ford targeted Flex interior quiet, ride Ex-dealership managers say firings were over religion Dealers Genesis in Toledo: It's a long story Back woes sideline Nardelli GM: 19,000 take buyouts Panama to head Nissan Mexicana Wilhite jumps to Jumpstart Dauch sons move up, out Kozyra leaves Continental Ford to lay off salaried staff More small cars to arrive in 2009-10 Even on used market, big trucks go begging Auto advertisers adopt mpg mantra Industry to motorists: We're here to help Diesel prices hit suppliers' Mexico sites Can Camry catch F series? Leno's words of wisdom for automakers Nissan's carbon credits ease global warming guilt Automotive CEOs' pay pales next to peers' Year of the Small Car can't come too soon Foreign suppliers adding capacity in Southeast From cows to kimchi: Making Alabama sweet home for Koreans After light-truck push, cars are king again Mexican suppliers expect sales record in '08

Automotive News - June 2, 2008

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