Automotive News - March 24, 2008 - (Page 17)

MARCH 24, 2008 • 17 U.S. medium- & heavy- truck sales, Feb. & 2 mos. Feb. 2008 Feb. 2007 2 mos. 2008 2 mos. 2007 Class 4 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Class 5 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Class 6 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Class 7 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Chevrolet*. . . . . . . . . . . . . Dodge Class 5* . . . . . . . . . Class 4 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Class 5 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Class 6 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Class 7 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Ford . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Class 3 & 4 . . . . . . . . . . . . . Class 5 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Class 6 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Class 7 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Class 8 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Freightliner* . . . . . . . . . . . Class 4 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Class 5 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Class 6 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Class 7 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . GMC* . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Class 4 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Class 5 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Class 6 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Class 7 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Hino* . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Class 4 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Class 5 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Class 6 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Class 7 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Class 8 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . International . . . . . . . . . . . Class 3 & 4 . . . . . . . . . . . . . Class 5 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Class 6 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Class 7 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Isuzu* . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Class 7 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Class 8 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Kenworth* . . . . . . . . . . . . . Mack Class 8* . . . . . . . . . . Class 3 & 4 . . . . . . . . . . . . . Class 5 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Class 6 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Class 7 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Mitsubishi Fuso . . . . . . . . . Class 3 & 4 . . . . . . . . . . . . . Class 5 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Class 6 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Class 7 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Nissan Diesel . . . . . . . . . . Class 7 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Class 8 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Peterbilt* . . . . . . . . . . . . . Class 4 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Class 5 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Class 6 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Class 7 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Class 8 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Sterling* . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Volvo Class 8 . . . . . . . . . . . Western Star Class 8* . . . . . Other Class 8* . . . . . . . . . . Class 4† . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Class 5 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Class 6 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Class 7 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Class 8 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Total Class 4-8. . . . . . . . . . Total Class 1-3. . . . . . . . . . TOTAL TRUCK SALES . . . . . 331 374 56 101 862 359 1,969 1,721 855 253 4,798 158 14 1,265 1,328 2,456 5,221 178 258 65 230 731 22 17 303 105 447 521 94 909 1,227 2,245 4,996 635 147 41 5 828 328 1,378 1,706 848 93 43 69 9 214 31 26 32 2 91 312 1,181 1,493 35 64 41 171 527 838 1,489 92 13 3,973 3,117 3,636 4,071 10,229 25,026 599,899 624,925 425 497 93 125 1,140 – 1,722 1,654 733 510 4,619 225 76 1,486 2,170 5,623 9,580 284 458 106 274 1,122 21 20 306 48 395 56 162 1,533 2,159 2,366 6,276 576 326 16 42 960 376 1,862 2,238 1,322 190 84 128 8 410 29 75 58 11 173 413 1,975 2,388 12 35 76 237 1,230 1,590 1,793 191 109 3,540 3,387 4,535 6,373 16,471 34,306 669,077 703,383 670 714 95 182 1,661 922 5,613 3,116 2,128 545 11,402 477 44 1,894 3,090 4,892 10,397 480 486 113 400 1,479 42 31 566 188 827 775 196 2,459 2,783 4,701 10,914 1,005 304 57 10 1,376 571 2,393 2,964 1,393 181 77 113 18 389 54 44 81 3 182 614 2,266 2,880 76 108 91 341 998 1,614 2,963 192 31 9,373 6,042 7,597 8,745 19,829 51,586 1,128,055 1,179,641 739 961 177 278 2,155 – 5,150 3,408 1,723 965 11,246 522 189 2,848 4,585 11,510 19,654 529 843 189 627 2,188 38 30 622 159 849 112 389 4,012 4,379 6,334 15,226 1,028 479 29 91 1,627 723 3,809 4,532 2,790 339 145 215 15 714 40 98 98 14 250 871 3,789 4,660 22 35 159 564 2,309 3,089 3,824 513 148 8,519 6,577 10,072 13,271 35,026 73,465 1,231,613 1,305,078 Honda ad agency creates unit to build Acura brand Kathy Jackson kjackson@crain.com TSX has many Acura firsts ➤ 44 “With the upcoming launches of the (redesigned) 2009 RL, TL and TSX, Acura begins a series of new product introductions that will further establish the brand as a major competitor in the luxury market segment,” John Mendel, executive vice president of American Honda, said in a statement. “As we market these new products, we are pleased that RPA is making similar investments toward helping to build a powerful Acura brand.” Britt McColl, spokeswoman for Rubin Postaer, says Acura always had its own creative team at the agency, but it was not clearly separated from Honda. “Acura has never had a separate GM,” she said. “We’re now putting a stake in the ground and making investments of our own.” RPA, of Santa Monica, Calif., has held the Honda account for 33 years and Acura since 1999. c LOS ANGELES — Rubin Postaer and Associates, the ad agency for the Honda and Acura brands, has created a separate division for the Acura Division. The move follows Acura’s opening of a dedicated design center in Los Angeles and an r&d center in Japan. Dave Weber has been hired for the newly created position of general manager at RPA’s Acura division. John Hage has been named creative director. Weber, 53, was vice president of marketing at Hyundai Motor America from 1998 to 2002 and also worked with agencies servicing Mazda and Suzuki. Hage most recently was the group creative director at Y&R Advertising and also worked at agencies servicing Lexus, Land Rover and Saturn. The changes take effect in midApril and have been supported by American Honda Motor Co. Announcing! Memory lane These were the 10 most recalled auto TV commercials that debuted nationally from November 2007 to January. 1. Hyundai: “Big Duh” holiday sales event — “O Christmas Tree” (30 sec.) 2. Hyundai: “Big Duh” — “Carol of the Bells” (30 sec.) 3. Lexus: “December to Remember” holiday sales event (30 sec.) 4. Toyota: “Toyotathon” sales event — car crushed by boulder (30 sec.) 5. Toyota: “Toyotathon” — truck pushed off parking garage (30 sec.) 6. Toyota: “Toyotathon” — construction beam hung over truck (30 sec.) 7. Ford Focus: Road trip (30 sec.) 8. Toyota Tundra: Flashback to previous commercial (30 sec.) 9. Hyundai: “Big Duh”— “Winter Wonderland” (30 sec.) 10. Ford Fusion: Spoof of 1970s action movie (30 sec.) Source: IAG Research GE Money - Warranty Services is now part of Wachovia Dealer Services Study: Consistent theme in auto ads builds viewer recall Mary Connelly mconnelly@crain.com Together we offer a comprehensive suite of F&I after-market products, retail financing and commercial services, providing end-to-end solutions for the financial needs of your customers1. Hyundai took first and second places with its “Big Duh” year-end sales event spots. Similarly, third-ranked Lexus provided continuity in its “December to Remember” sales commercials, Hirsch-Johnson said. For several years Lexus has used sales event commercials that are similar in creative style and content, she said. Last year’s commercials used the same music, voice-over narration and symbolic red bow as before. A Toyota commercial in which a family pushes a boulder off a cliff onto its car was the fourth most recalled spot and second most liked spot in the study. Hirsch-Johnson said the “Toyotathon Phenomenon” ads had a consistent theme: consumers disposing of a current vehicle to buy a new Toyota. “Sales events are so much clutter,” Hirsch-Johnson said. “If you can give people something consistent, it pays off.”c *Reported by Ward’s Communications Source: Automotive News Data Center †Includes Class 3 trucks for Freightliner, Isuzu, Mitsubishi Fuso and Nissan Diesel Big-truck sales continue slide in Feb. — off 27.1% Sales of medium- and heavyduty trucks continued to slide in February, dropping 27.1 percent to 25,026 from a year earlier. Class 4-8 trucks haven’t seen a year-onyear sales increase since January 2007. Class 8 trucks were hit hardest, falling 37.9 percent to 10,229 units. Class 7 trucks dropped 36.1 percent to 4,071. Sales of Class 6 trucks totaled 3,636, a 19.8 percent drop. Class 5 truck sales skidded 8.0 percent to 3,117 units. In contrast, sales of Class 4 trucks rose 12.2 percent to 3,973. Freightliner led all big-truck manufacturers in sales. The company sold 5,221 big trucks in February, down 45.5 percent. International took the No. 2 spot by selling 4,996 trucks, down 20.4 percent. Third-place Ford Motor Co. was the only high-volume company in the sector to post a sales gain. Ford sold 4,798 Class 4-8 trucks, up 3.9 percent. For the first two months of 2008, Class 4-8 sales fell 29.8 percent from the year-earlier period to 51,586 trucks. — Ryan Beene Automakers that want their TV commercials for sales events to stand out must build on a consistent advertising theme. That’s the message from the latest ranking of the most recalled new automotive commercials, according to IAG Research, a New York market research firm. IAG ranks auto commercials that viewers say they remember most and like best. From Nov. 1, 2007, to Jan. 26, seven of the 10 most recalled new auto spots were sales event commercials that maintained previous ad themes, said Sallie Hirsch-Johnson, IAG’s senior vice president of research. Hyundai took first and second places with its “Big Duh” year-end sales event spots. In the commercials, a choir surrounds a vehicle and sings “duh” to the tune of Christmas carols. The commercials were consistent with a Hyundai campaign that ran last summer, Hirsch-Johnson told Automotive News. “They are building on some http://www.geaws.com http://www.geaws.com

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Automotive News - March 24, 2008

Ford lists 6 to succeed Mulally GM pushes luxury superstores Industry straps in for rough ride Bob Irvin is a worthy addition to Hall of Fame Debate at Scion: How to grow Ford moves executives in Asia to new jobs CEO of lanelogic: We're still here Kia's N.Y. duo Chrysler's exec trio: Reports of friction mostly fiction Where others see gloom, Honda chief sees boom in U.S. Fukui: Nickel battery is best bet for hybrid Beijing conference explores key issues in China market Planworks keeps its role as buyer for GM ads Lincoln: MKS will make up for brand's slow start in '08 Deal's no big deal: Styling top reason to buy GM Penske's Smart start: He'd like 15,000 more Dodge's pitch for Challenger: A halo that you can afford Chrysler plans 'We listen' ads You go, Bob With zest, activist Ditlow remains on lemon patrol Autos did the job after 9/11; don't bet on that now Chinese cars? Dealer beware Solar power is the only answer Where will we get power for the Volt? Want higher CAFE? First, do this In N. California, hybrids are hot Detroit 3 can learn from the Marlboro Man The Prius is a phenomenon Wait 3 years, then judge Ford How many Jeeps will India buy? Lithia looks into improper sales reports at dealerships AutoNation's lead shrinks as largest U.S. dealer group Honda ad agency creates unit to build Acura brand Study: Consistent theme in auto ads builds viewer recall Big-truck sales continue slide in Feb. -- off 27.1% MazdaSpeed revs up racing accessory sales Calif. company eyes electric charging stations for Volt, Vue Indictment: Bribe scheme cost GM $83.3 million The greening of Toyota dealerships 6 more finalists in race for PACE recognition Tenneco expands Japanese work, seeks more Bosch buys diagnostic equipment firm in China JV will design vehicle platforms Citation moves headquarters NxtGen tests emissions system VW stake may help Porsche on fuel economy rules Chrysler's Project Genesis wins over Ore. dealer Germany, new EU members send up European sales Saturn will choose store system soon VW thinks modular for flexibility at auto plants Automakers eager as axles turn high-tech Talking drivetrains with American Axle Dollar halts U.S. retail sales of Audi Q7 hybrid Hyundai: Genesis Coupe offers more go for dough Maxima's target: Luxury Euro makes Pontiac adds 3 sporty variants Outsider Elmer Johnson shook up GM Importer Yanase was Hall of Fame member Obituaries Redesigned TSX has many Acura firsts Dealers Certified sales up 7.5% in Feb.; Audi leads the way eBay's new Web site has new look, more features Big pickups and SUVs lead plunge in used-vehicle prices Ex-Reynolds CEO O'Neill joins J.D. Power Auto Hall of Fame will induct 8 Liberatore looks beyond Daimler Molina gets the top job at GMAC F&I pioneer Pat Ryan to retire from Aon Study: Hydrogen research worth the cost Gulf States trial halted As yuan rises, so do prices of Chinese parts Personnel exec Laymon: Ford still seeking outside talent GE gives supplier credit Dana CEO wants Asian growth Tesla launches production Todt steps down as Ferrari CEO Union pursues Toyota effort Chrysler offers spiffs for military Land Rover ads focus on heritage Mark Rechtin Fresh heir: To turn green, must BMW create brand? GM ponders mini-muscle Camaro New Ford ads coming in April With a spiffier image, Lincoln would rock abroad Rival says Nardelli's OK Ford hails its cab, but mpg is an issue

Automotive News - March 24, 2008

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