Autoblog

Automakers work very hard at the branding process, which takes years and years of effort to achieve. For instance, when a consumer hears Porsche, he or she likely sthink of sports cars and iconic design principles -- despite the fact that the German brand sells plenty of SUVs, too. And when a brand starts to get a negative image, it can take years to overcome that bad stigma -- just ask Ford. So, with all of this in mind, Kelley Blue Book has announced the winners of its 2008 Brand Image Awards, which are based on consumer perception studies of which KBB keeps track.

The big winners this year are Toyota for "Best Overall Interior Design", BMW for "Best Overall Exterior Design" and Mercedes-Benz for "Best Overall Prestige Brand". We would have expected Audi to do well in the interior design category, but these awards are not based on reality, but perception instead. For a complete run-down of the awards, we've included the press release after the break.

[Source: Kelley Blue Book]

Not long ago here on Autoblog we wondered, what exactly is the point of the Mercury brand? As it turns out, dealers have nearly the same question, and they aren't getting any clear, compelling answers. At the Chicago Auto Show, Ford's Group Vice President Jim Farley said "Its role is changing, but we're not going to compromise Mercury." Around the Detroit Auto Show, CEO Alan Mulally said Ford remains committed to Mercury. Of course, Mulally also said Jaguar was part of The Way Forward -- no one knew that he meant it was the way forward for Tata.

There is only one problem with Ford's statements of support: there's no new product in the Mercury pipeline (the upcoming hybrid Milan doesn't count as a new piece of original product), and no one at Ford is giving any indication of when there will be. A huge amount of elbow grease is being expended to polish the Ford brand, and after that, Lincoln is taking up all the space on a second stage. It's clear that Ford would rather sell Lincolns than Mercurys. Last year, Mercury sales dropped almost 7 percent, while Lincoln sales rose more than 9 percent. Still, Lincoln sold 37,000 fewer cars than Mercury.

But all of this, understandably, has dealers wondering what's really going to happen with Mercury. People who buy Mercurys want Mercurys, with its "independent-minded" image and greater percentage of female buyers "very loyal to the brand." Ford can't afford to shed Mercury sales while it works to shepherd Lincoln to the top of the heap. Yet until Ford reveals what it's going to do with the house of the Grand Marquis -- indeed, that it's going to do anything at all -- then one can only assume that brand interest will suffer... and with it, sales.

[Source: Bloomberg]

The stupendous amounts of money being spent on the presidential race have got supporters of non-front-running candidates coming up with novel ways to keep up the fight. Aficionados of Republican candidate Ron Paul have created Ron Paul Racing, a web site gathering pledges to brand a NASCAR car during this year's Daytona 500.

This line says it all: "RonPaulRacing.com will reach millions of new supporters as the RON PAUL car shoots down the front straight at 200 MPH screaming 'FREEDOM.'" The site isn't accepting donations now, merely pledges for donations. As of this writing they've collected more than $10,000, but they're looking for more, "all the way to the millions."

The site is apparently in talks with teams about branding. The '08 car belongs to Aric Almirola, but we imagine that's simply a placeholder and they don't really plan on working with the guy who ended last season with an average finishing spot of 34.5. That wouldn't send the right message, would it? If you're so inclined, head over to Ron Paul Racing and let them know you're a fan of freedom. Oh, and the site's musical accompaniment is Sammy Hagar's "I Can't Drive 55." If nothing else, we support that (where legal, of course). Thanks for the tip, scanner scott!

[Source: Ron Paul Racing]

Some crowds are worried about speed, some about interior volume, some about the number of cupholders. The pickup truck crowd has a tendency to be concerned with size, so the automakers give them what they want. And in this case, it's bigger and bigger logos. Kicking Tires took the real estate measurements of the logos on half-ton pickups at the Detroit Auto Show (and a Hummer, just for good... measure), and ranked them from smallest to the most grandiose. The logo on the new Dodge Ram is 250% larger than before, and it only came in fifth. Click the link to find out who's got the biggest, and let the bragging begin.

[Source: Kicking Tires]

When the new Lincoln MKS arrives next summer, it will join the MKZ and MKX. And then those three will be joined by another MK-something, perhaps a large Lincoln crossover based on the Ford Flex, to arrive in 2009. More than once we have written MKZ when we were referring to the MKS. More than one Ford rep said MK-Consonant when he meant the other MK-Consonant. More than once we have tried to figure out why Lincoln came up with -- and continues -- this type of nomenclature.

But it isn't going to stop, so we've just got to mind our letters. Mulally, he who brought back "Taurus," opined that "consistency of purpose is important." And Lincoln says this kind of naming system is what other premium automakers do. The difference is, usually those numbers actually mean something. All right, so 'Mark X' could mean crossover -- but then what's the larger crossover going to be called? Mark XL? And what is a 'Mark Z?' And why isn't that beastly truck a MKLT, instead of Mark LT? And does this mean you could order an ATMKSAWDPDQ?

The new names have only been in use for two years, so perhaps they simply need a bit more time to take hold. But we remember the last time Ford tried this kind of alpha/numeric thing State-side, and we're still trying to figure out the riddle of 'Merkur XR4Ti'...

[Source: Auto News, sub req'd]

A Ferrari PDA. Joy of joys. People still use these things? If you must have one more thing strapped to your belt or stuffed in your pocket, might as well get the one with the Prancing Horse. That way, when everyone else pulls out their toys and starts twiddling as a way to avoid human interaction, you'll have something red, black and flashy.

The Acer 500 is the fruition of an ongoing relationship between the computer maker and the Italian exotic car firm. Launching soon in Europe, the PDA will be equipped with Bluetooth, GPS and an SD card reader. Of less note are the USB 1.1 port and behind-the-curve OS, Windows Mobile 5. We doubt there's been any cranking up of bus speeds inside the unit, but at least this one won't be as costly to fix when you crack it up.

[Source: Caradisiac]

As if Ferrari needed any help promoting its brand, they've gone and hired Dany Bahar. During his tenure at Red Bull, the intrepid Turk transformed the energy drink company from a simple sponsor into team owners, first acquiring Red Bull Racing from Ford when Jaguar's F1 team went bust, then going in on an unprecedented second team – Scuderia Toro Rosso – and even spearheading Toyota's entry into NASCAR in a team owned by... you guessed it, Red Bull. Bahar also orchestrated the deal that brought Ferrari power to Red Bull last season and to STR for 2007.

Bahar left Red Bull way back in February, and it didn't take long before the rumors of his defection to Maranello started flying around like a club-going teenager jacked up on taurine. Although the speculation initially indicated that Bahar would assume a role at the Scuderia, Ferrari announced that he'd be put in charge of a new department that will operate alongside the racing team and road-car divisions, and report directly to the CEO.

With the construction of the Ferrari World theme park already under way, the company's merchandizing efforts already seem to be at full tilt. It'll be interesting, therefore, to see what new direction Bahar takes the brand.

[Source: Italiaspeed]

McLaren is always chasing after Ferrari. They've chased after them on the track for decades, and sometimes they catch up. They've chased them on the road, trouncing the F40 with the McLaren F1 supercar, but missing the mark somewhat with the SLR. But in the modern era where racing is only half of competition, McLaren is after Maranello on another front: branding.

Marketing is one area where, even more so than on the circuit, Ferrari has got the rest of the field beat. But McLaren is getting serious about that front of the competition, too. To that end, McLaren is retaining the services of John Allert, a leading marketing consultant and former CEO of Interbrand. Are McLaren-branded laptops and theme parks far behind? Too soon to tell, but expect to see the name – and maybe a recognizable logo – showing up more prominently in the near future.

Does all this sound completely frivolous, bearing no effect on actual racing? Not so fast. With the stands at nearly every grand prix painted with fans wearing red, Ferrari acquires for themselves something of a home-field advantage at every race, all the while raking in serious profits that can go back into the development of new technologies to edge out the competition on the track. It's a winning formula for Ferrari, and in F1, nobody retains that kind of exclusive for long.

[Source: GrandPrix.com]

The Wall Street Journal has finally picked up on the increasingly popular (and entropic) automotive trend that is alphanumeric naming. Writer Gina Chon is less than complementary about the whole business of going from actual word-based name to strings of numbers and letters, going to great lengths to catalog the legal mess that has ensued between manufacturers (Lincoln MKX vs Acura MDX, etc.), as well as the confusion that the practice has been causing consumers.

Most of this isn't news, but interestingly, Chon speaks with a brand consultant who points out that car companies are avoiding certain letters due to undesirable associations. Namely, O, P, U and Y, with B, F and N not far behind. The article also nicely sums up the clinic process as it applies to automotive monikers.

Further ranting on the subject can be read here.

[Source: Wall Street Journal via Arizona Republic; TheTruthAboutCars.com; Surfnetkids.com]