Autoblog

A tip of the cap is due to GM for the automaker's new Chevy Silverado TV spot, which premiered this Sunday during the Olympics. The spot features brief testimonials from drivers of high-mileage pickups wearing the bowtie badge, but one stands out more than the rest. Twenty seconds in, FDNY Firefighter Craig Monahan's segment opens with a wide shot of him standing in front of the Manhattan skyline. His battered truck has melted lights and a Ladder 5 placard affixed to the bed on the driver's side. In the spot, he recounts how the damaged truck started when he reached into the singed interior and turned the ignition key, saying that it served as an isnpiration, "If that truck could keep going, then we could all keep going."

This all happened on 9/11, a fact left unsaid but tactfully implied in the commercial. Veteran New York Daily News reporter Michael Daly knows Monahan and tells the truck's full story in an excellent piece that ran in Tuesday's Daily News. Frankly, you need to go there and just read the whole thing, because Daly's account is first-rate. Reading it also underscores the level of restraint GM exercised in how it used the truck in the commercial. It's a great TV spot, but the story behind that one particular 14-second segment is more remarkable and inspirational than you'd ever guess. Firefighter Monahan agreed to let his truck be used because he felt it was important for people see it and get a feel for what it represents. Monahan was compensated by GM for his participation, but he donated that money to another FDNY family, showing that even now, that burned and battered Chevy still helps him help others. We salute him, and we hope he keeps that truck forever. Thnks for the tip, Julius!

[Source: New York Daily News]

From Xinhua via our friends at China Car Times comes the above photo, showing Chinese counter-terrorism forces going through drills as they prepare to crush any dissent terror threat that might arise during next month's Olympic Games. The black ninja suits, fritz helmets, body armor, and submachine pistols all fit the profile of a specialized group like this. But... Segways?

UPDATE: Turns out, Engadget is having a caption contest. (Thanks, seoultrain.)

[Source: Xinhua via China Car Times]

The city of Beijing has drawn widely-publicized controversy due to its poor air-quality leading up to the 2008 Summer Olympic games. In fact, the air pollution is at least two to three times higher than levels deemed safe by the World Health Organization at this very moment. To ease the minds of the competing athletes, the city of Beijing is taking steps to improve the situation and has promised clean air for the games. Officials in Beijing have already cut the number of vehicles driving in the city in half by alternating what vehicles are allowed to drive each day and have asked more people to ride bikes. Now, they've banned car repairs and spray painting until after the games are over. We are all for the athletes rights to breathe clean air, but we also have to wonder about the economic cost associated with cutting out all automotive repairs and painting.

[Source: Motor Authority]

With the 2008 Summer Olympic Games in Beijing fast approaching, the Italian Olympic Committee is looking to Ferrari for a little help. The Italian automaker will put its extensive motorsports knowledge to work in athletic equipment like canoes, sailboats and potentially bicycles. Looking forward to the 2010 Winter Olympics, bobsleds, luges, skeleton sleds and Paralympic skiis will get the prancing horse touch, as well. Particular attention will be paid towards aerodynamic improvements as the Italian teams will be granted access to Ferrari's wind tunnel for testing. No word on whether they'll be allowed in the paint shop to spray down the equipment in Ferrari's iconic red color. More extensive use of exotic materials will also be incorporated into the designs, presumably lots and lots of carbon fiber. Ferrari president Luca Cordero di Montezemolo said of the deal, "If there is even one-thousandth of Ferrari in Italian victories, we'll be honored."

[Source: Edmunds.com]

GM will be out of the Olympics after Beijing. The General said Monday that it can no longer justify spending $1 billion on its expensive sponsorship of the U.S. Olympic team when there are other options that offer a better return. The global giant is said to be looking into non-traditional advertising outlets in an effort to keep ad dollars spent as efficiently as possible, so they have made the decision to let the Olympic contract lapse when it expires in 2008. They will continue their involvement with the U.S. Snowboarding Team, and GM of Canada is still a big sponsor for the 2010 Winter Games in Vancouver, but their overall sponsorship will cease. GM wanted to make it clear that this isn't a sign of financial weakness, so much as a sign that business as usual is no longer going to be blindly accepted. They are getting more efficient in every aspect of business and this is just another example of that. While we applaud that trend, we have to wonder if being the official vehicle of the U.S. Olympic team didn't have a certain cachet that went above and beyond the dollar value, if leveraged correctly.

[Source: MSNBC]

At the Shanghai Auto Show, Audi showed off a "Passion for Movement" A8L, part of the "Official Premium Car" fleet for the 2008 summer Olympics in Beijing. As sponsor of both the Olympics and the Paralympics, Audi is providing more than 1,000 chauffeured A6L's, A8L's, and Q7's for competitors, officials, and VIP guests.

The Passion for Movement project will also include concerts and cultural events in advance of the games to promote the Olympics -- and Audi -- around the world. Partnering with Audi are Adidas and Air China. The most intriguing part of the program might be the "Olympic Extended Family," in which Audi dealers in 87 cities will get an "Olympic Corner" for marketing purposes and merchandise sales. The aim of the extended family project is "to extensively motivate dealers and employees and to further intensify their commitment to the Audi brand." Perhaps it is just a coincidence in light of another auto maker's push to rally the troops, but Audi certainly does provide a nice template: good events and good marketing in support of good products.

[Source: Fourtitude]

If Ford decides to broom the company's Highland Park complex in 2008 as rumored, the Twin Cities want to be ready. Instead of Blue Ovals, local officials are thinking Olympic rings.

The truck plant is being floated as being one of the potential locations that might help entice Minnesotans make a bid for the 2016 or 2020 Olympics. The factory was part of a list pitched to city officials at the St. Paul City Hall.

Despite the earlier bid date being about a decade away, the amount of preparation and wooing needed to court the attentions of the International Olympic Committee is substantial, so the much of the groundwork would need to be laid over the next couple of months.

[Source: City Hall Scoop]