Continue reading Shell Ultimate Enthusiast contest sends winners to Barrett-Jackson and Maranello

Shell Ultimate Enthusiast contest sends winners to Barrett-Jackson and Maranello originally appeared on Autoblog on Sun, 02 Dec 2012 15:03:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Shell struggles to pay $1B oil bill to Iran due to sanctions originally appeared on Autoblog on Tue, 27 Mar 2012 10:29:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Continue reading Ford releases 1967 Mustang Convertible bodyshell

Ford releases 1967 Mustang Convertible bodyshell originally appeared on Autoblog on Thu, 22 Dec 2011 18:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Senate votes down bill to end oil company subsidies, see how they voted and who gets oil money originally appeared on Autoblog on Fri, 20 May 2011 09:28:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Shell signs multi-series sponsorship deal with Penske Racing originally appeared on Autoblog on Thu, 22 Apr 2010 08:29:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Continue reading Video: Shell makes a Nissan 370Z for the Invisible Man to showcase lubricants

Video: Shell makes a Nissan 370Z for the Invisible Man to showcase lubricants originally appeared on Autoblog on Wed, 21 Apr 2010 19:24:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Continue reading Audi R10 TDI using biofuel for the first time

Audi R10 TDI using biofuel for the first time originally appeared on Autoblog on Sat, 31 May 2008 15:17:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

According to NPD Group analyst David Portalatin, consumers cite "product performance" as their justification for buying one particular brand over another. It's all due to very effective branding and marketing, cites Portalatin. (We'd have to agree, as we've yet to meet anyone who can discern a difference between a tank of Chevron or Costco fuel from the driver's seat.) Now that the massive oil mergers are behind them, the petroleum giants are focusing on selling "quality" to differentiate themselves from the discount fuel stations. As consumers continue to blindly drive towards big brand gasoline, their efforts are apparently working -- regardless of cost. Let's just hope Starbucks doesn't catch wind of this trend and try a new source of revenue...

[Source Advertising Age, Photo by David McNew, Getty Images]

Gas buyers favor brand, not price originally appeared on Autoblog on Tue, 22 Apr 2008 10:29:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Continue reading VIDEO: Felipe Massa shills for Shell, makes us chuckle

VIDEO: Felipe Massa shills for Shell, makes us chuckle originally appeared on Autoblog on Wed, 12 Sep 2007 20:02:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Epilogue: remember Bob Oyster? He's the Shell station owner in San Francisco who jacked up his gas prices to protest what he considered Shell putting the squeeze on his profits. On his last day of owning the station, Oyster pulled his other card: he dropped the price of gas to $2.99 -- perhaps the lowest price in the entire Bay area. Oyster said he was going to pump at that price until he ran out of the 6,000 gallons in his tanks, and our tipster said there were cars lined up around the block. We don't imagine he had to wait too long for 'empty' to come. Today he hands the keys back over to Shell, and the saga comes to a close.

But remember a time -- not so long ago! -- when $2.99 for a gallon of gas was considered highway robbery?

Thanks for the tip, Patrick!

[Source: SF Gate]

San Fran gas station drains tanks at $2.99/gallon in protest originally appeared on Autoblog on Fri, 01 Jun 2007 16:59:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Perhaps it's not just gasoline users that oil companies are squeezing -- station owners might be locked in the vice as well. Bob Oyster, a Shell station owner in San Francisco, is making a statement to Shell and to his customers to let them know what he thinks of it.

To hear Bob tell it, Shell has made it impossible to stay in business. After owning his station for 22 years, he's returning it to Shell at the end of the month. Shell charges him more for gas in San Francisco than in other parts of the Bay, where he also owns stations, but won't let him buy gas anywhere else. They have also raised his rent by leaps and bounds. Five years ago he fought to keep his rent at $6,000 per month based on real estate values, when Shell wanted $13,000. This year they again requested $13K. Shell says that's what the market is worth. Oyster says "I got fed up." What did he do? He raised his gas prices to well over $4 a gallon, and ever since, he hardly sees a customer.

"It makes a statement," he said, "and I guess when people see that price they also see the Shell sign right next to it." Like other independent owners, Oyster makes his money off the convenience store extras, but his lot is so small he doesn't have room for much other than candy and cigarettes. He believes oil companies are trying to squeeze out the independents, but Shell says most of its stations are independently-owned and that that number is increasing. "I'm going out with a bang,'' says Oyster. "And I don't care if I don't pump a gallon on the last day.'' And he probably won't: the Chevron across the street sells gas for 70 cents less.

Thanks for the tip, Mike!

[Source: SF Gate]

Gas station owner jacks up prices to prove a point originally appeared on Autoblog on Fri, 11 May 2007 10:52:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

We reported a couple weeks ago that Shell was pouring big money into furthering its brand association with Ferrari and F1 racing by filming what was projected to be the most expensive television advertisement ever to be produced. The commercial was set to feature a Ferrari F1 car racing through the streets of downtown Sydney, London and New York.

The crew was reportedly all set to begin filming in Sydney last week when they ran into a slight glitch: at the last second, the government in the state of New South Wales denied the film crew the necessary permits to begin filming. When it was suggested that they could obtain the permit by making a certain - ahem - "charitable contribution", the presumably enraged producer called a halt to production and the entire crew packed up and left.

For our readers in Australia hoping to get a glimpse of the Ferraris racing through their streets, you'll know who to blame for the disappointment. All is not lost, however, as a Ferrari street parade is scheduled to run down Melbourne's Lygon street on March 3. The event, which will serve as a combined promotion for the Australian Grand Prix and for Ferrari's 60th anniversary, will feature 60 Ferraris rolling down the closed-off street section, including a modern Ferrari F1 race car.

[Source: GrandPrix.com]

Shell leaves Australia in a hurry, but Ferrari will be back soon originally appeared on Autoblog on Tue, 20 Feb 2007 10:06:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

There are a lot of superlatives that could be equally applied to Ferraris and to custom choppers by their respective enthusiasts, and we're not going to try to name them all. But that's probably why there have been so many efforts to blend the two, with varied results.

One builder of custom choppers built a red stallion for Michael Schumacher upon his retirement. Another motorcycle craftsman built two one-off sport-bikes: one powered by a Ferrari V12 and another with a V8 out of a Ferrari 308. Even legendary custom bike designer Arlen Ness styled a chopper after the iconic Testarossa.

The latest crossover between the world of the steel stallion and the prancing horse is this custom chopper, powered by the 140-hp engine from the Triumph 955 Triple. The high-gloss red paintjob even comes complete with race livery, but after watching Harley Davidson and the Marlboro Man, we're surprised the builder didn't include the team's principle sponsor. The bike was recently up for sale on eBay for about fifteen grand.

Watch the video after the jump.

[Source: Motorpasion]

Continue reading Prancing Steel Horse: custom Scuderia Ferrari chopper

Prancing Steel Horse: custom Scuderia Ferrari chopper originally appeared on Autoblog on Fri, 09 Feb 2007 17:03:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Ferrari North America has announced the schedule for the 2007 Ferrari Challenge series. The series gives private gentleman-racers the chance to compete in the longest-running sanctioned racing series behind the wheels of their own specially-prepared F430 Challenge cars at locations around North America, in parallel to series across the ocean.

The series has been running since 1993, when the 348 was the chosen vehicle, replaced two years later by the 355. While the earlier cars were retrofitted, the purpose-built 360 Challenge was introduced in 2000 and is being entirely phased out in the new season after one year of overlap with the 430. This season will bring the Ferrari Challenge series to Homestead, Florida the weekend of March 9-11, Infineon in California April 13-15, Virginia May 18-20, the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve in Montreal to coincide with the Canadian Grand Prix from June 8-10, up at the renovated Circuit Mont Tremblant the following weekend, down to California Speedway August 10-12, then at Laguna Seca the next weekend before the world finals in Italy in late October.

[Source: Ferrari North America]

Continue reading Ferrari NA prepares for 14th Challenge season

Ferrari NA prepares for 14th Challenge season originally appeared on Autoblog on Wed, 07 Feb 2007 11:02:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Shell Oil, those guys who are getting richer while we all get poorer at the gas pumps, are aiming to break the record for the most expensive advertisement, and the Super Bowl doesn't even factor into it. The fossil-fuels giant is a long-time sponsor of Scuderia Ferrari, and pours millions into the F1 team each year so that enthusiasts and consumers will associate its fuels - Shell V-Power high-performance gasoline, specifically - with Ferrari's racing success. But just to drive the point home even further, Shell is spending close to ?2 million to produce a television commercial.

Wondering how you could possibly spend that kind of cash on a TV ad? No big name endorsements; that's already taken care of. No elaborate sets or costly special effects; you don't need that when you've got a 700-horsepower F1 car at your disposal. The commercial is anticipated to feature an F1 race car speeding around the corners and down the streets of New York, London and Sydney. And we'll bet it's not going to be at five in the morning, either. Closing down big city streets in the middle of the day costs big, and Shell is spending big.

[Source: GrandPrix.com]

Shellfish! Ferrari and Shell close down major cities to film commercial originally appeared on Autoblog on Thu, 01 Feb 2007 13:02:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

The Caribbean doesn't usually factor in to the F1 world. There's no race on any of the islands. There are, of course, no teams based there. And the closest they have to a home-grown driver is British-born Lewis Hamilton, whose father comes from the region. But Barbados got a taste of the action yesterday when Ferrari brought Schumacher's 248 to the island for a demonstration.

The event was a promotion for Shell, one of the Scuderia's biggest sponsors. Test driver Marc Gene drove the car down an impromptu track on a closed-off section of the island's Ronald Mapp Highway between two Shell stations, a circuit which Gene likened to Monaco.

Over twenty thousand spectators showed up for the event. But while they were screaming with excitement, Gene couldn't hear them over the wail of the engine as he rocketed to sixty in under a second, hitting a top speed of over 270 kph.

It's doubtful the event will prove a precursor to a future Caribbean Grand Prix, but just the same it's good to share the octane.

[Source: The Nation via Italiaspeed]

Revving away in Margaritaville: Ferrari F1 demonstration in Barbados originally appeared on Autoblog on Tue, 28 Nov 2006 13:33:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

UK drivers: Feed your diesel the Audi R10's fuel originally appeared on Autoblog on Mon, 27 Nov 2006 15:34:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Did you like the last Shell Schumi ads we brought you? The commercials hit the German airwaves after the seven-time world champ retired, and we brought you episodes 1 & 3. Now, episode 2 has found its way onto the net, thanks to the same intrepid German fan.

This one features Michael standing like a cut-out of himself in the store at a Shell station, patiently holding his ground while the retail muzak plays. Well worth watching just to see how many Deutsche motorists do a double-take. Would you believe your eyes if you saw Schumacher standing in the corner of your local gas-n'-go?

VIDEO: What will Schumi do next? Part II originally appeared on Autoblog on Fri, 10 Nov 2006 12:58:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Between jaunts to his private isle and the possiblity of a test driving gig, it's an apt question. However, Shell seems to have the answer... or an answer anyway. Plus, it's an entertaining one at that.

In what appears to be a series of ads for German television, seven-time world champion Michael Schumacher greets surprised customers at a local gas station. Now I don't remember getting that kind of service the last time I filled up at the Shell station.

Liked the first one? Follow the jump to watch another!

[Source: Car Magazine]

Continue reading VIDEO: What will Schumi do next?

VIDEO: What will Schumi do next? originally appeared on Autoblog on Fri, 27 Oct 2006 13:05:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Ferrari Panamerican 20,000-mile adventure rolls into Los Angeles originally appeared on Autoblog on Wed, 25 Oct 2006 18:24:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.