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Gangnam Style and Swagger Wagon influence makes it to local Hyundai dealer ads

Jonathon Ramsey — Mon, 07 Jan 2013 12:45:00 EST

Filed under: Marketing/Advertising, Videos, Hyundai, Humor

It used to be that a wild car dealership commercial meant a screaming frontman in a hideous suit making terrible puns and begging for you to help him out of some terrible predicament having to do with surplus inventory. No more - as production values have increased so has the number of commercials to so unusual that you spend the first few seconds trying to believe what you're seeing.

Parkway Motors and Parkway Hyundai of Valencia, California have added to the pile of commercials that make us say, "Hey, now that's interesting...." The Parkway Motors video joins a genre that blew up with the Swagger Wagon ad for the Toyota Sienna from almost three years ago, the recent Fiat 500L ad "The Motherhood" also part of the same club. The second, for Hyundai, "borrows" from Psy's "Gangnam Style" to move the kind of metal for "when you want to look cool, cruising in style."

You can check them both out below.

Continue reading Gangnam Style and Swagger Wagon influence makes it to local Hyundai dealer ads

Gangnam Style and Swagger Wagon influence makes it to local Hyundai dealer ads originally appeared on Autoblog on Mon, 07 Jan 2013 12:45:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Has VP Joe Biden leaked Fisker's product plan?

Chris Shunk — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 14:32:00 EST

Filed under: Hybrid, Government/Legal, Plants/Manufacturing, Fisker

Regardless of what side of the political fence you find yourself on, it's hard to dispute that vice president Joe Biden has a reputation for saying more than he should. That's not always a good thing when you're privy to some of the most important secrets of what is arguably the most powerful nation on earth. Happily for car fans, our veep's "gift" seems to apply to automakers as well.

When Biden addressed the media at Fisker's recently purchased Wilmington, Delaware plant, the VP reportedly got pretty glib with Fisker's future product plans. Among the tidbits that Biden spilled beans on was the planned production volume of Project Nina. We already knew that Fisker was gearing up to build Project Nina - a plug-in hybrid rumored to cost less than $40,000 - somewhere in the States, but we didn't know that the fledgling automaker planned to build up to 100,000 copies of the still unseen and unproven PHEV, and that's exactly what our VP indicates. Biden also reportedly described the new sedan's design, saying it looks like a 'four-door Ferrari.' After the press conference, company founder Henrik Fisker apparently told Fox News that Biden "definitely told what our product plans are." Oops.

We don't know if Biden actually spoke out of turn or not, but given the VP's reputation for doing so, we're wondering if Fisker intended to tip its product plans hand this early in the game. Fisker can't complain too much, though, since the U.S. government loaned his company $529 million in spite of the fact that it won't make a car in the U.S. until the middle of the next decade. The automaker's first offering, the Karma, doesn't arrive until late next year, and it will be made in Finland.

[Source: The Car Connection | Image: Jeff Fusco/Getty]

Has VP Joe Biden leaked Fisker's product plan? originally appeared on Autoblog on Wed, 28 Oct 2009 14:32:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Officially Official: Fisker buys GM's Wilmington Delaware plant

Sam Abuelsamid — Tue, 27 Oct 2009 13:00:00 EST

Filed under: Hybrid, Sedan, Government/Legal, Hirings/Firings/Layoffs, Plants/Manufacturing, Fisker

In Wilmington, Delaware this morning, Governor Jack Markell was joined by Vice President Joe Biden and Henrik Fisker (seen at right) for the official announcement about the purchase of General Motors' closed plant there. Fisker will re-tool the plant to build a new, more affordable plug-in hybrid sedan to slot in below its more luxurious Karma. The goal is to have the model sell for under $40,000 after federal tax credits.

The current schedule is to have the car in production by the end of 2012 with volumes getting up to 75,000-100,000 units annually by 2014. Fisker has moved up its development schedule for what they are calling Project Nina thanks to the $528 million low cost loan it recently received courtesy of the Department of Energy. During the announcement, Fisker stated that he wants to export half of the production from the plant while creating 5,000 jobs in the U.S. (2,000 at the plant and 3,000 at suppliers). The local UAW president was also on hand, so it looks like the plant will remain unionized, which is very unusual for a startup auto plant.

Fisker is paying $18 million for the factory from Motors Liquidation which is the remainder of "Old GM" which is selling off assets from bankruptcy court. The plant most recently produced the Pontiac Solstice and Saturn Sky, both of which ended production last spring.

Gallery: Fisker Karma

[Source: Fisker Automotive | Photo by Jeff Fusco/Getty]

Continue reading Officially Official: Fisker buys GM's Wilmington Delaware plant

Officially Official: Fisker buys GM's Wilmington Delaware plant originally appeared on Autoblog on Tue, 27 Oct 2009 13:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Will GM consider moving its headquarters out of Detroit? [w/POLL]

Chris Paukert — Tue, 12 May 2009 13:20:00 EST

Filed under: GM, Earnings/Financials

Yesterday's media question-and-answer session with General Motors' CEO Fritz Henderson didn't reveal much in the way of actual news, but at least one question raised a few eyebrows: "Is GM considering moving its corporate headquarters?"

While that's an unlikely scenario, Henderson stopped short of denying the possibility, saying: We're looking at, frankly, everything within our business, but it's not like we have that queued up at the top of our list." Henderson also admitted: "We don't have any such plan... but if we did it would be motivated by business rationale, which would be cost, efficiency and speed."

So, where might GM defect to? Detroit Free Press scribe Tom Walsh suggests that Wilmington, Delaware (the city where GM is incorporated) could be a possibility, or even just down the road to Warren, MI near GM's Tech Center complex is located.

Admittedly, a move by GM out of its Renaissance Center headquarters remains unlikely, but Detroit's already skittish residents and politicians are already bristling on the city's airwaves at Henderson's less-than-firm response to the question. What do you think? Answer our poll below.

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[Source: The Detroit News | Image: Bill Pugliano/Getty]

Will GM consider moving its headquarters out of Detroit? [w/POLL] originally appeared on Autoblog on Tue, 12 May 2009 13:20:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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