Tag: buyers

Report: No more Dodge vehicles for UK buyers

Filed under: Car Buying, Europe, Dodge, UK

Redcoats vs. Dodge logo

The Dodge “Freedom” ad still stands out in our minds as an example of excellent automotive advertising. The spot shows British troops patrolling on U.S. soil when a cavalry of American troops are led out of the woods. Helming the charge is a no-nonsense George Washington behind the wheel of a Dodge Challenger. The British troops flee and the U.S. marches on towards its eventual freedom from the Queen’s empire. Fast forward a few hundred years and our friends across the pond are not buying Dodge vehicles the way the automaker would prefer, and company insiders have told Autocar that the brand will no longer sell cars in the United Kingdom.

Recently, Dodge pulled the plug on the Nitro and Caliber due to dismal sales. Now we hear it has also waxed the Journey from price lists – the last Dodge model for sale over there. According to Autocar, Fiat plans to utilize the existing dealer network to launch Chrysler-badged Lancias throughout the UK and Europe.

It’s typically sad news to hear an automaker forced to pull out of a specific region or area, but in this case, it seems like Chrysler and Fiat are making smart choices. If the two work together to sell the right vehicles where people want to buy them, then this American-Italian marriage is getting off on the right foot.

[Source: Autocar]

Report: No more Dodge vehicles for UK buyers originally appeared on Autoblog on Tue, 28 Sep 2010 14:31:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Study: Car buyers not impressed by celeb endorsements. How about you? [w/poll]

Filed under: Car Buying, Etc., Celebrities

Kate Walsh Cadillac ad

As Americans, there’s no denying we have a healthy obsession with the lives of celebrities. From movie stars like Will Smith down to reality television “stars” like The Situation, people are curious as to what’s going on in their world. What clothes do they wear, where do they get their groceries and what kind of car(s) do they buy? Sometimes a celebrity won’t have much say in the vehicle they drive because they sign a sizable endorsement deal to tell us which vehicle we should be driving. As sales numbers for thousands of celeb-endorsed products will tell you, their stamp of approval can make a difference in a bust or boom period for a product. Well, as long as that product isn’t a car.

According to WhatCar, celebrity endorsements only affect one percent of car buyers. They polled over 1,000 folks and just 11 said they could be encouraged by someone famous telling them what to buy. Obviously, a car buyer should purchase the vehicle that makes the most sense to them, not the one that Kate Walsh (above) likens to trying on a good dress. Exceptions can be made, however, for anyone who purchased a Chrysler Cordoba because of its soft Corinthian leather, of which the virtues were extolled beautifully by Ricardo “KHAN” Montalban.

What say you? Can Justin Timberlake convince you to buy an Audi or does Mike Rowe explaining how great the Ford F-150 is make you picture a Chevrolet Silverado in your driveway?

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[Source: WhatCar]

Study: Car buyers not impressed by celeb endorsements. How about you? [w/poll] originally appeared on Autoblog on Mon, 20 Sep 2010 14:57:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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