[w/videos] Archives

Report: Porsche has doubled US sales to women [w/videos]

Filed under: Car Buying, Etc., Marketing/Advertising, Videos, Porsche, Luxury

Porsche sales to women have doubled in the past two years, contributing to a year-to-date sales increase of 31 percent.

Porsche is having a good sales year in the US, with 25,129 vehicles delivered year-to-date coming off the automaker’s best July sales ever. That’s a 31-percent increase over the same period last year (19,253 deliveries). With year-to-date Panamera sales a surprising 36 percent lower than last year, what possibly could be driving Porsche’s sales surge? If you answered Cayman and Boxster sales, you’re right. But dealerships are noticing another factor: more women are coming in to buy Porsches, CNBC reports, the bulk of whom picked up new Cayenne SUVs. The German automaker’s sales to women in the US have more than doubled in the past two years, increasing from 7 percent to 15 percent. This has helped year-to-date Cayenne sales reach 11,082 – 31 percent higher than the same time last year.

Porsche executives have been trying to tap into the women’s market, as evidenced in part by the company’s move to pick professional tennis player Maria Sharapova as a brand ambassador. Porsche maintains it has not moved to dramatically change its brand image, but it has shown a number of ads in recent years that uncharacteristically emphasize its vehicles’ practicality under the “Engineered for Magic. Everyday” banner – some featuring female drivers.

Be sure to watch CNBC‘s video report on Porsche’s female movement below – you’ll also find one of the aforementioned Engineered For Magic ads as well as an interesting case study video on the campaign from ad agency Cramer-Krasselt.

Continue reading Porsche has doubled US sales to women [w/videos]

Porsche has doubled US sales to women [w/videos] originally appeared on Autoblog on Wed, 21 Aug 2013 20:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Report: Man beats ticket on dashcam evidence, takes town to court [w/videos]

Filed under: Government/Legal

Vermont police pull over Rod MacIver

Rod MacIver wanted justice after being wronged by his local police department. He was pulled over and cited for running a red light, despite the officer’s dashcam video clearly shown that he hadn’t. When the matter went to court, the judge, after viewing the footage, threw the case out and dressed down the officer, Jason Lawton.

MacIver isn’t through, though, taking the matter to small claims court over the time and effort involved in beating his original ticket. Looking for $2,000 in damages, the 56-year-old resident argues that the department’s default attitude “was dishonesty in every encounter.”

With his day in court scheduled and Judge Samuel Hoar “looking forward to” the proceedings, neither the officer, his sergeant nor a department administrator were to be found. Only the Shelburne Police Department’s lawyer, Colin McNeil, showed up in court. Arguing that the burden of proof was on MacIver, the lawyer argued that the officers didn’t need to attend the proceedings (no joke, they were across the street at a coffee shop – insert donut jokes in three, two, one…), meaning the matter was set aside for a future date. While the matter still isn’t resolved, Judge Hoar informed McNeil that “it would be a mistake” for the officers to miss the next hearing, according to a report from WCAX.

Take a look at the full video below and the news report, and let us know what you think. Was there any reason for pulling MacIver over?

Continue reading Man beats ticket on dashcam evidence, takes town to court [w/videos]

Man beats ticket on dashcam evidence, takes town to court [w/videos] originally appeared on Autoblog on Tue, 30 Jul 2013 14:57:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Motorsports: Son resurrecting Mickey Thompson’s LSR Streamliner for Bonneville run [w/videos]

Filed under: Motorsports, Classics, Performance, Videos, Specialty, Racing

Mickey Thompson Autolite Special - vintage LSR car photograph at Bonneville

You’ve probably heard of Mickey Thompson, if not for racing home-built Indy cars or punting early Funny Cars down drag strips, perhaps for the tire company he founded, his successful forays into off-road racing or, crucially, his attempts to break land speed records at the Bonneville Salt Flats. In 1960, he became the fastest man in the world after going 406 miles per hour in his race car, the brutish four-engined Challenger I, but the record was never completed and made official due to a breakdown on the return run.

Tragedy struck when Mickey and his wife were murdered in front of their house.

“After years of planning to build a car that would go even faster than the Challenger I, things came together for Thompson in 1968, when his collaboration with Ford to put Mustang bodies onto his Funny Car drag racers morphed into something much bigger: the Challenger II LSR Streamliner. “The Challenger II project actually evolved out of a larger program originally intended to generate buzz for the introduction of the 1969 Mach I Mustang,” Danny Thompson, Mickey’s son, explained to Autoblog in an e-mail. “[Ford] decided to take three Mustangs to Bonneville and break as many records as they could,” he said, and Mickey Thompson was going to do the same with Funny Cars and the Challenger II using Ford’s 427 SOHC motorsport engine.

Ford was also closely involved with the design of the Challenger II through their Kar Kraft specialty shop,” Danny Thompson related. Ed Hull, who was involved with the GT40 Mark IV Le Mans racer, was just one of the sharp minds at Ford who contributed to the Challenger II, but Mickey Thompson and his hand-picked team were responsible for its construction.

And that’s where the Challenger II story ended, at least officially. It was prepared in time for Speed Week at the Salt Flats, and test runs were proving its mettle, but the dry lake bed wasn’t ready for the Challenger II after an unseasonal storm flooded the course. Even worse, 1969 brought no relief to Thompson and his team when Ford pulled the plug on racing activities. Years later, Mickey Thompson and his son planned to revive the Challenger II for a record-setting run in 1989, but tragedy struck when Mickey and his wife were murdered in front of their house, nixing any plans of running the streamliner. Scroll down to keep reading and to watch the videos.

Continue reading Son resurrecting Mickey Thompson’s LSR Streamliner for Bonneville run [w/videos]

Son resurrecting Mickey Thompson’s LSR Streamliner for Bonneville run [w/videos] originally appeared on Autoblog on Wed, 24 Jul 2013 19:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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ETC: Red Bull Soapbox winners and racers in all their glory [w/videos]

Filed under: Motorsports, Etc., Videos, UK

Red Bull Soapbox Race London UK

There is simply no end to the crazy stuff the crew from Red Bull will sponsor. From the well-known Formula 1 outfit to moped rallies to what you see here, soapbox racers, there seems to be nothing worth doing (or not, we suppose) that the energy drink isn’t interested in. And we’re thankful for that.

If not for Red Bull, where else in the world would you see grown men and women storm Alexandra Palace in the UK to spend a day barreling down a hill barricaded by hay bails with strategically placed jumps in gravity-driven wheeled vehicles just to get judged on their speed, creativity and showmanship? Nowhere. That’s where.

We can’t show you all 70-something teams that took part in the soapbox festivities in the UK this year, but we have managed to scrounge together a gallery of images from the event, and you can see videos of the top three finishers, along with some high- and low-lights, below.

Continue reading Red Bull Soapbox winners and racers in all their glory [w/videos]

Red Bull Soapbox winners and racers in all their glory [w/videos] originally appeared on Autoblog on Tue, 16 Jul 2013 19:28:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Vilner updates Smart Fortwo [w/videos]

Filed under: Aftermarket, Europe, Videos, Hatchback, Smart

2011 Vilner Smart fortwo

2011 Vilner Smart Fortwo – Click above for high-res image gallery

The 2011 Smart Fortwo, despite all its trying, is a car that needs all the help it can get. True, a big part of the car’s problem is that it just doesn’t make very much sense for the American market. That said, it’s underpowered, uninspiring to drive, terrifying on the highway, and not particularly efficient, given its size. It also features one of the worst transmissions in motoring.

Enter Vilner, a Bulgarian custom shop that has tried with some success to make the car just a little more appealing. Built for a Bulgarian businessman, the Vilner Smart Fortwo employs a design scheme the company has dubbed “square style.”

Inside and outside the car gets a square motif, which translates nicely into a completely redone interior featuring quilted upholstery. Outside, the car gets loud, oversize orange wheels and serious amounts of chrome. While Vilner takes the styling of the Smart to a new, supercar-aping level, the go bits have been left alone. Despite the lack of power adders, Vilner’s efforts have gone a long way to making the Fortwo a bit more appealing. Read the full press release and check out two videos after the jump.

Continue reading Vilner updates Smart Fortwo [w/videos]

Vilner updates Smart Fortwo [w/videos] originally appeared on Autoblog on Fri, 20 May 2011 14:29:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Unmodified Nissan Leaf entered in Pikes Peak Hill Climb [w/videos]

Filed under: Motorsports, Hatchback, Nissan, Electric

2011 Nissan Leaf

2011 Nissan Leaf – Click above for high-res image gallery

“With electric automobiles popping up like dandelions across the landscape of American driving, it’s no surprise that they will be part of the field at the 89th Pikes Peak International Hill Climb on June 26.”

So says the press release you’ll find waiting for your prying eyes after the break. While it’s true that we’re not exactly surprised that an electric car will make its way up to the top of the historic hill – there was, after all, a dedicated electric vehicle class for 2010 – we are a little curious whether a completely stock Nissan Leaf has any chance of dethroning current EV Hill Climb record holder Ikuo Hanawa of Japan.

Certainly, Leaf driver Chad Hord knows what he’s doing, as he currently pilots an off-road racing truck in the TORC series. In any case, we’ll find out soon enough if the Leaf’s 110 horsepower and 90-mile-per-hour top speed has the stuff to hang with the purpose-built EV racers; Hanawa will again contest the championship in his Concept two-wheel drive 2010 Custom Summit HER-02.

Oh, and about that dandelion thing… those are generally unwanted guests of those who actually care about keeping a lush carpet of green in their yards. Maybe not the way lovers of automotive greenery want to think of their rides, eh? Check out the complete press release after the break for all the details, and spend a few minutes watching Hanawa’s record-setting HER-02 do its thing on the Peak.

Gallery: 2010 Nissan LEAF

[Source: Pikes Peak International Hill Climb]

Continue reading Unmodified Nissan Leaf entered in Pikes Peak Hill Climb [w/videos]

Unmodified Nissan Leaf entered in Pikes Peak Hill Climb [w/videos] originally appeared on Autoblog on Mon, 25 Apr 2011 16:31:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Review: Shift 2 Unleashed [w/videos]

Filed under: Toys/Games, Reviews

Need For Speed Gets Real

Shift 2 Unleashed Review – Click above for high-res image gallery

It was a risky proposition: taking a series as fabled for its antics as Need for Speed and placing it into the cold, calculating hands of a simulation developer. That developer is Slightly Mad Studios, which has roots to the SimBin team that created the groundbreaking GTR on the PC. The resulting game was the first Need for Speed: Shift – truly a fresh title and, more importantly, a truly great racer, managing to straddle the console racing and simulation genres and do both admirably well.

Now, it’s sequel time. Ian Bell, sim-racing guru and co-founder of Slightly Mad, said that this game has the “most advanced physics system ever released.” We’re not sure we’d go quite that far, but in testing this one we’re quite confident in saying that this is certainly the most realistic Need for Speed game yet, which is perhaps why it’s officially shedding that prefix and just billing itself as Shift 2 on the PS3, xBox 360, and PC. Still, not everyone will enjoy the punishment this game can offer, so read on to see whether this is one supercar sim that’s for you.

Continue reading Review: Shift 2 Unleashed…

Gallery: Shift 2 Unleashed

Continue reading Review: Shift 2 Unleashed [w/videos]

Review: Shift 2 Unleashed [w/videos] originally appeared on Autoblog on Tue, 29 Mar 2011 15:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Geneva 2011: AC Schnitzer comes strong with sporty diesel BMW Z4, tuned 550i [w/videos]

Filed under: Aftermarket, Concept Cars, Convertible, Sedan, Performance, Geneva Motor Show, Europe, BMW, Specialty, Diesel

AC Schnitzer 99d

2011 AC Schnitzer 99d – Click above for high-res image gallery

AC Schnitzer has showed up at the Geneva Motor Show with not one, but two fresh-off-the-press upgrade packages for 2011.

Not wanting to look completely unfriendly to Mother Earth, AC Schnitzer has taken their expertise to the Z4 and BMW’s EfficientDynamics system, working over a 320d mill to go under the Z4’s hood. The 2011 AC Schnitzer 99d gets a 70-hp boost to 190, hits 60 in 6.9 seconds, releases a scant 99g of C02 per mile and returns a handsome 63 mpg in the European cycle. That, according to Schnitzer, is better than any BMW on the market. Unfortunately, the 99d is just a concept, and won’t be available to the public any time soon.

For the family minded executives attending the show, AC Schnitzer started with the 2011 BMW 550i, bumping the car from 407 to 540 horsepower. According to Schnitzer, the result is a 4.5-second 0-60 sprint and a whopping 198 mph top end. The engine exhales through a new set of the tuner’s own mufflers capped with chrome surrounds. The resulting executive express has been dubbed the ACS5 Sport S.

Hauling all that energy to a stop is a revised set of brakes sporting eight-piston calipers. Outside, Schnitzer went all-out to ensure that the car would be stable at its newfound velocity. The laundry list of exterior mods includes a front spoiler, carbon ducts for the brakes, new engine bay vents and, of course, your choice of 20 or 21-inch AC Schnitzer custom wheels.

Check out the official videos and press releases after the jump.

Gallery: AC Schnitzer 99d: Geneva 2011

Gallery: AC Schnitzer ACS5 Sport S: Geneva 2011

[Source: AC Schnitzer]

Continue reading Geneva 2011: AC Schnitzer comes strong with sporty diesel BMW Z4, tuned 550i [w/videos]

Geneva 2011: AC Schnitzer comes strong with sporty diesel BMW Z4, tuned 550i [w/videos] originally appeared on Autoblog on Thu, 03 Mar 2011 14:01:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Opinion: Ranking the automotive Super Bowl ads from best to worst [w/videos]

Filed under: Marketing/Advertising, Videos

Volkswagen and Chrysler lead

Volkswagen Passat uses The Force

Super Bowl XLV car ads – Click above to see the videos and their rankings after the jump

The Super Bowl is a contest of advertisers as much as it is for two football teams seeking championship rings, the big trophy and bragging rights.

The Super Bowl is one of the few times a year that most of the country is gathered around a single event.

This year, twelve of the advertisers are from the auto sector: Chevrolet, Chrysler, BMW, Mini, Mercedes-Benz, Volkswagen, Audi, Hyundai, Kia, Suzuki, Cars.com and Bridgestone.

Why so many car related ads? 2011 is widely seen as a breakout year for the auto industry. In 2008 and 2009, sales fell below 11 million, about one-third less than the industry had been doing in the early part of the decade. Sales in 2010 were better and sales are forecasted to come back even stronger this year.

The slowly recovering economy has kept a lot of consumers out of the new car showrooms. But cars and trucks are getting older. The U.S. has seen a sales rate below the annual scrap rate for a few years now. The stock market is back to where it was before the 2008 economic meltdown. Unemployment is ticking down. Things are looking up.

“The Super Bowl is one of the few times a year that most of the country is gathered around a single event,” says General Motors marketing chief Joel Ewanick, who bought five ads at $2.7-$3 million per to advertise Chevrolet models. Chrysler marketing chief Olivier Francois says, “There is no better place for a real coming out,” referring to a slate of newly designed vehicles Chysler is releasing this year. Chrysler bought an unprecedented two-minute ad.

Continue reading and to see the rankings of the Top 10.

Continue reading Opinion: Ranking the automotive Super Bowl ads from best to worst [w/videos]

Opinion: Ranking the automotive Super Bowl ads from best to worst [w/videos] originally appeared on Autoblog on Mon, 07 Feb 2011 15:01:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Opinion: VW webisodes with SNL’s Bill Hader go awry [w/videos]

Filed under: Marketing/Advertising, Videos, Volkswagen

VW Jetta and Bill Hader

Bill Hader and the Volkswagen Jetta – Click above to watch the videos after the break

If you have watched Saturday Night Live the last couple of years, you may share my opinion that the only things truly funny is Weekend Update, when cast members do a really good parody of real people like Sarah Palin, Barack Obama and the like, or when the cast produces video set-pieces before-hand.

When the show goes into original sketches, it can be a long hard, painful, unfunny slog. And this brings me to a new set of video webisodes produced by Volkswagen and ad agency Deutsch/LA starring SNL cast-member Bill Hader.

Webisodes are an increasingly common and important marketing tool used by companies, especially automakers. Ford has especially been making wide use of them as it seeks to be king of social media. The thinking goes like this: We are limited to 30-second and 60-second ads on TV because of cost, but why not get jiggier with longer-form pieces on the Net where we don’t have to pay for time.

The best of this medium remains BMW’s The Hire series of web films.

Click here to continue reading how VW went wrong.

Continue reading Opinion: VW webisodes with SNL’s Bill Hader go awry [w/videos]

Opinion: VW webisodes with SNL’s Bill Hader go awry [w/videos] originally appeared on Autoblog on Fri, 07 Jan 2011 19:58:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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