San Francisco Auto Show marketing highlights

Yesterday I attended the San Francisco auto show to geek out over the latest cars. A few companies stood out in their marketing efforts to connect their brands with passive customers. Chrysler had special photo zones around popular cars such as the Dodge Viper, a Chrysler 300 Dubs Edition with gull-wing doors, and the Chrysler Phaeton concept car. The company setup special floor mats as photo zones and attendees lined up to have their picture taken. Chrysler representatives handed special cards to everyone they photographed with a URL and access code to retrieve their digital photograph the next day. Subaru…

Ferrari theme park in Abu Dhabi

Abu Dhabi will have the world’s first Ferrari theme park in 2008. The project includes virtual driving simulations as well as a race track and driving circuits. How fun! Imagine going to the racetrack every year to try out the latest $500,000 car. Spending a day with Ferraris will likely be a very expensive visit to the park. Tags: ferrari…

Chrysler launches Firehouse Blog for journalists

Earlier this week DaimlerChrysler introduced The Firehouse, a blog authored by company executives and created as a continuing conversation with professional journalists between periods of typical briefings such as auto shows. DaimlerChrysler has a tradition of turning an old Detroit firehouse, Chrysler Firehouse, into a press-only gathering spot every year during the North American International Auto Show. DaimlerChrysler is expanding this communication event through weblogs and other tools to answer questions year-round in a semi-public forum. I contacted Jason Vines, DaimlerChrysler’s Vice President of Communications, and was told that The Firehouse is a place for reporters to relax and mingle,…

Porsche to introduce hybrids in 2008

Porsche is planning to introduce a hybrid powertrain in its Cayenne sports utility vehicle in the 2008 model year. Combined with the new Cayman it’s obvious Porsche is trying to decrease performance and aim for the lower end of the performance car market. Porsche sales are currently divided almost equally between its Boxster, Cayenne, and 911 product lines. In my mind the 911 is the only true Porsche and I am definitely alone in this opinion. A Boxster is for someone who can not afford a real Porsche and the Cayenne is for someone that wants to feel sporty while…

MEGA-RIM$

Rimmer’s Rims are the illest thing on the street! It’s not about practicality, it’s about mackticality. “May impede your car’s ability to execute turns.” (via Autoblog)…

Telematic insurance

Insurer Norwich Union will place 5,000 black boxes in cars in the U.K. to collect data about driving and travel habits. GPS coordinates are used to determine a car’s route, usage time, and speed. Data are uploaded to the insurer’s computer system and you receive a monthly bill based on your personal driving habits and risk factors. A car hooked up with GPS and telematics is also more difficult to steal….

Slate: California’s SUV ban

Andy Bowers noticed a sign near his house prohibiting vehicles over 6000 pounds and upon further investigation discovered most large SUVs are technically banned in entire cities. Just as most of us instinctively check our speed when we drive by a police car, these luxury truckers should think twice about cruising illegally down Wilshire past a Santa Monica cop. If a few Tahoe owners got slapped with tickets for driving while overweight, the rest of them might actually start learning where their vehicles are legal….