Marketing

After Ford Motor Co. and General Motors ended production of compact cars, many former car owners continued to purchase sedans instead of switching to crossovers and SUVs, according to an Edmunds analysis. So far in 2019, 23 percent of former Chevy Cruze owners and 31 percent of former Ford Focus owners bought a car from

Tonawanda’s mark will live forever on the engine of the 2020 Chevrolet Corvette. Each midengine Corvette has a chrome placard on the valve cover reading, “Built by Chevrolet Tonawanda the number 1 team.” The original small block V-8 engine was built at Tonawanda Engine Plant in Buffalo, N.Y., more than 60 years ago. General Motors

Ford Motor Co., which has been using Bryan Cranston as its celebrity spokesman, is adding another star to its marketing mix. Actor Idris Elba will serve as “creative partner” to help launch a Mustang-inspired electric crossover Nov. 17 and appear in a global marketing campaign for the vehicle. Ford is leveraging the fact that Elba

TOKYO — The odds were against it, but the beleaguered Tokyo Motor Show — championed and reinvented by Toyota boss Akio Toyoda — not only met its ambitious attendance target but exceeded the 1 million-visitor goal by good measure when doors closed this week. Toyoda, who also is chairman of the show’s organizer, the Japan

Chevrolet hasn’t started building the midengine Corvette yet, but it managed to deliver the first one last week. Or, at least it pretended to on live TV. Chevy gives a vehicle to the MVP of the World Series in conjunction with its Major League Baseball sponsorship. For the past two years, the prize was a

Cars.com has hired veteran auto industry marketing executive Dean Evans to lead the company’s efforts in creating new marketing tools, including digital video, intended to boost dealer profitability. Evans, 51, became Cars.com executive vice president, a newly created position, on Oct. 28. He reports directly to Cars.com CEO Alex Vetter, the company announced Wednesday as

Audi has tapped ad agency 72andSunny for a global campaign, but is expected to continue working with Venables Bell & Partners in the U.S. The Volkswagen Group-owned luxury brand on Tuesday announced that 72andSunny would handle a project aimed at redefining Audi’s “Vorsprung durch Technik​” marketing slogan, which  translates to “progress through technology.” The tagline,

The reign of crossovers and SUVs as the cool vehicles of choice in the U.S. and Europe is about to come to an end, some automotive executives say. That’s because young customers are poised to rebel against the high-riding models in favor of sleek sedans to avoid being like their parents. “The sedan is the

Mitsubishi Motors may not have the big size and ample philanthropy budgets of rival automakers in the U.S., but it still seeks to make a difference in the communities where it sells vehicles through its new corporate social responsibility program, Small Batch — Big Impact. Over the course of 10 days this month, the Japanese

NASHVILLE — The bright red Nissan badge that will appear on the front grille of the 2020 Titan XD PRO-4X pickup next year is more than a fashion statement. It’s a signal that Nissan’s strategy in the full-size pickup market is shifting. Big pickups remain the gotta-have vehicle for millions of earnest American contractors, farmers,

Dean Evans, the marketing whiz behind Hyundai’s sometimes cheeky and sometimes moving Super Bowl ads, is leaving his position as head of U.S. marketing with many laurels to rest on. But that’s not how he operates. Evans remains passionate about the auto industry after 30 years living through its ups and downs and plans a

Hyundai Motor America has named Angela Zepeda from the Innocean agency as its new chief marketing officer, following the exit of Dean Evans from the position last week to pursue new a business venture. Zepeda, senior vice president and managing director at the automaker’s agency of record, will be responsible for all of Hyundai’s marketing

Hyundai Motor America’s hard-charging marketing chief, Dean Evans, is leaving the Korean automaker after “four highly successful years” to pursue a new business opportunity, the company said Friday. Brian Smith, the COO of Hyundai’s U.S. arm, will take over Evans’ duties on an interim basis. “Hyundai is greatly appreciative to Dean for his contributions,” the

America’s cupholder war, meet America’s soft drink war. Ford Motor Co. enlisted Dr Pepper to highlight the 15 cupholders in its Expedition SUV by creating a limited-edition 15-pack of cans. It planned to give away boxes Saturday, Oct. 12, at the Texas-Oklahoma college football game in Dallas. “We’re solving one of Expedition’s last unsolved big

PSA Group has bolstered its marketing chops as company executives continue to plot the re-entry of Peugeot into the North American market. Lisa Mark will become chief marketing officer and vice president, the company said Wednesday. She is expected to lead all aspects of Peugeot’s go-to-market strategy as the company returns to the continent for

The roof of a Toyota dealership in Knoxville, Tenn., became the temporary home of a local sports radio host last week. At least he hoped it would be just temporary. Tyler Ivens of station WNML promised to stay atop the store overlooking Interstate 40 until the University of Tennessee football team got its next win.

Holoride, a German technology company spun off by Audi, has teamed up with Ford Motor Co. and Universal Pictures to offer what it says is the first in-vehicle virtual reality experience available to the public. The experience is being offered for free from Monday, Oct. 14, through Nov. 9 at Universal CityWalk Hollywood in Los

The National Basketball Association lost almost all of its major Chinese sponsors in the country, the league’s biggest market outside the U.S., as the government flexes its economic muscle after a tweet backing Hong Kong’s protesters triggered a backlash. A local joint venture of Nissan Motor Co. was the latest to distance itself from the

TOKYO — Glitzy girl J-pop groups, esports tournaments, drone racing, drifting demos and even a cross-dressing celebrity endorsement. Japan seeks to thwart the downward spiral of global auto shows by making its own flagship event, well, less of an auto show. Indeed, this month’s Tokyo Motor Show is being pitched as a kind of automotive

CHICAGO — When Katherine Johnson Cannata was a teenager answering phones at her father’s dealership in Clarksville, Tenn., the shop foreman asked her whether she would come back and work in the business after college. “Probably not,” the young Cannata said. “Why would I?” More than 35 years later, Cannata, 51, has figured out the

LOS ANGELES — Acura is highlighting its history of producing memorable sports cars for the road and the track with a marketing campaign that will show up across social media channels and broadcast TV, including high-profile NFL games. The ad push begins Monday with a 30-second video featuring iconic vehicles from the past such as

Dodge has one of the industry’s most engaged customer bases. That passion is a source of inspiration when it comes to the Charger sedan, an aging nameplate that Dodge has tried to keep fresh through the years with engine options, styling tweaks and special editions on a platform with roots dating to 2004. The Charger’s

The Frankfurt auto show is doomed. It’s hard to come to any other conclusion after the number of visitors to this year’s event fell by nearly a third. Even before the event opened to the public on Sept. 12, the buzz surrounding it suggested things were grim. The absence of brands including Toyota, Renault, Peugeot,

The green Land Rover logo will soon be sliding downhill fast — not on vehicles, but on skis, snowboards and uniforms. As part of a marketing push to raise U.S. awareness and sales, Land Rover has signed a three-year sponsorship with the U.S. governing body for Olympic ski and snowboard sports. Combined with its sponsorship

LOS ANGELES — Honda is using a “what if” advertising spot on the emotional impact of a vehicle-pedestrian collision as the centerpiece of a broader marketing campaign on its commitment to safety systems. The campaign highlights features that protect not only the drivers and passengers of its vehicles, but pedestrians, cyclists and occupants of other

When esports gamers on Team Liquid arrived in Detroit for a major tournament last month, they donned new playoff jerseys with a prominent Honda logo on the left sleeve. Their opponent for the North American gaming championship, Cloud9, also had refreshed uniforms with a BMW logo on the right sleeve. Thousands of fans poured into

Mercedes-Benz is in a legal dispute with four artists who wanted compensation after the luxury brand photographed its vehicles in front of their murals for social media posts. The artists threatened to sue Mercedes, which then sued them in an effort to get court approval to use the photographs, the Detroit Free Press reported. But

DETROIT — Just north of downtown here, a big, white dome sits like an inflated parachute alongside the busiest north-south interstate in Michigan. The oddly shaped structure is unlike anything else around — an architectural curiosity whose billowy, bulbous shape is simultaneously intriguing and inviting to the occupants of the more than 150,000 vehicles that

The 2020 Lincoln Aviator’s “Fresh Take” ad campaign — the latest featuring actor Matthew McConaughey — launches Saturday. The campaign will start off Saturday with takeovers on Twitter and YouTube with its broadcast debut during the Notre Dame football game at 2:30 p.m. EDT on NBC. The television ad by agency Hudson Rouge was directed

DETROIT — Ford Motor Co. says fear of high gas prices no longer motivates buyers to seek out low-emission vehicles, so it’s leveraging the reputations of its two most renowned models to spark interest in upcoming electric vehicles across its lineup. “People are now used to $4- or $5-a-gallon gasoline. They might gulp at $5