Omni Automotive Advertising Blog

Much attention is being paid to the recent admission by Toyota over the recalls. If you haven’t seen the commercial yet, here it is.

On Monday morning, Alan Mulally, president and chief executive of the Ford Motor Company, introduced the 2012 Ford Focus at the Detroit Auto Show. The Focus is being touted as the savior for Ford, akin to what the K-car was for Chrysler.

In the US, the Focus will be powered by a new 2-liter direct-injection gas engine whereas in Europe it will be diesel powered. Sedan and hatchback models will arrive in 2011. Updated designs will sport “a European look”.

Read the NY Times article here.

Ford is also counting on the Focus’ fuel efficiency to encourage consumers to switch to the Ford line. The redesigned Focus features a small bump on the vehicle’s taillights that reduces air turbulence and allows the car to travel further on a tank of gas.

Read the Wall Street Journal article here.

New-car sales figures released today seem to indicate a growing increase. According to the nytimes.com article, In November, Car Sales Show Signs of Stability, General Motors, Ford Motor, Toyota and Honda said their sales were about the same last month as they were a year ago. The only major carmaker to report a large drop was Chrysler, whose sales fell 25 percent. Hyundai, in contrast, reported a 46 percent increase. Estimates from G.M. and Chrysler were selling at a rate of about 11 million in November, slightly higher that October’s rate of about 10.5 million. This is much higher than the low rate of about 9 million seen in the early part of 2009.

In response to rising demand, G.M. said it would build 75 percent more vehicles in the first quarter than it did a year earlier, and Ford said it would raise first-quarter production by 58 percent. Both companies had been drastically cutting production since the middle of last year.

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According to a article on cnnmoney.com, the best day of the year to buy a car is on Black Friday, the day after Thanksgiving. Based on data by analysts on Truecar.com, discounts on that day will, on the average, be the biggest of the year.

“The discounts from dealerships, as well as manufacturers’ incentives, generate the highest discounts of the year on Black Friday,” said Jesse Toprak, an analyst for Truecar.com.

The average new car discount on Nov. 27 is projected to be 7.5%. The average discount the day before and after is expected to be just over 6%. On a typical day throughout the year, car shoppers usually pay about 4.7% less than the sticker price.

The article cites some dealers going to less-traditional measures to bring in customers. For instance, Paragon Honda will send bicycle riders dressed in gorilla costumes to a nearby Best Buy store.

Other dealers, like Bob Goldberg, general manager of Premium Nissan in New Rochelle, NY, denied that Black Friday is particularly special at his dealership. “Every day is important to us,” he said. “I don’t consider it different from any other day.”

Read the entire article at cnnmoney.com

With all the financial turmoil of the past year Hyundai took some bold steps to bring their brand to the forefront. It all started with one bold statement, “Now finance or lease any new Hyundai, and if you lose your income in the next year, you can return it with no impact on your credit.” While other automakers slashed their budgets and cut back on advertising, Hyundai took advantage, placing ads in two of the largest viewed television events, the Super Bowl and The Academy Awards.

Hyundai’s market share jumped to 4.3% in the first ten months of 2009 from 3.1% in the same year-ago period. In September, while the industry overall suffered a 22% sales drop in a post-Cash for Clunkers hangover, Hyundai managed to increase its new-vehicle tally by 27% to 31,511 units.

Read the complete article on AdAge.com.