Car Commercials, the good, the bad, and the annoying!

fintail

Wouldn't being a "comeback" mean you were once good, then faltered, then became good again?

I observe all entrants into the market, not just the Germans.

ateixeira

I was referring to them closing their plant in Canada, vs. now running out of capacity.

Their biggest problem now is not any competition - it's capacity.

fintail

Canada embraced Hyundai earlier and stronger than the US in the early days, but when reality caught up with the products, demand couldn't be sustained. They learned from mistakes, if anything.

The new US facilities should be able to do a lot, I doubt any legitimate supply problems will develop.

ateixeira

They got a different Super Bowl ad:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HA-pGQ7aojY&feature=player_embedded

explorerx4

I don't see any point in bringing up 80 year old geopolitics into a topic on car commercials.

ateixeira

Then you should ask fintail to stop bringing up "coddling".

fintail

I'd say the mention of a regime which failed 67 years ago isn't quite the same as aid to a conglomerate which exists today. Nobody will deny said regime aided its domestic industry, but some don't like to be reminded of the huge aid given to the chaebol.

On the commercial front, in my area Hyundai has apparently stopped running any ads for the Equus (there were 2 different ads on local TV at one time), maybe in preparation for a not so KDM upcoming model.

ateixeira

Home field advantage has been enjoyed over the ages, let's just leave it at that.

To bring us back on topic, Chrysler seemed to exploit that even after the Fiat ownership, which is kind of funny.

fintail

Oh, I will bring up the coddling whenever it is relevant :shades: Home field advantage or competitor field advantage depending on how total the submission to unregulated free trade...

Made in USA (or Canada) by an Italian owned company...flag waving sells no matter the facts.

ateixeira

unregulated free trade...

Does that exist anywhere?

fintail

Not in absolutes, but probably here more than anywhere else. I don't know if we have much more than the chicken tax. Heck, we give de facto subsidies to our competitors and then balk at aiding the home team.

Still seeing "Now That's a Hyundai" a lot.

anythngbutgm

I'm sorry but I swear Toyota has the tackiest marketing sometimes.

Anyone have the "Toyota's talking Cash, cash, cash" ad in their area?

Terrible, so much that I need to change the channel as soon as it comes on. :sick:

fintail

Saw my first ad for the new GS, a lease ad, something like 569 or 599 with something like 3000 down (it was early in the morning, the details are hazy).

lemko

There are much nicer cars you can BUY for less. Besides, what kind of frontin' poseur would choose an anonymous Lexus with a 1961 Plymouth grille for his ride? Wouldn't he or she want something more flashy with a more prestigious badge?

fintail

I am sure it is a nice car, the closest the GS has yet to come to the competition. It undercuts the Germans by a little too, but not like in the past. But, it is boring looking and that lease rate appears to be no bargain.

It will sell though, Lexus fans find prestige in something that isn't great looking or fun to drive - they will claim not to be badge snobs like "all the rest", but they are.

texases

Don't dismiss the new GS, it gave the A6 a close fight in the latest CandD review, and the inference was it would have beat the BMW 5 and Infiniti M, had they been included.

ab348

That sounds more like C&D doing their usual "the last car introduced is always the best thing ever" approach than anything about the car.

If you want a driver's car, buy something made in Germany. If you want a Japanese car, buy something cheap.

stever

Well, let's not get carried away and pass up a Miata for a smart Fourtwo.

xrunner2

Wouldn't he or she want something more flashy with a more prestigious badge?

Prestige? OK. Not available so far from Amrican brands. Cadillac is trying hard, not there yet. BMW, Mercedes, Audi, Infiniti, Lexus, Acura - those are the prestige brands for sale in the U.S.

fintail

Infiniti and Acura maybe being on a different tier.

ateixeira

we give de facto subsidies to our competitors and then balk at aiding the home team.

Not me, I was in favor of the bailout to GM and Chrysler.

We should have a simple rule - reciprocity. Tax American goods at a certain rate, we do the same.

Ditch the most favored nation crap.

ateixeira

GS is around 3700 lbs; most competitors are 2 tons plus.

Go sit in one, it's obvious you haven't. It's very nice inside, comfortable, roomy front and back, lots of eye candy (12.3" LCD screen). It feels expensive.

Let's evaluate cars based on their merits.

texases

"If you want a driver's car, buy something made in Germany. If you want a Japanese car, buy something cheap."

You REALLY need to read the CandD, then, especially their long-term test of a 5er. Very disappointing, with MULTIPLE bent rims, and not much nice to say about it, given the price.

fintail

I have to say I was impressed by the GS. It's big inside, very well finished, still can't get that finished metal trim out of my head. Don't know how it drives, but a true sweetheart lease (not 599 for a base model) would be tempting seeing the pricey leases on the Germans lately.

texases

How was the headroom? Previous GSs were very tight for me.

fintail

I'm 6'1" and fit fine, although I did have the seat fairly far back, but I prefer that position. The car seemed a little larger larger than a W212 E-class, and it's much larger feeling (and looking) than the popular 98-05 generation.

texases

Friend had an older one, I had to tilt my head with the seat all the way down and back...

lemko

This is about the only GS that really impresses me!

ab348

Exactly!

iluvmysephia1

This is about the only GS that really impresses me!

Right down ta that bright yeller paint job that is one impressive GS!

ateixeira

still can't get that finished metal trim out of my head

I know exactly how you feel - I felt the same way about that bizarre textured wood trim in the new 3 series.

Have you checked one of those out yet? It's just ... odd.

It's optional but that's all I can remember about the new 3er.

andres3

When I saw that non-sensical commerical I thought this:

If this is halftime, then:

1) the first quarter must of been Chrysler's first bailout.

2) Halftime must be the 2nd bailout of Chrysler and first for GM.

3) The third quarter must be when Chrysler expects my tax money to bail them out a 3rd time, GM a 2nd.

4) The game is over when they go bankrupt again, taking the United States down with them, like the earlier Roman and USSR Empires.

fintail

Oh it won't be aid to old mismanaged industries that makes a downfall (remember, our competitors have done it too) - the policeman ideal combined with pitying the rich and letting de facto foreign nationals control foreign policy expenses (which greatly eclipse automaker bailouts) will do that.

fintail

It's about half the price as the new sedate version...burns 4x the gas though :shades:

fintail

To be fair, the finished metal in the GS was pretty cool to me, unlike real wood that somehow looks fake. I haven't seen that in person, but I "built my own" 3er the other day and it touched 50K, seems a little dear.

ateixeira

It's funny when the real stuff looks fake. And often, fake stuff looks real. Some of M-B's vinyl could fool almost anyone.

fintail

Tex is amazing stuff. If I was buying a more basic MB I would probably opt for it. People even think the old school version in my fintail is leather, and it's not as well textured as modern versions. It wears well and looks right.

The wood in my E55 is an odd shiny black maple, someone once thought it was marble :confuse:

uplanderguy

I don't usually look at this forum, so excuse me if some of this stuff has been mentioned before.

First, lemko, I remember seeing my first '70 GSX that looked EXACTLY like the one you pictured, in the showroom of Tom Kirkpatrick Buick in Meadville, PA. My sister bought a used '65 Dodge Coronet there and I was hanging around when she was doing the paperwork. Meadville was about 25 or so miles away from where we lived. I remember as plain as day that the sticker on that GSX was $5,500-odd.

Secondly, commercials...

I hate the stupid Sonic bungie (sp?) jumping one.

I also hate about every Ford commercial I've seen the last two years. Is talking down to Gen Y'ers the way to advertise? Maybe.

I love the Chevy commercial where the son bought his Dad's old '65 Impala to give back to him. Wish I'd have seen it air more often.

I'm typically not a Chrysler guy, but I sort-of like their "Imported from Detroit" campaign.

ateixeira

Give me a matte finish any day of the week. Inside and out.

Not a fan of the piano black trim on my Miata, either. The faux brushed metal is a little better, but a textured matte black would be best if they had it.

ateixeira

65 Impala ad:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E_I9fyX0RhI

Good one indeed.

For my pop it was a '72 Buick Electra. I should take him out to a Buick meet to try to find one like his.

He just picked up a 300 convertible. For a long time he was a Ford guy, not sure why he left GM.

fintail

A proper texture also won't show fingerprints. My shiny dark grey wood trim is not good at that.

fintail

I know why my dad left GM - 85 S-10 Blazer.

tjc78

I'm typically not a Chrysler guy, but I sort-of like their "Imported from Detroit" campaign

It would be better if the 300 (typically shown in those commercials) was actually built in the US.

uplanderguy

Seems like I usually see the 200 in their commercials.

Also, Canada isn't the U.S., but I don't think it's the same as 'built in Mexico', however.

uplanderguy

About interior trim...I'm a big fan of 'piano black', from when I first saw it used on the instrument panel of the '77 Chevy Caprice Classic, then a year later, and for a few years after that, on the Monte Carlo and Malibu Classic...usually outlined in gold pinstripe. I'd take that over any test-tube woodgrain, ever (although in the Caprice it was used in addition to fake woodgrain).

I know I'm an older guy, but I also like brushed metal if done right. Love it inside '71 Cadillac deVilles, but apparently the public didn't, as mid-year they started using fake woodgrain inside, instead.

fintail

The Regal I rented had black trim - dirt and fingerprint magnet, and the rental agency didn't clean it well, so OCD me had to wipe it all down. Once clean it looked nice enough though.

I don't mind matte wood finishes, if the wood is real, but if it is plood vs real metal, I will take the metal.

Speaking of commercials, I saw a kind of neat Subaru Impreza sedan one yesterday, where it shows the life of the car via the odometer in reverse, with the man meeting his future wife in a fender bender and ending with a new car in a driveway.

ateixeira

I'm with you on the shiny black trim - dust shows up right away, too.

You basically have to be OCD about keeping it clean else it looks bad.

Same with black carpeting. :sick:

Haven't seen the Impreze odometer ad yet...anyone got a link? Was it for the US market?

stickguy

I saw that a couple of times last night (philly area). Pretty cute.

fintail

This is it:

http://youtu.be/Hvx3YX09N6Y

It's kind of a sweet ad, and I think the trunkback Impreza actually looks sharper than the hatch, which is somehow kind of jumbled at the rear now.

ateixeira

Very touchy feely. VERY Subaru.

I also prefer the sedan's styling, and that's the first time I've ever felt that way about the Impreza.

I'd still get the 5 door. I'm function over form anyway. Sales were up something ridiculous like 176%:

http://media.subaru.com/index.php?s=43&item=294

The 5 doors sell before they reach dealers. I went to test drive one and was told I had to wait an hour, and oh by the way it would be a sedan. LOL, I'll go back later.

Should be fun to see them lighten up the next WRX.