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

ateixeira · October 2010

The IS goes up against the 3, so this is just a case of the marketing folks really not having any sort of understanding of the product. Nothing new.

As for the ES, no I wouldn't personally want one, but a couple of years ago I went to an auto show and sat in every back seat imaginable, and besides the Maybachs I saw that aren't really mainstream cars anyway, the ES was THE most comfortable. Bar none.

If you've ever had cracked ribs, like I have, you may better understand (appreciate, even) the benefits of total ride isolation. You could not have paid me to ride home in a BMW 3 series, I'd have called a cab if that's all I had access to.

The thing enthusiasts simply don't understand is that some buyers want the quiet, comfortable isolation that the ES offers. I'm not saying it's better or worse, just different. They don't try to target enthusiasts.

Marketing needs to get that memo, though.

fintail · October 2010

I'm sure that's right. I wasn't bashing the ES for what it is, but comparing it to cars that can actually be ordered to enthusiast-pleasing spec is just bad marketing.

Speaking of Lexus commercials, I wonder if they will rerun the Christmas ads showing kids of the past with their toys and the kids grown up with Lexus. Would big wheel kid actually be driving an ES and not an IS-F or something?

ateixeira · October 2010

They should target soft/big luxo cruisers, perhaps the S80 and DTS? Not sure, as I don't shop in that segment.

If I did I think I'd fancy myself a Hyundai Genesis, for the sheer bang-for-the-buck. One with the real cowhide dash, naturally.

euphonium · October 2010

Redirect your money & move to a much better neighborhood.

xrunner2 · October 2010

Speaking of Lexus commercials, I wonder if they will rerun the Christmas ads showing kids of the past with their toys and the kids grown up with Lexus.

Those will be classic. Best one on kids is the successful woman getting a new Lexus and then flashing back to when she got a real pony for Christmas when a child.

Mercedes and Cadillac also had very good Christmas commercials.

At least the Christmas commercials don't insult our intelligence such as some of the commercials showing cars speeding on a salt lake, sliding sideways, etc. That type of stuff appeals to young teen-age boys, who can't drive nor have the money to purchase the car in first place.

fintail · October 2010

I dunno, I still think big wheel boy receiving an ES was pretty insane - more like chess club boy might be excited over that thing :shades:

Successful woman or woman who married well? A lot of them around here are driven by those with no real world job and few real responsibilities. Stepford wife-mobiles...

lemko · October 2010

I thought the Lexus RX was the preferred conveyance of Stepford wives everywhere? The ES is more the hot rod of the Stepford mother-in-law.

ateixeira · October 2010

My aunt-in-law owns one. Married to a Doctor, you pretty much nailed her to a T.

toomanyfumes · October 2010

Anyone see the Toyota commercial where the couple looks in the trunk and it's like a serene nature scene? Something to do with Toyota's service or customer care. They have to be the nerdiest people to represent a Toyota owner. The woman's skirt is almost up to her chest. Wouldn't you have someone somewhat hip to represent your vehicle?

ateixeira · October 2010

Piece of mind, I think it advertised. Pretty dumb, yeah.

stickguy · October 2010

started seeing a TV spot recently where they have some kid (maybe 10 or so) dressed up like a tough guy, coming out of a house and saying (singing maybe) about not riding in the family car because it makes them look like "geeks" (talk about insutling your core audience!). This while walking past his dad, who is washing a ratty gen 1 Voyager.

so, the new "hot stuff" mobile pulls into the driveway, and it is a highlander (I was expecting the new Sienna). Talk about the antithisis of a cool set of wheels.

Pretty offensive actually, since they should tell the little brat if he doesn't like the transportation, ride the bus or ride is bike!

plus, it is counter to the swagger wagon ads, or is it only cool to be seen in a minivan if it is a sienna?

To be fair, my HS freshman daughter points out that th minivan is not cool to be seen in, but we are far from the only ones (including her friends) that have one. She would, however, prefer a nice snobby SUV of some type to be seen in.

lemko · October 2010

Heck, my Dad had a 1972 Ford LTD Country Squire when I was that kid's age. If I had pointed out to my Dad how "uncool" his ride was, he'd have whipped my butt then told me I had to walk everywhere or take the bus.

ateixeira · October 2010

I'm lucky (or my kids are young) but my 8- and 11-year olds love our minivan. Maybe it's the 12" DVD screen, but even their friends like it.

I hope they don't get all image-conscious during their high school years.

stickguy · October 2010

don't worry. They will. especially girls.

ateixeira · October 2010

I'm doomed since I'm in an affluent area.

fintail · October 2010

She'll eventually be wanting her own 3er cabrio, or if on a budget, a Mini or a VW cabrio.

Get her an old domestic tank or an old Volvo or something.

stickguy · October 2010

I got the same problem as Juice. too many wealthy people in town. My daughter texted me the other day from the bus that there was a line of of fancy expensive cars out front. And a minivan (in as dismissive a tone as you can get via a text!)

She also has decided that she wants a Beetle when she gets a car. Preferably a convertible, but a coupe would be OK. Actually doesn't bother me, since they have been out so long, you can get cheap ones that look pretty much the same as a new one!

and related to rich kids, one day (probably 4 years ago) I picked up my son after school (same HS) and there was a yellow lambo out front. Of course I mentioned it, and he knew the kid. Supposedly, the father was giving that one to the kid (a girl) to use, and getting himself a new one. No idea if that ever happened of course, but it was certainly believable.

fintail · October 2010

I went to school in a small town, simply having a car was cool and almost no kids had new cars. One girl I knew, a lawyer's daughter, received a new 4 door Blazer for her birthday. That lasted about 4 months, which was the last straw for her father, and it was replaced by a Ford Maverick. I knew another girl who had a then new 4WS Prelude that was pretty nice - and so was she, she was responsible and didn't ruin the car. I knew a guy who had a new Toyota 4x4 - a big deal in a small town in the early 90s, had it for maybe 6 months before it was totaled. I can't even fathom giving a high schooler a performance car like that Lambo, insane. I too now live in an affluent area, and the main high school is about half a mile from where I live, so I see some fun stuff...but the area in general seems to have a lot of people who don't seem to have jobs who drive 100K+ cars...a sign of the new socio-economic reality perhaps.

ateixeira · October 2010

I coach my son's basketball team, and was walking out to my car, chatting with the other dads.

I saw an Aston Martin the parking lot, and instinctively used the oldest joke in the book, "Who borrowed my car?".

Guess what? It was one of the other dad's car. Embarassing, and funny at the same time.

She can borrow my Miata, which will be 7 years old by the time she drives - the HLDI rated it one of the 3 cars with the lowest insurance claims. Hopefully that means we can afford to insure it.

The Aston will have to wait!

explorerx4 · October 2010

You are doomed if you don't be a part of your kids lives when they are teens.
The parent/friend relationship is not an easy balance.
It has nothing to do with where you live and life is not like a car commercial.
My kids started driving the Explorer to high school since they were able to drive themselves.
It was about giving the kids some rope and seeing how they would do with it.
We have had some less than great driving experiences for them since then.
The Explorer has suffered through this, but everyone in town knows it, the kids, the parents, the teachers.
Overall, I think it worked out for the best, as they learned a bit about responsibility.
Even though my kids are now in college, one just about to graduate, they still argue over who gets to drive it. Sometimes it is me saying, no I am driving it.

My 2010 college freshman started out with 31 college credits, and an average for the school SAT of 1490, so a fender bender or 2 can be overlooked.

ateixeira · October 2010

I may lease an Abrams Tank, in that case.

lemko · October 2010

You could probably tell which cars belong to the teachers and which cars belong to the students. The students' lot is probably full of brand new 3-Series, C-Classes, 4x4 trucks, and SUVs while the teacher's lot is full of beat up hoopties.

My wife went to an affluent high school where the girls got a brand new 3-Series or 190E, (this was the early '80s) upon their 16th birthday. My wife drove a teal blue 1966 Ford Galaxie 500 sedan. I'd have ignored all those "princesses" and thought the girl in the '66 Galaxie was the cool one!

lemko · October 2010

I remember being dumb enough to approach my Dad about getting me a car when my best friend came home from the Chevrolet dealer with a new car. The answer was, "You wanna car? Get yourself a (censored) job, you (censored) pay for it, and you pay for the (censored) insurance!"

roadburner · October 2010

You are doomed if you don't be a part of your kids lives when they are teens.
The parent/friend relationship is not an easy balance.

I agree 100%. I may have told this before, but my son asked me, "If I get a full scholarship can I take my college fund and buy an Aston Martin Vantage?" I told him "No, because I'm going to take your college fund and buy an Aston Martin Vantage. You can buy one with your kid's college fund."
He turns 16 in less than one month. He'll either be driving my 1975 2002 or my 1999 Wrangler. When he saves up his money he plans to buy either a a 944, a 924S, or a 2001-2004 Mustang GT.

fintail · October 2010

I think teachers in my area are paid well enough...although none likely drive what some of the spoiled kids drive. Seeing a 16 year old girl in a new GLK etc is pretty lame.

I do remember a high school teacher of mine who had a 63 Dart with non-working door locks (this was in the early-mid 90s)...made for easy pranks. My 66 Galaxie was actually considered to be fairly cool - at least among guys, probably because it looked clean and had dual straight pipes, so it was pretty loud. That's one good thing about old cars, they can have some positive image for not a lot of money.

roadburner · October 2010

That's one good thing about old cars, they can have some positive image for not a lot of money.

I was surprised that most all of my son's classmates think that the 2002 is "sick".

lemko · October 2010

Was your Galaxie a 7-Litre? That would be cool! I'm pretty sure my wife's car wasn't as it used to be her Dad's car. He was a very old-school conservative kind of guy, so he probably had a 289 V-8 in there.

I had a 1968 Buick Special Deluxe wagon. I wouldn't say it was so much cool as a curiosity. Unlike my wife's high school, us kids were of much more modest means. Most kids drove their parents' old 1960s and early 1970s bombs.

fintail · October 2010

It was a 390-4bbl, drank gas like no other car I've driven. 2 door HT, dark blue with medium blue interior, whitewalls and full wheel covers. It was pretty sharp for a teenager's old beast, but it did have issues, especially with the carb.

oldfarmer50 · October 2010

"...which cars belong to the teachers and which cars belong to the students..."

Not at my school. The teachers drive high end lux cars like Lexus and Infinity or maybe a loaded Honda if they just started the job. Nothing American EVER. The kids drive BMWs or other sporty foreign types that they got for their birthdays.

The school bus drivers' lot is filled with the 20 year old hoopties and junkers.

Unless the driver is married to a teacher.

oldfarmer50 · October 2010

There are two Toyota commercials which drive me nuts.

The first is the one for their minivan which finishes with "Daddy Like" or "Mommy Like" and features two annoying yuppie types who are snobs for their Toyota minivan. The two people in the commercial make me want to take a mallet to them AND their Toyota.

The second commercial features a snotty kid with too much blonde hair who comments on how he doesn't tolerate lame cars well as they show his dad washing an 80's Plymouth minivan. He goes to the neighbor's house and gets into their Highlander and starts hitting on the woman who is driving it. I wanted to slap the smug right off that kid's face.

If these are the people who are driving Toyotas, I want no part of the vehicles. :mad:

roadburner · October 2010

I've touched on this point before. It seems like the primary purpose of the new Toyota ads is to convince the driving public that Toyota owners are a bunch of nerdy weirdos.

stickguy · October 2010

RB, you don't need ads for that. Just look at who is driving them!

stever · October 2010

Are y'all calling Steve Wozniak a nerd?

He'd be interesting company; too bad I don't run in the same circles. Maybe if I get a Prius....

ateixeira · November 2010

You're both wrong about the Swagger Wagon ads. They went viral. Hit count is at 7+ million, something like that.

You can't BUY that kind of exposure.

And it translated in to real sales, too.

Sienna went from 3rd best selling minivan to 1st. The ads worked like a charm.

A lot of the other ones annoy me, like the piece of mind ads.

fintail · November 2010

They are selling well, I see them a lot around here...while jogging last week I almost got hit by a 400 year old couple in one. It's a wagon, but I don't see the swagger.

ateixeira · November 2010

The swagger part is tongue-in-cheek but it has resonated with buyers. Ka-ching.

Sienna just was named on PM's top picks and also won the Best Minivan nod by AJAC (Canada).

Given the van itself isn't as good as the outgoing model, you wonder if those ads got to the media as well.

fintail · November 2010

I think the new one is actually better looking - old one had too much of a Pokemon face for me. Not that something like that is on my shopping list, of course.

ateixeira · November 2010

When I went minivan shopping, styling was #187 on my list of priority, right below cup holder texture.

Still, the Quest frightened me. Most were fairly conservative, though, so styling wasn't a factor.

Now the Ody stands out in a bad way. The GC is too blocky, though the improved interior and engine would have me taking another look. I like the Sienna and the Kia vans.

fintail · November 2010

If I never have to go minivan shopping, I won't complain :shades:

roadburner · November 2010

If I never have to go minivan shopping, I won't complain

Yet another advantage of having only one child...

stickguy · November 2010

when child 2 was born was when we moved up size wise from a Legacy wagon to a voyager. even with 1 kid, long out of stroller age, the sube was stuffed when we travelled.

roadburner · November 2010

When my son was under one year old we usually took my wife's 1993 Pathfinder SE. He turned one at the same time I took delivery of my 318ti in November 1995. That car became our primary family transport- with Number One Son riding in a gray market BMW "Carli" child seat. Less than 3 years later the Pathfinder was relegated to work beater status when my wife picked up a new 318ti for herself. We remained a 2 ti family until 2000 when my wife's ti was traded on a CPO 1997 528iA- a move that was forced on us by the need to transport our elderly mothers, both of whom were widowed and no longer able to drive.

explorerx4 · November 2010

i have 2 great kids, but still was not swayed a commercial.

stickguy · November 2010

commercials did not sway me. The fact that my wife packs like she is never coming back when we go away for a weekend had more to do with it.

ben66 · November 2010

This ones pretty interesting :

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

And this ones so far does not accelerate on its own.

ben66 · November 2010

More info :

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

Its time we do something FULL hearted for the planet, not half hearted efforts like hybrids.

lemko · November 2010

Minivan shopping? I might as well be shopping for my own casket. It would be about the same to me!

lemko · November 2010

I saw that Leaf commercial with the polar bear. If I were the man in the driveway, I'd be running for my life! Polar bears are among the most dangerous animals on the planet! They'll eat you as soon as look at you!

ateixeira · November 2010

Vans aren't so bad - power sliding doors are great with kids.

Plus, having a van allowed me to a get a toy as a 2nd car - my daily driver is a Miata. :shades:

Honestly? Even when the kids grow up I think I'll keep a beater minivan around for times when you need to haul junk around.

ateixeira · November 2010

Cool ad, should really resonate with the target buyer, too.

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

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