Volvo has announced that it will build a plant in China, and seeks approval for a second, in what it calls its second home market. It was inevitable, though for the long-term survival of the brand, it’s not a bad idea. Through Geely’s acquisition, it can potentially leapfrog other foreign car brands inside […]
Tag: branding
Air New Zealand acts in the wake of the Christchurch earthquake
Good on Air New Zealand for ferrying emergency supplies to Christchurch, for its $50 special to and from Christchurch till Friday 8 a.m., and for extra 747 flights to and from the disaster-struck city tomorrow (subject to the airport reopening down there). I’ve also learned that there is an extra Wellington–Christchurch A320 service departing […]
Read More… from Air New Zealand acts in the wake of the Christchurch earthquake
Fax and text spam: bad marketing moves
Above I’d mention the war, but Honda was founded after the surrender. I despise fax-spam, and under my reading of the Telecommunications Act, these come under nuisance calls. But regardless of the legality, it seems rather hypocritical for Honda to have sent me one for its Insight hybrid car. Think about it: a lot […]
Trade not supplied
In November 1993, while my mother was dying of cancer, I went and bought 12 cans of Wattie’s baked beans from Woolworth’s in Kilbirnie. She said it would be an easy breakfast to prepare for her, so I should go and get some. There was a limit of six, but there was a misunderstanding about […]
How will Chevrolet go down in Korea?
Last week, GM announced it would drop the Daewoo marque, as it has done through Europe, in its native Korea, in favour of Chevrolet. The company will also be renamed GM Korea, a name it once had nearly four decades ago. While most will think this makes sense, so GM can concentrate on […]
Opel is not a snob brand
Arthur Daley, Opel’s last New Zealand spokesman: ‘Never mind the Capri, Tel: I sell Opels now.’ In the Fairfax Press, General Motors has apparently confirmed it will bring in Opel-branded cars to sell alongside Holden-branded ones. It’s an obvious move. For years, a good part of Holden’s range was Opel-designed. Like Vauxhall, the model […]
We like links, but does Google?
For the majority of the years that we’ve been on the web (coming up to 20 years), we’ve maintained a links’ directory. It was disappointing, sometimes, to note that those whom we exchanged links with at the dawn of the web no longer link back. We’ve kept our outward links largely the way they were, […]
MG taps into BMC’s small-car heritage to market the 3
SAIC is doing a great job in tapping to the heritage of MG and the companies that have gone before. Hop over to the SAIC–MG site and you’ll see this image to tie in to the launch of the B-class MG 3 hatchback: The imagery tells a good deal of the story already: the […]
Read More… from MG taps into BMC’s small-car heritage to market the 3
Johnny Foreigner might be better at running a car company in Shanghai
As I made links for the last post, I noticed there were a lot of comments on AROnline about the replacement for the Roewe 750, the Chinese car that is based on the old Rover 75. The replacement will be on the Opel Insignia platform, owned by GM. It’s been followed by a lot […]
Read More… from Johnny Foreigner might be better at running a car company in Shanghai
Retro moment: the first American Ford Granada
Above: The US Ford Granada in a contemporary advertisement, as posted at americangranada.com. Not the European car, but the American one of the same name: the Ford Granada was marketed as a US alternative to a Mercedes-Benz. Not as overstyled as, say, the Ford Maverick, this was an extremely heavy car, and Ford’s marketing […]
Read More… from Retro moment: the first American Ford Granada