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This is the Cars category archive, go to coBRANDiT main.



We're learning to build widgets on sprout's platform, here's an example we mocked up for a theoretical PUMA motorsport campaign. Widgets to me represent the ultimate viral thing for a marketer...a perfect little tranferable package...as long as you recognize that they're worthless as a stand-alone gadget. They should be treated as the interface for a much deeper experience, and an interface that provides some usefulness & utility. Pretend you're an F1 race fan, then play around with the widget above and you'll see some of what I'm talking about. Note: PUMA produces Ferrari's team gear.

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The GM Heritage Center has archived over 1000 vintage, custom, and show cars dating back to the turn of the last century. The Heritage Center is not open to the public, we get a rare tour of 200 of from Manager Greg Wallace. His current favorite? The '62 Bel Air 409, as in "She's real fine my 409."

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A little extra detail on the Cadillac story, as told by Greg Wallace of GM's Heritage Center...including my personal fave car on display, the 1957 Eldorado Brougham.

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A rare peek inside GM's Heritage Center with Manager Greg Wallace as our tour guide. In this piece Greg provides an overview of the Heritage Center's mission, and tells us about the unique Corvette in the lobby...it was designed by the women on Harley Earl's staff, whom he referred to as the "damsels of design."

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Click "options" and grab whichever code you need...Thanks!

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GM invited us to shoot some video at the North American International Auto Show, held this week in Detroit. They gave us access to various GM pooh-bahs and introduced us to other invited bloggers, it's all a part of their GMnext 2008 program which celebrates the 100th year anniversary of GM.

Announcements were made regarding new introductions and concept cars (of course), but the big news was E85 ethanol and GM's investment in Coskata, a company that seems to have found a way to make E85 out of a renewable resource: trash. Click play to view our vids, enjoy!

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Rick Wagoner announced an important venture with Coskata, a biofuel company that seems to have figured out how to make E85 ethanol out of trash, among other things. Here's the take from treehugger and USA today, above find video commentary we gathered at the Detroit autoshow on E85 and the announcement.

Commenters include Scott Atherton, President and CEO, American LeMans Series, Kjell ac Bergström, President & CEO of Saab Automobile AB Powertrain, and blogger Clayton Cornell of gas2.org.


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GM's social media coordinator Adam Denison and bloggers invited to Detroit discuss GMnext's social media thinking and the much-anticipated Chevy Volt...a very cool looking plug-in hybrid due out in 2010. Featured bloggers include: Clayton Cornell of gas2.org, Matt Kelley of Next Gear, Matt Keegan The Auto Writer, and Joel Williams of Lifegoggles.com.

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A tour of the Hummer HX concept, provided by design team member Robert Jablonski. This thing looks pretty darn sweet, but the coolest feature is the tactile rubberized digi-print flooring material. Nice! Or perhaps it's the flip-out holder for your iPod, which can capture trail video thru a mirror mounted camera.

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More detail on the Hummer HX concept, this time with David Rojas, Lead Designer on the project and Brian Dooley of HummerGuy.net. Plus a few words from Sean Holman of Four Wheeler Magazine. And look at the celebs gathering 'round!

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My introduction to Saab was when I was a kid riding in my Dad's brand new 1978 99EMS, so it was fun to hear how Saab's tradition of innovation continues. Saab brought the 9-4X Biopower concept and the Turbo X to the Detroit show, and Kjell Bergström, President & CEO of Saab Automobile AB Powertrain gave us some details on why E85 is a great fuel when matched up with a turbo. Also heard from Saab USA GM and Ryan Enge, the enthusiast behind Saabhistory.com

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Tom Wallace, Corvette Vehicle Line Executive, General Motors, is also known as Mr. Corvette. Here's the peek he gave us of this American supercar.

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GM's Cadillac and Saturn divisions are on the rebound with new designs and new energy. John Howell, Director of Global Products, Cadillac Division and Jill Lajdziak, General Manager, Saturn Division make their pitches.

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David Tames of Kino-Eye was coBRANDiT's intrepid cameraman at the Detroit show. Here David shares his thoughts on GM's social media moves, and reflects on GM's centennial.

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This video is nutty. Now why isn't this on the GTI Mark V's site, mixed in with some new stuff? So cool I can't even stand it.

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Flying Dog Prez Eric Warner picks up his truck from the shop and rolls back to Denver blabbering all the way. Neal gets wrapped in cellophane.

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Caddy's new campaign "My Cadillac Story" is a good example of the sort of integrated thing we at coBRANDiT have been pushing for awhile. It's a web video series on (what else) Cadillac stories as told by the famous (Joan Jett, Fat Joe) and the not so famous (Matt & Michaeline Larson, Jerry Franchi) as well as guys working on the assembly line. The site shows hi quality flash vids, but also plays out on YouTube...the whole thing supported by print ads in magazines and newspapers. Now, will they intro any new products through the site??

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Here's the piece we produced for TreehuggerTV: The AltWheels Festival brings together a diverse array of alternative fuel vehicles and innovators for a weekend of learning, discussion, and showing off. Garage tinkerers, hybrid hackers, MIT professors, government officials and auto industry giants all play their part in moving the US towards energy independence, and Boston is the place it happens.

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While filming at AltWheels we ran into Click & Clack, the Tappet brothers: hosts of NPR's Car Talk. We asked them how they were enjoying the show, and whether they were prepared to deal with all the new technology coming down the pike. (Part of our Treehugger TV piece.)

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John Moore of Boston Clean Air Cabs talks about the challenges and benefits of introducing hybrid vehicles to urban cab fleets. Plus a word from the lucky driver of Boston's first hybrid cab. Shot at AltWheels, footage for our Treehugger TV piece.

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Honda's alternative fuel vehicle consultant Barry Carr talks about the compressed natural gas (CNG) Civic that's been brought to retail market in California and NY. Refuel your car at home! Filmed at AltWheels Boston 2006, it's extra material from our Treehugger TV piece.

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This vintage microbus has been heavily modded by VW's Electronic Research Lab in Palo Alto, California. It's battery powered, and stuffed with electronic gizmos that for the most part work (but I don't know about the vein-detecting entry system...) This bus would make a sweet ride for 007 on his day off. We shot this at Boston's AltWheels Festival last September, material for a piece we produced for Treehugger TV.

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Just discovered (thanks to Theresa Iezzi at Ad Age) this videoblog effort by Ford: Bold Moves. This is a really great example of the kind of work we've been pushing companies to produce. An open investigation into business processes and challenges, a behind the scenes look at how things get done, and a call for discussion and criticism. This series (a new vid every week for 50 weeks) provides Ford all kinds of opportunity to display it's competence, highlight the individuals who make the company, and reach out to the press, customers, and the world at large. It will be interesting to see how open the series really is, how responsive it will be, and what steps will be taken to really involve consumers in the story. Show test drives? Interview Ford club members? Find evangelists and give them some treats? What kind of word-of-mouth will be generated? Wait and see...

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While out scouting locations we stumbled across this sweet ride: A Ford Crown Vic that runs on CNG (Compressed Natural Gas). It's a state-owned police package vehicle driven by Jim Griffin, Acting Director for Mobile Maintenance, Massachusetts Dep't of Conservation and Recreation. Jim spent a few minutes with us talking about his car, the state, and CNG.

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What might a brand new Bentley lack? Hmm. Remember the stereo in Lonske's FX45?

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"Jonathan's a plate guy. He loves vanity plates..."

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Bentley Continental Flying Spur delivery, con't.

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A new series on Lonske's new car. Starting December 2005.

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Nelson and his '89 Mustang. Nelson works at the local VW dealership here in Allston (Boston) but has been a Mustang fanatic for years, ever since he was a kid...but this body style only, the 25th anniversary edition. Here he describes the work he's put into it. (postscript: the car got torched last summer.)

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Murray tells the cactus joke. Taken all together, what does this series tell us? German engineering is incredible. Style and handling are important. The relationship between manufacturer, employees, customers, and the environment is crucial. And BMW has a reputation for attracting pricks. If I was BMW, here's what I'd do with this lesson (written while BMW is in review):

The Ultimate Driving Machine statement remains on target. Stay with it, but do more to make the point. Sponsor more local driving events, autocrosses, track days, driver safety classes etc. in which BMW owners and others can learn skills and demo new models. Build a BMW hybrid. Why isn't german engineering a leader in green tech? There's a huge opportunity for a sporty/luxury hybrid. Show the BMW factory. No sweatshop there! Good benefits, clean environment. Responsible manufacturing costs $$, it's part of why the cars are expensive. Videotape all this stuff. Put it online, etc etc. Might make BMW owners seems less prickly...

Update: BMW is now video podcasting. And it's not bad...

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In which Murray talks about how if cars left piles of shit in the driveway we might do more about emissions.

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