I spent New Year's Day cruising around town documenting some of the sweet rides found on the streets here...typified by the kind of shabby chic I love. Happy New Year from coBRANDiT!

coBRANDiT’s Role:
We sent a two-man video crew to cover the event, attending blogger dinners, press events, the show floor, and interviewing GM managers and auto industry bloggers about their take on the state of the industry and show announcements. Within two days we released 14 detailed videos on various social media sites, and built a cross-platorm video widget to allow easy sharing and embedding on relevant blogs and social networks. These videos were viewed thousands of times and resulted in increased traffic to Gmnext.

We're learning to build widgets on sprout's platform, here's an example we mocked up for a theoretical PUMA motorsport campaign. (Note: Widget no longer supported as of 7/2010) 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.

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!

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.

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??

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.)

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.

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.

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.

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...

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.

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

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

Bentley Continental Flying Spur delivery, con't.

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

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.)

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...

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

Murray continues on the topic of 1972 BMW style.

Continuing our series on people and their cars... Murray is a classically trained pianist and an appreciator of fine German engineering. Here he describes the mechanical fuel injection system in his BMW 2002. No sensors! No computers! Just one very eccentric cam. "It's like a motor in a motor." Stay tuned for the next three episodes, in which Murray describes style and speed circa 1972, if cars could take a dump, and "the cactus joke."

Some technical detail on the Obcon Godzilla Box installed in J's trunk...and a desciption of its effects. (hint: children go into hiding) The installer J. keeps talking about is Kenyon Lee at AVI, Newton Mass.

OK, now we get to see how he compensates for having to give up the 911...

J elaborates on his choice of vehicle.

J. shows up at the appointed meeting spot and talks about his ride.

Glen & Zack are VW nuts. Here Glen describes the coming mods on Zack's ride. How about a supercharger from a Pontiac? Sounds good to me.

We went out to Boston Bentley to film J. picking up his new car. He got silly while the salesman wasn't looking.