automotive

Introduction to a highly opinionated thought paper.

In this paper we show how the current dealership model is not viable, and introduce 10 new business models, as well as a number of quick fixes to increase profitability of the network. Please join our webinar here

An average car buyer visits 1.4 dealerships before buying — almost 70% less than some 10 years back (down from 4.5 visits). Put differently, the face to face time your sales reps have with buyersis now 3 times more valuable than before. 

Firstly, thanks to the guys at Immersion Active eBrief for listing this fascinating item of research.

Question. What is the best typeface to use in cars that assists the eyes of older drivers. You could just as well ask the question - What is the best fonts to use in retail outlets, hotels, etc etc.

The U.S. auto industry is heading for a banner year...so much so that there’s a question whether manufacturers will be able to keep up with demand, especially for trucks. Tens of thousands of people are being put back to work at auto plants and parts suppliers, not to mention the additional work available from everyone involved in the activities (from transportation to coffee shops along the way).

A lot of talk and interest around the concept of co-creation. It is no question that this is going to have lasting implications on how products and experiences are designed, developed and marketed. In 3-5 years, customer co-creation will be part of the norm of everyday business.

I remember my parents' two Volvos in the early 70s; a little wagon and a 4-door "sports sedan" shaped like a child had drawn their outlines. Narrow rectangular boxes with another box attached on the middle for the cabin. They were cool and Yuppie before Yuppies knew who they were.

The North American International Auto Show kicked off in Detroit earlier this week, and it seem that almost every manufacturer is either promising or delivering some version of an electric car. Chevy's Volt was even named Car of the Year. And nobody cares.

Today is a watershed day for General Motors — and I’m not talking just about the historic and record-breaking initial public offering marking the company's return to the stock market, and away from majority ownership by the taxpayers.

If you were to believe the mainstream media, the future of transportation is electric. And so it seems: In the coming year or two, we'll see a parade of electric vehicles (EVs), hybrid-electric vehicles (HEVs), plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs), and extended-range electric vehicles (EREVs) — and probably a few variations on those themes — all of which employ kilowatts where gasoline once reigned. They're coming from both the world's biggest car companies and some of the smallest.

What does Toyota's travails mean to green marketing?

That question seems ripe these days, as the leading Japanese auto maker gets a comeuppance for its allegedly serious safety defects — and the more than 8 million cars it has recalled worldwide as a result. Toyota, after all, had become a darling of the eco-minded, a case study in the green halo that can inure to old-line companies that bring environmental innovation to mainstream audiences. Toyota seemed to have done it the right way: with products that weren't just greener, but better — in this case, high-aesthetic, high-performance, affordable cars.