Super Bowl XLVI Auto Commercials Ranked

As a game Superbowl XLVI turned out to be pretty good thanks to the last four minutes even if it was close yet quite average for most of the previous three quarters and change. Of course the actual game does not define a Super Bowl as some actually claim to watch the game for the commercials only.  As a whole this year's batch of commercials appeared to have less lolz than last year's edition. Nevertheless the automotive industry not only ran the most ads but also managed to have some of the best ads on Super Sunday. Here is my top five:

1. Chevy: Happy Grad

A high school graduate goes wild when he sees that his parent bought him a new Camaro convertible as a graduation present until we see that they actually didn't. This ad is simple yet very funny.



2. Acura: NSX

Great commercial overall, the only problem is that the NSX is very far from production but the commercial still works brilliantly.



3. Chevy: Chevy Silverado

The predicted 2012 Apocalypse comes true, somewhat, and Silverados are still driving around while F-150s are not. A pretty good commercial overall and one that got Ford all riled up and apparently helped Ford sell more F-150s than it did Silverados.



4. Fiat: 500 Abarth Seduction

Fiat has been under fire by the critics for lower than promised sales and an ad campaign that has left much to be desired. A simpler commercial might just be what Fiat needs and this one delivers.



5. Volkwagen:  The Dog Strikes Back

Volkswagen essentially had the best ad last year and unfortunately the sequel is not as good this time around but the two part commercial still takes fifth.

Audi Reveals Next Generation A3 Interior and the A3 Itself

While Detroit is the center of the automotive universe in early January, the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas is becoming more and more important to the auto industry as cars become rolling multimedia platforms. Therefore it makes sense that Audi would show off the latest iteration of its MMI infotainment system in Las Vegas. However, Audi went far beyond just showing screencaps from the new MMI system and decided to show the entire dashboard from the next generation A3. Like other new Audis the A3 will feature a pop-up navigation display and a touchpad for writing commands, a neat touch is that the touchpad is now on top of the MMI rotary knob. Apparently showing the interior of the A3 was not enough as one of the photos of the navigation screen shows a rendered image of the A3 3 door in its entirety. Keep in mind though this time around the US will only get the sedan version. Nevertheless here is a preview of how the next A3 will look like in other parts of the world.

2011 Sales Recap

Total car and light truck sales as a whole went up  about 10% in 2011 compared to 2010, an increase of over a million extra sales compared to last year bringing the grand total to just shy of 12.8 million. While the industry posted higher sales on average, 2011 will certainly be remembered for the lost market share of traditional powerhouses Toyota and Honda along with their respective luxury divisions. Natural disasters in Japan and Thailand reduced inventory for both Honda and Toyota and thus hurting sales, but ever stronger competition played a role as well. In the end Lexus was the biggest loser as it sales shrunk by 13.4% while Honda and Acura saw loses of around 6%. Both manufacturers should easily top 2011 sales in 2012 but new products for both manufacturers will be vital to improve upon 2010 sales level. At the other end of the spectrum Jeep posted incredible sales improvements over the entire year on its way to a 44% improvement. Kia and Hyundai continued to gain market share with improvements of 36 and 20 per cent while Volkswagen posted a 26.3 per cent improvement thanks to its "Americanized" Jetta and Passat models.

2011 also marked the first full year of mainstream electric transportation available for sale as the all electric Nissan LEAF found 9,674 customers while the range extending Chevrolet Volt enticed 7,671 buyers. While the Volt sold less for the year it has been outselling the LEAF the last few months winning December 1,529 versus 954 for the LEAF. We'll see how far electric vehicles will increase their market share in 2012 with new arrivals such as the Ford Focus.

Taking advantage of retreating Lexus sales throughout the year Mercedes and BMW are both withholding their official sales figures in a bit of election style "too close to call" race for the number one luxury spot. Don't expect things to be Iowa close but stay tuned for updated results tomorrow once Mercedes and BMW both officially announce their figures.

November Sales Recap: Chrysler Coming Back

Overall auto industry sales were up once again in November, this time to the tune of 14% compared to a year ago. At the top was Chrysler benefiting greatly with the Chrysler 200 outselling its predecessor the Sebring by a significant margin, 456% to be exact. All in all Chrysler managed a 92% increase in sales. Chrysler group's Jeep and Dodge brands did well as well with improvements of 50 and 43% respectively. Coming in first in the luxury category with a surprise 47.2% improvement was Mercedes, the newly updated C class sedan and coupe along with the new M class propelled the brand to the number one spot in luxury sales for the month. Sales of the new Passat helped Volkswagen post an over 40% sales increase as well. Like in most other months of this year Honda along with its luxury division Acura saw its sales fall once again. On the other hand Toyota and Lexus were able to turn the tide and post a sales increase for the month.

Audi Looks To Fix Styling Faults

It’s hard for anyone to admit to their own faults. It is especially hard if you are one of the biggest luxury automobile manufacturers on the planet constantly setting styling trends and breaking sales records monthly. Nevertheless, much like a championship team looking to get even better in the off season Audi has acknowledged some of the criticism regarding its styling.While Audi is certainly not the only brand that uses styling to create a strong brand identity it agrees that some might view its models as same sausage-different length. In the future Audi plans to create more separation between one A model and the next. The brand also promises an even more significant differentiation between its sedans, SUVs and sports cars.

Why People Say and Do Two Completely Different Things and How This Impacts CAFE

In a recent Consumer Reports survey, a whopping 93% of responders said that they would like to see higher fuel economy standards. In fact, 80% support CAFE's plan for a 55 mile per gallon average across all vehicles by 2025. In order to achieve CAFE's goals of 55mpg, 56% of those surveyed say they will  consider a hybrid or an electric vehicle for their next purchase. Even better, 80% said that they would pay more for a fuel efficient vehicle that would save them money in the long run. Such results paint a very rosy picture for the automotive industry as it appears that the public is certainly willing to adopt and pay for new technology to raise their MPG. Unfortunately, in reality the picture is completely different. According to the latest data available only a scant percentage of car buyers actually do buy hybrids, in fact hybrid market share of all cars sold in October was less than 2%. This means that only 4% of those considering a hybrid actually buy a one and everyone else was just pretending. Even accounting for the fact that not every model is available as a hybrid it is hard to explain the enormous discrepancy. Besides, wouldn't someone wanting to buy a hybrid make the sacrifice and buy a Camry hybrid versus an Accord? The fact of the matter is that talk is cheap and when real money comes into play people are reluctant to pony up the dough  to get a hybrid. While buying a hybrid or an electric versus a conventional internal combustion requires actual monetary and vehicular commitments, answering a phone poll does not.  In regards to CAFE, politicians and everyone else must remain skeptical regarding surveys of people's hopes about fuel economy and should instead take a good look at reality.

56% of people say they are considering hybrids for their next purchase

Yet Ford sold over 2.5 times more F series in October than all hybrids combined.

October 2011 Sales Recap

Featuring best monthly sales since February, October was another month showing that the auto industry in America is in recovery mode. Leading the pack was Volkswagen with a tremendous 39.6% increase in sales thanks to its new American built Passat. October Passat sales were the best of any month since 2005. Posting a surprise improvement was Mazda with a 37.4% improvement over last October. Doing well again was Chrysler with a 28% improvement while Dodge had a 23.2% improvement, just ahead of Hyundai at 22.8%. Leading the luxury category was Bentley with a 35% improvement, albeit that's only 42 extra sales. Aside from Bentley Audi and Mercedes-Benz had great months as well with improvement of 25.8 and 23.4% respectively. On the other side of the spectrum Honda and Toyota and their respective luxury divisions continued their sale slides while all GM brands save Chevrolet saw their sales drop compared to a year ago.

October marked only the second time in its existence that the Chevy Volt (1,108) outsold the Nissan LEAF (849).