BrandlandUSA

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Just off the headlines. The massive shutdown of dealers ordered by the Obama administration was a massive failure. Not that you couldn’t have noticed by just talking to some of the dealers themselves. I recall running into a group of repair guys from Sarasota Chrysler-Plymouth, which is now Sarasota Suzuki Mitsubishi. This [...]

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Sadly, we don’t think we will be getting to ANY of these this summer, but we nevertheless thought it would be useful to publish a list of some top corporate and factory museums to visit this summer. Take a break and enjoy America’s industrial legacy. And to all those companies that have shut down their [...]

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When a car company kills off a longstanding brand, it never ends up well. Marketing people and analysts always believe that killing off the brand will help the other brands in a company’s portfolio, but the reality is that companies that kill off longstanding brands (as opposed to models) are trying to show that they [...]

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A few notes of items in the news, or on my desk: The new Big G Kids Cereals ads from General Mills are great. Animated Lucky Charms leprechaun are talkin’ nutrition next to the kids. Smart stuff. I’m so cuckoo for Cocoa Puffs. And the leprechaun and Cocoa bird are in the SAME commercial. Postum [...]

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LOS ANGELES – What guy doesn’t want to be Jim Rockford? Well, perhaps living in the trailer was a bit tiresome (how come they let him keep it in the parking lot?), but the rest of the life as L.A. private eye is way cool. It would be fun to drive about L.A. in a [...]

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Pickup collecting is gaining favor as 1970s muscle car prices have gone too high for new collectors. The Wall Street Journal has profiled the top 25 collectible pickup trucks, though any older pickup is now hot, including, at right, the Chevrolet 3100. Brands include the early British Morris Minor pickups, any Willy’s Jeep pickups, any [...]

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STAUNTON, Illinois – We ran across the website of Country Classic Cars. Man, do they have some good stuff. A great old Willys Overland Jeep, 1949, only $8950. Above, a Ford Ranch Wagon, 1966, only $3,950. But I am really Jones-ing for this Chrysler Newport. GM or Chrysler ought to buy out a dealer like [...]

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We know that CAFE fuel standards are the culprit in killing off bigger cars in the U.S., but its manufacturers who are responsible for killing off the word STATION WAGON in their marketing. And so, brands like Volvo and Volkswagen now own the upper middle class consumer. We found a sort of antidote. Its the [...]

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IRVINE, Calif. – BMW is the coolest car brand in America. Or so says Kelley Blue Book, which has just released current winners of their 2009 Brand Image Awards. And Cadillac? Boy do Americans like the interiors. The Brand Image Awards are presented to the top brands in 10 categories, and are based on consumer [...]

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A quick thought. We miss diversified car companies. We miss diversified retailers. We miss when our car companies did amusing things. We liked Ford when it made Fordson Tractors, Tri-Motors and Philco Televisions. We liked General Motors when it made Electro-Motive engines and Frigidaire appliances. We liked Chrysler when it made Chrysler sailboats (long live [...]

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