Mobile Posse Partners With Ford Taurus
Posted by admin on Feb 9, 2010
Mobile Posse said that it is helping Ford Motor Company to drive consumer interest in its new 2010 Ford Taurus.
In a release, the Company noted that during November and December 2009, Ford ran a national campaign promoting the launch of the redesigned Taurus to Mobile Posse’s opted-in base of mobile consumers.
Ford’s mobile idle screen advertising campaign was designed to spur consumer awareness and interest in the new Ford Taurus sedan. Full-color, full-screen creative showcased the exterior design of the vehicle and highlighted select engineering and interior features, including the available 365-HP Ecoboost V6 engine, radar-enabled technologies, and massaging seats. Average CTR for the campaign was 20 percent. Nearly half of Mobile Posse’s unique users clicked on a Ford ad during the campaign.
The campaign was the first by an automotive manufacturer to include Mobile Posse’s idle screen “click-to-mobile web” functionality, which enables consumers to launch a complementary mobile website with a single click. After viewing the Ford Taurus ad, Mobile Posse users were invited to visit Ford’s mobile website to find a local dealer. Nearly 20 percent of users that viewed a “click-to-mobile web” ad elected to view the site.
“With the launch of the 2010 Ford Taurus, we needed to effectively reach the vehicle’s target market via the mobile device in a way that complimented our existing mobile initiatives, and our traditional media buys,” said Brian Bos, SVP, Convergence Director for Team Detroit, Ford’s Agency. “With Mobile Posse, we were able to quickly develop an engaging and interactive mobile experience that connected with consumers outside of the mobile browser and delivered exceptional results for the client.”
Mobile Posse’s active idle screen solution proactively delivers graphical and interactive advertising to the most valuable real-estate on the mobile device - the idle screen. Consumers opt-in to the free service to receive timely information and valued offers from national and regional brands. Idle screen messages are delivered only when the phone is not in use, generating industry-leading consumer response and average double-digit CTRs.
“We are thrilled to be a cornerstone of Ford’s innovative launch campaign for the Taurus,” said Jon Jackson, CEO of Mobile Posse. “The success of Ford’s campaign underscores the ability of active idle screen advertising - and mobile advertising in general - to effectively elicit consumer response and to generate sales leads for high-dollar-value consumer goods.”
Mobile Posse, Inc.:
www.mobileposse.com
Ford Motor Company:
www.ford.com
Tags: Mobile Posse Partners With Ford Taurus
Ford and GM gain sales as Toyota tumbles off pedestal
Posted by admin on Feb 9, 2010
As the storied Japanese automaker moved to minimize the growing damage from its largest recall ever – for malfunctioning accelerator pedals in multiple models – its sales plunged an uncharacteristic 16 percent in January.
Meanwhile, Ford Motor Co. recorded a 25 percent increase in national sales, and General Motors’ business jumped 14 percent, an indication that the major automakers will start 2010 on more or less even ground, analysts say – with no dominant brand.
This year has started badly for Japan Inc. Besides the sticking accelerators, Toyota is preparing a global recall of 2010 Prius hybrids because some owners have noticed a slight pause in the cars’ brakes. Meanwhile, Honda is recalling 646,000 Fit hatchbacks from the 2007-08 model years because a power-window switch can overheat and cause a fire. Seven incidents have been confirmed in the U.S., none involving injuries.
“I think we are dealing with a more level playing field than we’ve seen,” said Jesse Toprak, vice president of industry trends at TrueCar.com in Santa Monica, Calif. “The main problem for Toyota is the recall hit them at their core strength – reliability – and the mechanical repairs are the least of their worries.”
Some Toyota officials agree.
“I think they’re right,” said Toby Hynes, president and general manager of Houston-based Gulf States Toyota Inc., which distributes vehicles to dealers in five states, including Texas. “Certainly, Toyota has to do the right things on this issue, and I think they are.”
Though the timing of the recalls was coincidental, it couldn’t have happened at a better time for the domestics.
Last month, resurgent Ford unveiled a stylish Focus compact at the Detroit auto show, adding another car to a lineup that includes the well-received Fusion midsize sedan and restyled Taurus full-size sedan.
Meanwhile, GM introduced an Aveo subcompact concept car and showed production versions of its impressive-looking Cruze compact sedan as well as several small crossovers. All are aimed at segments in which Toyota excels.
“This is perfect timing for the domestics,” said Toprak, formerly an analyst with Edmunds.com. “They were right on the verge of proving their new products and this comes along. It couldn’t be better for them.”
Toyota’s troubles
Like the domestics, Toyota faced plenty of challenges in last year’s anemic new-car market. But the automaker was still a formidable force, bolstered by billions in cash reserves, a commanding lead in the hybrid segment and a gilded reputation for quality.
Now Toyota may be just one of several large automakers in the U.S. battling fiercely for sales. Jarring the old order further, Honda started 2010 weakly, with a 5 percent decrease in sales and lukewarm response to its new Insight hybrid sedan.
Some Toyota owners are even visiting car-oriented Web sites to look at GM and Ford vehicles – a sign of how scrambled the industry has become.
“The fact that people who own a Toyota say they’re looking at GM and Ford now says a lot about how much everything has changed,” said James Bell, vice president and executive market analyst at KBB.com, Kelley Blue Book’s Web site. “The product itself is not damaged, but the brand has definitely taken a couple of deep dents.”
Since the recall, more than 20 percent of visitors to the Web site who were considering a Toyota have eliminated the brand from their search, according to KBB.com. In addition, Toyota’s overall brand consideration dropped to third place recently, trailing first-place Ford and second-place Chevrolet.
“The impact of this recall nightmare on Toyota could be substantial on future sales as well as intangible factors such as market perception,” Bell said. “They are such a wealthy company in people and reserves that I don’t think it will weaken them much. But it will definitely shake their foundation.”
If Toyota’s problems had occurred five or 10 years ago, they probably wouldn’t have had much effect on sales or consumers, Toprak said. None of the domestics built cars that really competed with Toyota’s models back then.
“What were people going to do – go buy a Ford or a Chevy?” he said. “Now there’s no real [quality] gap among any of the big manufacturers. People have all kinds of choices.”
In an attempt to capitalize on Toyota’s misfortunes, Ford and GM are offering incentives to Toyota owners. Neither, however, is commenting much on Toyota’s troubles – a wise move, analysts say, since both domestics have endured major recalls of their own.
Top 5 recalls
But Toyota’s recall has enough unusual twists to it that it’s difficult to predict how long the automaker’s problems will persist, said George Hoffer, a business professor at Virginia Commonwealth University who follows the auto industry.
Hoffer and some of his colleagues recently analyzed five of the largest high-profile recalls in the auto industry to provide some context for Toyota’s situation – including those involving the Ford Pinto, Ford Explorer and GM pickups with side-saddle fuel tanks.
“I would rank this among our top five in the size of the recall and the publicity it has attracted,” he said. “Toyota and Honda were on pedestals inside and outside the industry. Clearly, this has put Toyota behind the eight ball.”
Unlike the other recalls, Toyota’s affected models are all relatively new vehicles – not older models such as the Pinto that were being phased out. Also, the Toyota recall affects multiple vehicle lines, not just one model as in the other recalls.
“This is a story that started out about mats that interfere with accelerators and a few accelerators that stick when you lift your foot off them,” Hoffer said. “It has been exaggerated and embellished to become a story about runaway Toyotas. That’s very difficult to combat – as Audi found in the ’70s.”
But it’s also an opportunity for Toyota to reaffirm its reputation, said Hynes of Gulf States Toyota.
“Trust is very fragile,” he said. “Right now, we can instill greater trust by getting this behind us and getting our dealers to give our customers a great experience. That’s how Toyota grew.”
Tags: Ford and GM gain sales as Toyota tumbles off pedestal
GM Europe Seeks Loans, Sets Out Turnaround Plan
Posted by admin on Feb 9, 2010
General Motors Co.’s European division said Tuesday it plans to invest EUR11 billion by 2014 on its model line-up as part of a complex turnaround plan aimed at reaching break-even in 2011 and returning to profitability in 2012.
GM Europe President Nick Reilly confirmed that Opel Tuesday applied for EUR2.7 billion in loans and loan guarantees from European governments to finance the wide-ranging restructuring, and had received a “reasonably good response” to the company’s request for state aid.
Reilly said under the EUR11 billion investment plan, eight new vehicles would be launched this year and another four next year to renew the model range. He said EUR1 billion would be invested on fuel-efficient engines and drive trains. Reilly said Opel had intensified efforts to launch a new entry-level car below the compact Corsa model and aims to strengthen its light-commercial vehicles business.
Funding of EUR3.3 billion is needed to see GM Europe through the revamp and run the business during that period. GM already has contributed $600 million as part of this financing plan.
“We are not looking for grants, but for loans and loan guarantees,” Reilly said, adding that in a normal market environment Opel would have sought funding from banks, “but in the current situation this option is not available” and “many car makers have applied for support from governments.”
Auto makers have been hard hit by weak demand for cars amid the economic downturn. State-backed scrapping initiatives revived demand in Europe last year, but European car makers now are bracing for a market downturn as the boost from incentives is waning.
Last month, GM injected EUR650 million into Opel to provide sufficient liquidity, and Reilly has rebuffed calls for a higher financial contribution from the parent company. He said GM’s funds are essentially U.S. taxpayer money and that “the U.S. would expect Europe to support” the operations there rather than spending U.S. taxpayer money in Europe.
The restructuring plan for GM’s German Adam Opel unit and its British brand Vauxhall was initially expected to be presented in December, but faced several delays in recent weeks after GM’s decision to close the Belgian plant in Antwerp revived a dispute between the division’s new management and labor unions.
Reilly reiterated that GM plans to cut around 8,300 jobs in Europe from its 48,000-strong work force and reduce capacity by 20%.
The closure of the Antwerp plant will result in 2,377 job losses, while 1,799 jobs will be cut from GM’s Bochum plant in Germany. Only the Ellesmere Port plant in the U.K., the Gliwice plant in Poland, the Aspern plant in Austria and the Szentgotthard plant in Hungary will avoid job losses.
The plan has to be cleared by the Opel supervisory board and GM still has to finalize negotiations with unions.
GM has applied for loans from the governments of European countries with GM plants.
German Economics Minister Rainer Bruederle said GM had asked Germany’s government and German states with Opel sites for EUR1.5 billion in aid, while other European countries with Opel sites had been asked for the other EUR1.2 billion.
It was unclear what Germany might offer. However, Germany’s powerful labor union IG Metall said in a statement it opposes GM’s plan and doesn’t support the request for state aid. IG Metall said the plan doesn’t give Opel a sustainable future and demanded that the Antwerp plant won’t be closed.
The U.K. government said it was still discussing the potential support it might offer GM after studying the auto maker’s plans.
“Government support would have to be on the basis of a fully funded business plan and proposals that recognize the commercial logic of maintaining long-term production in the U.K.,” said a spokeswoman for the U.K.’s Department for Business, Innovation and Skills.
Business Secretary Peter Mandelson last month said the U.K. government would be prepared to support Vauxhall and has the funds ready for a “major investment” that could be in the region of several hundred million pounds.
The European Commission will remain “vigilant” to ensure that any state aid given to the auto maker complies with European Union rules, a commission spokesman said. EU competition commissioner Neelie Kroes said last year that a preliminary plan laid out by GM to restructure its European units Opel and Vauxhall didn’t appear to involve illegal state aid from EU national governments.
-By Christoph Rauwald, Dow Jones Newswires; +49 69 29 725 512; christoph.rauwald@dowjones.com
Tags: GM Europe Seeks Loans, Sets Out Turnaround Plan
Honda Warns Toyota Troubles Could Spread Through Industry
Posted by admin on Feb 9, 2010
Honda’s top finance executive warns that Toyota’s growing recall effort could have a ripple effect throughout the industry, as consumer lose faith in the world’s automakers, The Wall Street Journal reports.
Honda Chief Financial Executive Yoichi Hojo tells the paper that “if customers start to harbor doubts about [quality and safety], that would be problem for the whole industry.
Hojo says Honda will be ratchetting up incentive programs in the United States to reduce inventory, but will not target them specifically at Toyota owners.
Honda’s refusal to go after disaffected customers from its main rival offers a unique opportunity for other automakers, like General Motors and Ford, to pick up customers with the host of deals they are offering to current Toyota owners, including rebates of up to $1,000.
Tags: Honda Warns Toyota Troubles Could Spread Through Industry
Toyota announces recall of 400,000 vehicles worldwide
Posted by admin on Feb 9, 2010
By Myra P. Saefong, MarketWatch
TOKYO (MarketWatch) — Toyota Motor Corp. announced another recall Tuesday, involving about 400,000 vehicles worldwide — most of them Prius hybrids — due to potential safety issues related to their braking systems.
The voluntary recall in the United States includes about 133,000 Prius vehicles from the 2010 model year and 14,500 Lexus 2010 HS250h vehicles to update software in the vehicles’ anti-lock brake system, Toyota Motor Sales U.S.A. Inc. said in a press release Tuesday afternoon.
Only Prius vehicles produced since May 2009 and all HS 250h vehicles are subject to the U.S. recall. The Lexus model has a similar ABS system to the 2010 Prius, but first- and second-generation Prius vehicles use a different ABS system.
News Hub: Another Setback for Toyota?
Toyota resume production in the U.S. just as brake problems mount for the Prius. MarketWatch reporter Shawn Langlois tells Stacey Delo whether there will be a recall.
The world’s largest car maker by sales volume said it will also conduct a voluntary safety recall on about 7,300 early-production, 2010 model-year Camry vehicles in the United States.
These Camrys, which are equipped with the 4-cylinder engine, will be recalled to inspect for a power steering hose that may be in contact with a front brake tube. Contact could lead to a hole in the brake tube and cause a brake fluid leak and require greater stopping distance, Toyota said.
In Japan, Toyota /quotes/comstock/13*!tm/quotes/nls/tm (TM 74.35, +1.50, +2.06%) /quotes/comstock/!7203 (JP:7203 3,375, +95.00, +2.90%) said it submitted recall notifications earlier Tuesday to the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism in regard to the current-model Prius, Prius Plug-in Hybrid, the HS250h and the Sai, which is only sold in Japan.
The domestic recall affects about 223,000 vehicles and Toyota said it will begin corrective reprogramming of the software program that controls the anti-lock braking system on Feb. 10. The reprogramming is expected to take about 40 minutes per vehicle.
”We will do everything in our power to regain confidence of our customers,” Akio Toyoda, Toyota’s president, said in English at a televised news conference in Tokyo.
Total tally
All told, the recall pertains to around 400,000 vehicles worldwide, the car maker said.
In announcing its recall notification to Japan’s Transport Ministry, Toyota said in addition to the Prius, it is “now preparing remedies” for the Prius Plug-in Hybrid, the Sai and the HS250h and will suspend domestic sales of the three models or suspend deliveries to customers in the case of completed purchases.
Ahead of the official announcement, shares of Toyota closed up 2.9%, while the Nikkei 225 Stock Average slipped 0.2%.
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“As the market has been fed small hints of news releases and has been given updates, the stock has firmed,” said Brett McGonegal, a managing director at Cantor Fitzgerald. “The market is normally a quite efficient pricing mechanism that tends to overshoot on lack of information.
Toyota’s stock has been climbing “as people know news is coming out,” he said, and “my feeling is people will look at this as a buying opportunity as the market may have slightly over reacted.”
However, “if the recall grows or becomes substantially more expensive, then this trade will prove costly,” McGonegal said.
Time for apologies
Toyoda, Toyota’s president, had apologized on Friday for the company’s earlier worldwide recalls of more than 8 million cars to fix problems with its accelerator pedals and floor mats. Read the MarketWatch account of the Toyota executive’s action plan.
Tags: 000 vehicles worldwide, auto news, car news, cars, Toyota, Toyota announces recall of 400