Car Corner

Ford Motor Company had already caught the attention of millions of U.S. residents of different races especially African-Americans through Ford’s marketing campaign called “Bold Moves”.

The advertisement campaign started last May 2, when Ford came up with a 60-second advertisement aired on Fox TV’s American Idol. The ad features a new song from Season 1 winner and two-time Grammy Award winner Kelly Clarkson. The main initiative of the first “Bold Moves” marketing campaign was to call out the attention of urban customers by starting out with new Ford Fusion and Ford F150 advertisements entitled “Dance” that was premiered on Black Entertainment Television’s (BET) top rated 2006 BET Awards.

Marc Perry, Ford’s Multi-cultural Marketing Manager states: “Bold Moves focuses on the choices people make every day about how to live their lives. What we’re doing is putting a lens on that message to communicate with the various cultures that make up the United States.”

The “Bold Moves” advertisement campaign is a major part of Ford’s marketing plan called “Way Forward” which goal is to restore Ford’s market profitability in North America.

“When we started out on our Way Forward plan, our first step was a reassessment of what people think of us today. What are our weaknesses? What are our strengths? Our research confirmed for us what we knew in our hearts. Ford’s strength and identity are defined by three words: bold… American… and innovative.” said Marc Fields, Executive Vice President of Ford Motor Company.

Ford’s advertising partner Uniworld Group, which is an African-American marketing agency, had developed two “Bold Moves” campaign that features urban customers. The first commercial entitled “Dance: Bold Makes it Happen” is a 30-second TV advertisement that features the lifestyle of an urban Ford Fusion owner. Unfortunately, the commercial did not feature quality Ford parts such as Ford Mustang parts. The second one is a 30-second TV spot about a pick-up truck owner who wants to renovate an old barbershop with the help of his Ford F150 truck along with three other friends.

Bold Moves marketing campaign will continue in developing advertisements for new Ford vehicles and other Ford products such as the all-new 2007 Ford Shelby GT500, the 2007 Ford Expedition and Expedition EL, 2007 Ford Edge, and the 2007 Ford Fusion all-wheel-drive. In addition, Ford will also create marketing campaigns, which will target the Hispanic-American customers in North America.

 

The Ford Motor Company is proving to be resilient in the face of difficult times. Though Ford is losing billions in the US and market share at that, the company is holding firm in Europe, even increasing its share of the sales pie.

Through August 2008, Ford saw its market share in Europe increase from 7.6% to 8.0%, fueled by its best August in the UK since 2003 and its best month ever in Germany. Moreover, across its 19 European markets, Ford has sold 5500 more cars year to date than last year, an amazing feat considering the economic times we’re in.

“We are pleased to see our market share growing substantially in many markets despite lower overall volumes because of the general weakness in the industry,” said Ingvar Sviggum, vice president, Marketing, Sales and Service, Ford of Europe.

“Given the difficult economic conditions and changing vehicle mix it is even more important that we offer customers an unbeatable portfolio of products, and the new Fiesta and Ka models will be valuable additions to our range,” Sviggum said. “Also, with our new, class-leading ECOnetic line of low CO2 emission vehicles we are able to meet growing customer demand for more fuel-efficient and environmentally-friendly cars.”

Ford calculates its sales totals through19 main European markets which includes: Austria, Belgium, Britain, Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Spain, Sweden and Switzerland.

In addition, the automaker serves what they call their European Direct Market where the automaker bases their share of the market on non-domestic sales volume. These markets are: Albania, Algeria, Andorra, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Bosnia, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Egypt, Georgia, Gibraltar, Kazakhstan, Kyrgysztan, Libya, Macedonia, Malta, Moldova, Montenegro, Morocco, Romania, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Tunisia, Ukraine, Uzbekistan. Finally, Ford includes Turkey and Russia in their non-traditional markets, for a total of 51 markets across Europe and North Africa.

For August 2008, the strongest seller for Ford was its Ford Focus followed by its previous generation Fiesta. Also in that month, Ford began production of its all-new Fiesta selling 800 models which will only increase in the months ahead. The Ford Focus, Fiesta, Transit, Mondeo, and C-Max are the top five vehicles sold by Ford in the European market, with only an Americanized version of the Focus sold stateside.

Good news for Ford of Europe will likely mean good news for Ford of America especially as Ford starts producing some of its popular European models on American, Canadian, and Mexican assembly lines beginning in 2009. Ford says that six European models will be built in North America, radically reshaping the Blue Oval and hopefully spurring sales all across the fruited plains.

(Source: Ford Motor Company)

 

The General Motors Corporation (GMC)-produced Chevrolet boasts of a wide range of quality products from trucks to cars to sport utility vehicles for its customers worldwide. Since 1911, the Chevrolet brand has continuously evolved into the modern vehicles available at present. What made this brand more appealing is that Chevrolet parts, which vary from either replacement parts or special add-ons, are in crisp condition and are readily available. Moreover, this American automaker makes sure that only the quality Chevrolet parts are equipped in its vehicles.

Chevrolet, which is GMC’s largest brand, takes pride in the automotive parts in its famous line of vehicles. Also known as Chevy, this automobile company does not only make compact cars, but most importantly light, medium, and heavy duty trucks. For this fact, the company has to really make the chevrolet parts better in order to suffice the demands of its vehicles.

One of the best selling model of Chevrolet happens to be a medium-size pick-up truck called the Chevrolet Silverado. Since this vehicle has to perform heavy tasks, which can include hauling or towing, powerful Chevrolet parts were manufactured in it. All the Chevrolet trucks are, of course, geared to be tough. Thus, a powerful engine has been equipped. Trucks usually has a 5.3-liter V8 engine that can guarantee up to 300 to 315-horsepower. A vehicle with a beefed up engine has to be geared with an equally powerful suspension, transmission, wheel systems. These systems will make it easier for the operator to control the vehicle. This idea does not only apply to trucks, but to other Chevy vehicles as well. Moreover, a Chevy truck’s spacious cabin makes it suitable for big families. The exterior of Chevrolet vehicles are also geared with safety Chevrolet parts like the headlights and taillights assemblies for better road visibility.

Aside from the basic Chevrolet parts, some models of this brand are manufactured to have that air of luxury. Special features like backing sonar, power adjustable pedals, leather bucket seats, and satellite radio are just some of the innovations of Chevrolet vehicles. Customization of Chevrolet parts can also be done, but owners just have to make sure that the quality of these parts are not taken for granted. The usability of the Chevrolet parts before the sleek and stylish look should be prioritized. A good looking Chevrolet is pretty useless if the vehicle cannot serve its primary purpose.

in 1997 Toyota put out the very first mass produced hybrid in Japan. It was the Toyota Prius, which didn’t make it here to the US until 2000. And the rest is as they say history.

The history of the hybrid car reaches all the back to the 18th century. When France had a steam powered motor carriage that traveled at 6mph. Then in the 19th century an Englishman made a car with an electric motor and a blacksmith from Vermont made an electric motor powdered carriage.

The 1800s ended with the production of hundreds of electric cars and a German by the name of Porsche manufactured a front wheel drive electric car and then later a hybrid that used internal combustion engine pared with an electric motor. This is probably the first hybrid car on record. This was the trend until Henry Ford created the first assembly line to manufacturer gas powered vehicles.

Surprisingly the US Congress began launching bills in the 1960s that stated that electric vehicles would help curb air pollution and this revamped the interest in the electric car. The tinkering back and forth over gas prices and issues with the early electric cars lead the industry through many ups and downs, but in 1997 Toyota put out the very first mass produced hybrid in Japan. It was the Toyota Prius, which didn’t make it here to the US until 2000. And the rest is as they say history.

Benefits of the Hybrid Cars

Today we can not ignore the fact that emissions from our automobiles are in effect killing our planet. With even better hybrid cars available today it is a wonder as to why many people still struggle with the back and forth trying to out weigh the pros from the cons. In an attempt to help with the here are a few, just a few, of the advantages of having a hybrid car.

1. Hybrid car economy “” plan and simple, it saves you money. The hybrid car can save you 30 miles a gallon because of the combination of the cleaner electric motor working with the long range gasoline engine. The gasoline engine shuts off automatically whenever the car stops, which helps in cutting gasoline consumptions. Once you step on the accelerator the gas engine engages and powers the vehicle.

2. The environment “” hybrids emit lower toxic emissions as compared to your conventional car. This makes the car more environmentally friendly. Some people out there that still think that global warming is a scam and not something that we humans created. Well, it is real, and though most of us adults will not be around long enough to really see the damage that we have done, our children will. Help save the the planet so that there is an earth for them to enjoy. The Toyota Prius reduces tailpipe emissions by 50% compared to a conventional car.

3. In 2005 President Bush signed a bill of tax incentives for those with a hybrid car a huge tax break. The tax break varies depending on two factors, how fuel efficient the hybrid car is compared to a conventional 2002 car of the same weight class and how much gas the hybrid car can save in its lifetime compared to an equivalent conventional car.

As to date, an increase of 50% on hybrid car demand has been observed since it entered mainstream market. It’s no surprise how much of an effect they have had on the average driver and consumer but it seems that hybrid is definitely the future of the automobile industry; so much so, in fact, that it’s also not a shock to see hybrid car rental companies sprouting up here and there.

On the Rise

Long before the introduction of electric hybrid, car rental companies that support environment friendly vehicles have been around already. They were renting out other vehicles that were either purely electric or were using power sources other than the fuel and electric combination as well as the conventional gas-powered cars as well. As soon as hybrid electric vehicles were introduced, it was inevitable for these companies to add them to their rosters as well.

Advantage

With the growing popularity of hybrid electric vehicles, it’s just as well that these hybrid car rental agencies do exist. For the consumer, it will be a good opportunity to test out a hybrid before making the decision to purchasing to own one. By renting one out for a week or so, a person will be able to determine if the hybrid electric definitely will do what manufacturers say it will do.

Hybrid cars can differ in some of the vehicle’s aspects. The concept behind the technology may be the same for all manufacturers but there are a few key differences between hybrid models released by various car companies.

Savings

These hybrid car rental companies also makes touring more convenient for travelers. Travelers who do use hybrid cars will most definitely be spending much less on gas since hybrid electric vehicles can run for much longer on lesser amounts of gas.

In the long run, if this trend remains, hybrid electric cars will do much better than their gas-dependent counterparts as far as car rentals are concerned. This also means that car rental agencies that do rent out hybrid vehicles will probably rent them out at even cheaper prices since fuel rates will not be too much of a concern for them.

Maintenance for hybrid cars is also easier because it does not have too many mechanical engine parts under the hood. Since they are simple and get the job done more efficiently and in an eco-friendly way, consumers not only save money, but they end up saving the world from hazardous carbon dioxide emissions as well.

To date, there are only a few listings of hybrid car rental companies but the list is expected to rise with the demand. Perhaps through these hybrid car rental agencies, people will learn to appreciate hybrid vehicles even more which will hopefully lead to their use over gas guzzlers in the city streets and highways.

[“Hot Stocks” is a new Money Morning feature that analyzes the investment outlook of global companies that are in the news. This is the eighth installment of this ongoing investment series.]

Money Morning Staff Reports

If you like the car, will you love the company?

When it comes to Ford Motor Co. (F), a Canadian car dealer bet a month’s sales on that premise.

Rose City Ford dealership owner John Chisholm offered 100 shares of Ford stock to anyone who bought a new or used vehicle from the dealership during the month of November, the Windsor Star newspaper reported. Chisholm, the president and general manager of Rose City, said he got the idea from a General Motors Co. (GM) dealership in Texas that offered GM shares for each vehicle sold. So Chisholm opted to try it in Windsor, the Ontario, Canada city where Ford has both a long history and deep community roots.

“What a great way to show our confidence in the company,” Chisholm, who employs 80 at a dealership that his father founded nearly 30 years ago, said in an interview late last week. “We believe the company is going to be around for a long, long time.”

Chisholm was planning to actually buy the shares Monday for customers who bought a vehicle last month. He expects to extend the promotion, should its popularity continue.

“We want as many people with ownership in the company as we can,” said Chisholm, who owns Ford shares himself. “They’ll be going up. This is an incentive that is going to grow.”

Just how big a payoff the incentive deal provides the dealership’s customers will depend on whether Ford is able to turn itself around in the coming months.

Thanks to the ongoing global financial crisis – and stung by the worst sales slump in 25 years – Ford lost $3 billion in the third quarter and now the Dearborn, Mich.-based company and its two other “Big Three” cohorts are pressing both U.S. and Canadian lawmakers for emergency aid. All three are to submit turnaround plans to Congress this week – a requirement if General Motors, Ford and Chrysler Corp., are to receive $25 billion in U.S. government bailout loans.

Some details began to emerge yesterday (Tuesday), according to a report that runs elsewhere in today’s (Wednesday’s) issue of Money Morning. Among other things, Ford is considering the sale of its stake in Volvo as it seeks to raise cash.

Anthony J. “Tony” Faria, a marketing expert who is the co-director of the University of Windsor/DaimlerChrysler Canada Automotive Research and Development Center (ARDC), told the Windsor Star that the Ford promotion was “interesting” and “attention-getting,” even though the present value to customers was less than $300, a small inducement compared to other incentives and rebates.

“I presume Detroit Three dealers probably will be looking for a lot of creative things they can do to improve traffic through their dealerships,” Faria said.

Promotional flyers for what the dealership portrayed as “confidence sale” exhorted local customers to “be a part of history,” proclaiming that “100 shares is the way forward.” Public interest has already been piqued by the inexpensive promotion, which customers say they like because of the potential for a big payoff, the newspaper reported.

“The 100 shares are an absolute bonus,” customer Tina Reed said, just before she drove away from the dealership in a brand-new charcoal-gray Ford Focus. “I keep an eye on the stock market but now I’ll pay a little more attention.”

JP Morgan Chase & Co. (JPM) credit analysts had rated GM’s distressed debt as a “Buy,” noting that the company – known for such brands as Chevrolet and Buick – was likely going to survive.

Interestingly, Ford has a market cap of $6.09 billion – making the company known for bringing forth such innovations as mass production, the Model T and the assembly line more than twice as valuable as GM, the market-share leader (of the U.S. carmakers). Ford had $172.5 billion in sales last year, and $160.1 billion in 2006.

GM had $181.2 billion in sales last year and $205.6 billion in 2006, according to statistics provided by Google Finance. The company right now has a market value of only $2.8 billion.

Shares in the embattled automaker hovered near $30 in 2001, but have nose-dived since that time. GM’s shares closed Monday at $4.59 each, a decline of 65 cents each, or 12.4%. They have traded as high as $29.95 in the past 12 months.

Ford shares closed Monday at $2.55 each, down 14 cents, or 5.2% per share. They’ve traded as high as $8.79 in the past year.

Whether the price will tank or skyrocket in these uncertain times is anybody’s guess but many, including Faria, the marketing expert, believe the stock is poised for a rebound – especially if the U.S. and Canadian governments can agree on a multibillion-dollar bailout package.

I’ve seriously thought about buying a lot of Ford shares at this price because one of two things is going to happen,” Faria said. “Either Ford is going to fail and you’re going to lose all of it or, if Ford doesn’t fail, the shares, at some point, are going to be worth a lot more.”

Faria said Ford was in better shape financially than GM and Chrysler, but conceded that the fates of all three are intertwined because they share suppliers dependent on business from all three – and because of the need for government aid.

Not everyone sees a bright future for Ford. Indeed, one Web site wag wrote on the Windsor Star Web site that “I have some Penn Central, WorldCom., Enron, Nortel (NT) and Citibank (C) shares if Mr. Chisholm would like to take them in trade for a new car. They are in certificate form, so he can use them to decorate the showroom. Cheaper than buying new wallpaper.”

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Investment News

Today i test drove Chevrolet Optra – a lovely car to ride. I was very pleased with the smoothness of the drive and the low engine sound. GM cars especially chevrolet cars i have found in my past experience make a lot of noise but not this optra.chevrolet optra (the one i test drove) is reasonably priced at 9 Lakh exhowroom delhi. It competes with the best know car in its segment the – the japanese pride honda city.My experience was great riding chevy optra , the seats were comfy and there is enough legroom to just let me long legs relax while i drive . I have found honda city owing to its low steering wheel does get in way of my long legs. Anyways i do love honda city as well, let me focus on the chevrolet optra Chevrolet has launched optra magnum in 2 petrol versions(the base model is not at all popular and i could not find it in the dealer showroom either so i have chosen to skip it ) :- 1) The petrol 1600 cc model – Chevrolet Optra 1.6 LS petrol2) The petrol 1600 cc top end model – Chevrolet Optra 1.6 LT petrolThe top end model comes with the cool sun roof and is priced roughly 1.2 lakh more expensive than the Chevrolet optra 1.6 LS model. What model Chevrolet optra 1.6 LT offers more is the same colored rear view mirrors with the turn indications in the rear view mirror themselves. The rear view mirrors are also electric foldable in Chevrolet optra 1.6 LT Leather seats are not available in Chevrolet optra 1.6 LS , while it is availabe in the Chevrolet optra 1.6 LT model.Chevrolet Optra is also available in diesel models. There are three variants available in diesel :- 1) The diesel base model – Chevrolet optra 2.0 LS 2) The diesel mid model – Chevrolet optra 2.0 LT3) The diesel top end model – Chevrolet optra 2.0 MAXChevrolet Optra Magnum has come in India to rock the streets. Though it is yet to catch the eye of consumer i am sure it will. Amazing car ! Go for a test ride friends.

Searching for used hybrid cars for sale online is easy since it has been around from 2001. What you may find difficult is looking for the right used car dealers online.

Searching

Most dealers of used hybrid cars will likely be found on the internet so it’s probably the best place to check out first. It’s the best place to search and research on any information regarding hybrid cars, old and new. Another great thing about looking over the internet for a used hybrid car for sale is that you can search for them by brand. This really stretches your options quite a bit and you will find yourself finding even better bargains than if you were looking at a brick and mortar dealership.

The advantage of actually checking out a car dealer with in a brick-and-mortar car shop is that when you do find a car that you like, you can right away take it on a spin. A physical examination of a product really does beat just imagining what it might be like.

Knowing your parts

The two main bases for used product is on how long it has been previously used or owned and on the extent of possible damage on the product by its previous owner. With hybrid cars, this also holds true. Not only will the car already have some substantial mileage on it, some of its parts may already have been damaged, greatly or not. The only way to avoid this is to make sure that you have a keen understanding of the technology behind hybrid cars and also do your own research on some of the parts.

A used hybrid car for sale is usually disposed of because it may be old or it may be damaged. It’s best that you are ready for any of the two situations.

Prices

Unlike what most people may think, a used hybrid car will cost more than a used ordinary car sold at dealerships. Since the oldest of hybrid cars is only about 6 years old, the price of a used hybrid car will probably be as low as $10,000. The reason for this is that a hybrid car’s technology does not degrade as fast as a usual car.

Since hybrid cars are energy-efficient and uses up only a minimum amount of fuel, the parts can still be in very good condition. It is this technology that keeps prices as high as they are even for used hybrid cars.

The major advantage of getting a used hybrid car is that you can get it at a lower price compared to brand news one, while still enjoying its technology. Brand new hybrids can average about $20,000 so that spells out huge savings for you if you want to try out a hybrid car. However, some of things you will be missing out on by purchasing a used hybrid include tax breaks and a few warranties on parts and services.

Getting an affordable as well as dependable deal in car is not an easy thing. Now-a-days, you can easily find a large number of dodgy online shops which due to a money-centered objective try to cheat their own customers. This is no doubt a wrong approach and sooner or later such peoples loose their reputation in the market. But it is essentials for you that you should not give even a single opportunity to such dishonest sites to put forward an unfair deal for you.

If you know how to shop around online and have better knowledge of the online market then you will not face any trouble to get the right deal in no time. In contrast, if you lack proper knowledge and comprehensive strategy then things can go on the other way.

If you are planning shopping of car online then it is certainly not going to be a small deal. If you are going for a big deal then it is 100% right that you should go for a reliable name only. If your priority is any other brand of car then you can go for a better deal right after proper investigation and verification.

However if like most of the other car customers, your priority is also a model of Chevrolet then there is a grand option available for you. Can you guess the name of that site, which has its own dignity in the online market right from the beginning when it is about Chevrolet cars? Can you? Yes, you have guessed it right! Here we are talking none other then New Century 3 Chevrolet! 

When it is about the best models of cars available with Chevrolet then it is a site which cannot be ignored in any of the circumstances. Century 3 Chevrolet is a site which does not require any kind of certificate. But for your own assessment here we are throwing light on some of the points which are the incorporated parts of New Century 3 Chevrolet.

With all the above mentioned points it is now quite clear that New Century 3 Chevrolet can really prove to be an optimum choice for you. So, don’t miss the opportunity and make a deal now!!

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The goal of Macarthur Ford Narellan is anchored on the vision of Henry Ford. Macarthur Ford Narellan not only offers quality Ford cars but also a genuine service and concern for their clients manifested through their unwavering dedication of making their clients satisfied and happy.



Regardless of a new Ford or a used Ford, the team of Macarthur Ford Narellan is dedicated in helping you find the right Ford car that will suit your needs to elevate your lifestyle.



Macarthur Ford Narellan offers the best solution to those who want to have the Ford experience but is on a tight budget. The quality used Ford cars of Macarthur Ford Narellan suits those who are economical and want to save a lot. Buying a used Ford Car from Macarthur Ford Narellan is a good decision because not only is Macarthur Ford Narellan known for its outstanding service, but also for its reliability and honesty. Expect that when you buy a used Ford vehicle from their company, they will discuss with you thoroughly the insuring and financing cost of the vehicle you are eyeing to buy, as well as the maintenance record of such vehicle. Discussing these details is important because you do not want to buy a vehicle, marked by a number of defects, its previous owner is just trying to unload right?



Moving on to those people who are privileged to buy a new Ford, Macarthur Ford Narellan is again the best Ford Dealership for your brand new Ford needs. Macarthur Ford Narellan can offer you the right Ford car at the right price. All you have to do is pay them a visit in person and experience their dealership’s service and excellent selection of vehicles. They offer their customers a modern dealership with a very comfortable environment and no sales pressure.



Macarthur Ford Narellan does not believe in pressuring their customers. For them, every decision you make is important and therefore it need not be hurried.



I am very well impressed with the no pressure and relaxed environment of Macarthur Ford Narellan Dealership. I remember how they treat me like I am their only customer and never pressured me to buy from them right away. They made me feel that they are genuine in claiming that they are a business anchored in servitude.



For those who want to have the best of both worlds when it comes to Ford Dealership, go to Macarthur Ford Narellan. They not only provide their clients quality Ford cars but also an outstanding service that cannot be matched by other car dealerships which only aim is to profit.



http://macarthurfordnarellan.com.au/#