This may not be able to help dealers in their quest of increasing sales, but it certainly can be entertaining. This infographic would make a nice conversation piece printed out and placed at someone's desk.



Research by Home Security.net

To be completely fair, we've only heard one side of the story. Still, it is disturbing to believe that any part or the story below could be true given that our industry is making strides towards a stronger, more ethical reputation. Regardless of whether the story is true or not, it's "true" enough to make it onto several blogs and ratings websites, including DealerRater and Consumerist (a top 4000 website in the world and top 1000 in the US according to Alexa). At this point, it no longer matters whether or not it's true. The stories are printed in trusted sites and soon a search for the dealer's name will yield these horror stories. Here is the letter from the consumer: Two weeks ago I attempted to purchase a 2010 Hyundai Elantra SE from Long Island City Hyundai in [redacted], NY. I left a $500 deposit on my credit card and $4500 via an electronic check transfer. After a lot of seemingly intentional confusion regarding matching a competitors pri...

The once-proud brand is gone. While most consider the move a good one by Alan Mulally and Ford, it still begs the question of whether or not the vehicle make that yielded songs and inspired movies could have been saved with the right strategy.

We'll never know.


[Source: Auto Insurance Quotes for Autoblog.com]

It's common for carmakers and their marketing firms to use photoshop to enhance the look of a vehicle. They can add motion, often with blurred backgrounds or smoke coming from tires.

In this case, as spotted by Jalopnik, they missed one important aspect that every moving car should have. Who's driving?



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Here's a quick chuckle for Wednesday: There are right ways for two companies to work together and combine their assets and form something wonderful. Honda and Toyota, despite recent woes, have long been two of the best manufacturers when it comes to hybrids. If they ever combined their technologies, they could truly build something amazing. This, however, is not the way to do it.

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Read more Offbeat Automotive News on this blog....

Most companies large and small perform some sort of search engine optimization on their sites. It's natural, as Google is such a tremendous traffic driving machine. When we hear of large automotive publishing firms engaging in pre-school link-building spam efforts, it shocks us. Why? Because they simply do not work, and you'd think a publisher like Car and Driver would know that.

They didn't.

[caption id="attachment_45" align="aligncenter" width="497" caption="How NOT to Build Links"][/caption]

The effort here was to do a link exchange with Techcrunch, a publication that has a Google PageRank of 8/10. To put that into perspective, the LA Times website is a PR 8. It is clear that they are searching for any publication that is posting about "Ford" and trying to optimize their site to be the next Ford Buying Guide traffic recipient.

It didn't work. In fact, Techcrunch sent the email to Matt Cutts, Google's SEO Spam Czar. The lesson here is that if you're going to try link farm...

The way that men and women view driving distractions is apparent in this infographic by LeaseTrader.com. It seems that the distractions are gender-related:
Men

Road Rage - 18.3%
Eating/Drinkin - 14.7%
Checking out Other Drivers - 10.9%

Women

Kids in Car - 26.3%
Putting on Makeup - 16.6%
Messing with Radio - 10.4%

Clearly we all have our priorities wrong from time to time, regardless of sex.



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Below, you will find the slides for the 5-year production plan that Chrysler has laid out.



Read more Automotive Industry News on this blog.

In these difficult times, it's easy to understand why many car dealers are desperately trying to get the attention of the consumers. Between the economy, improved longevity of vehicles, and uncertainty within the industry, every potential sale must be made.

Still, there are times when car dealers take it a little too far with their advertising. Sometimes, it's just a matter of going "over the top" with the advertising. Other times, they try to be slick and fail.

Then, of course, there are those that just simply fail. Enjoy.
Cute on a baby ad. Creepy on a car ad.


Subliminal Enticement


Free Gun with Car Purchase


Yes You Can... but you shouldn't have


Scratching Head: Sending the Wrong Message


Even a Minor Slight Against Your Home Town is Wrong


It Just Seems a Little... Desperate


Disco is Dead. This Ad Didn't Bring it Back.


Stereotypes are Bad. Promoting them is Worse.


No Explanation Necessary: This Video is Wrong

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Image Credits:...

Saw this at a hotel in Napa Valley, CA. I first thought it was a joke until an employee walked up and said, "Yep, had to have a Corolla towed last month."

When I pointed out that the Corolla was not only a very fuel efficient vehicle but also required a lower amount of CO2 emissions to put on the road during its building process, the hotel employee said, "That may be true, but it's the hybrid movement that we're supporting, not the fuel economy."

I thought he was joking. I chuckled. He didn't chuckle back. At this point, a little dismayed, I asked, "So what if I were to park an all-electric vehicle here. Technically, it's not a hybrid and falls under the 'All non-hybrid vehicles will be towed' rule."

He thought about it for a moment and said, "Let me go ask the front desk."

"Don't bother," I said before jumping into my V8, 4x4 Jeep Grand Cherokee.

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Read more offbeat automotive news on the Blinker Fluid Blog at Driving Sales.

Image Source: Fixr...