Chevy Malibu ads will aim at Camry, Accord

When the 2008 Chevrolet Malibu hits dealerships on November 1st, 2007, GM will be hoping to steal some market away from the Honda Accord and Toyota Camry. However, GM's vice president of vehicle sales, Mark LaNeve, admits that the Camry and Accord owners will be a "tough conquest target."
"Without getting into a lot of specifics, we are going to clearly identify that we're competing in the segment with the Camry and the Accord and that we feel we've got the best car in the segment," Mark LaNeve told Automotive News.

LaNeve says that the Malibu ad campaign is designed to show that GM has built a car equal to or better than its two main competitors. GM's research has shown that owners of imported brands would be willing to buy an American car that is as good as or better than an import.
GM will not be pulling the same stunt it did with the Saturn Aura by putting a Camry and Accord in Saturn dealerships. However, LaNeve said that GM will market the Malibu more than it did the Saturn Aura.
"We're going to vigorously state our case and hope that people get us on the consideration list," LaNeve told Automotive News. "That's all we ask."

Source: http://www.egmcartech.com/2007/08/27/chevy-malibu-ads-will-aim-at-camry-accord/

2008 Honda Accord: Can it Be Smart and Savvy Again?

In September 2007, the eighth-generation 2008 Honda Accord sedan and coupe go on sale, bearing a look previewed by the 2007 Detroit show's Accord Coupe Concept. The standard for premium mid-size sedans has rested with the Accord and Toyota's Camry for many years, as clearly as the BMW 3-Series is the luxury sport sedan to beat. Last year, the Accord accounted for 354,500 of the 1.3 million cars and trucks Honda sold in the United States. Beyond the volume it brings, Honda's Accord carries much company history. The Accord was the first car Honda built in the States, starting twenty-five years ago, and the first Japanese product to be built in the USA.
The third-generation, launched for 1986, showed us we could have a smart and savvy midsize sedan instead of a simply boring one. The third-generation Accord had a very low cowl and pop-up headlamps - very sporty for a Mid-Size Car of its day. The following fourth-generation car took Accord in a more elegant, upscale direction. Then, Accord began to struggle a bit.
Along the way, Accord never lost its rational element, but stylish, fun-to-drive elements were watered down. For 2008, Honda looks to revive that image with the eighth-generation Accord and raise the bar against the sporty and stylish Nissan Altima and the finally expressive segment icon Camry.
Honda targets Altima and Camry directly, but competition also includes Saturn Aura, Ford Fusion, Hyundai Sonata, and even Chrysler's Sebring and Dodge Avenger. Chevrolet's latest Malibu goes on sale later this year with a stronger, more modern exterior and a much-improved interior. In a hotly contested market, Honda is looking to again provide buyers the smart, stylish, fun-to-drive option. Honda also is looking for sales above the 400,000-unit mark, something Accord hasn't seen since 2001.
We had the chance for a short drive following a presentation of the new bread-and-butter car. Honda has brought another terrific mid-size sedan, but we're not convinced the bar is raised significantly. We didn't have a chance to drive the coupe, but the two-door brings style to Accord's coupe line that hasn't been seen before. The Accord coupe should hold its own from an image standpoint against coupes in the Nissan Altima and Pontiac G6 ranges.
Most competing brands offer a mid-size and a larger sedan (Avalon, Maxima, Azera, and Taurus), but Honda's top model is the Accord. The new Accord is bigger, nearly as long as the Maxima overall and with wheelbase and width nearly the size of the Avalon. The new Accord is about five inches longer than Camry and Altima (only an inch between the axles). The larger exterior allowed for interior space large enough for Accord to be classified as a Large Car in EPA ratings, and Accord now may be better able to straddle the line between mid-size and large.


Source: http://blog.vehiclevoice.com/2007/08/2008_honda_accord_can_it_be_sm.html

GM says Malibu is best car in class, takes direct aim at competition

When GM launches the 2008 Malibu this fall, look for it to go directly after the Toyota Camry and Honda Accord. Mark LaNeve, GM's sales, service, and marketing VP, says GM will be laying out the reasons why it feels the Malibu is better than its competition in the new ad campaign. We hope to see the fur start to fly in the bread-and-butter sedan arena, with response ads upping the ante before being met with another challenge. LaNeve acknowledges that it will be a hard battle to pry backsides out of the Camry or Accord (especially with an all-new version of the latter), but GM's got an excellent car in the new Malibu. The assault on the incumbent evergreen models is already going on over in Saturn stores, where GM's actually placed the competitor's cars in the showroom next to the award winningAura.

Customer research has told GM that import owners would be persuaded to buy a different brand that is as good or better than their current car, but only actual results will prove the hypothesis. One possible bone of contention is residual value, where the well-burnished reputation of the segment leaders has them holding on to nearly 50 percent of their original sticker after three years, versus about 35 percent for the Malibu. Instead of buying a car based on how much you can get for it in three years, we suggest you buy a car you're happy with, and we see a lot that's encouraging in the new Malibu. Heck, you might even want to keep it after it's paid off — imagine that! Besides, if the car lives up to the expectations GM is whipping up for it, resale values will rise as word spreads. We can't wait to try one.

Source: http://nikhusni.com/cars/gm-says-malibu-is-best-car-in-class-takes-direct-aim-at-competition/

Global Insight Analyst without a clue on hybrids

Toyota Camry hybrid on track to sell 60,000 units

"Owning a hybrid is all about saying 'Look at what I'm doing for the world'," says auto analyst John Wolkonowicz of Global Insight. "If you can't say that, the whole purchase is a waste of time."

So, why are so many buying the Camry hybrid? How many more would be buying the Camry hybrid if the full hybrid tax credit was available?

Just because Wolkonowicz has a small-minded personality that equates success with materialism doesn't mean all people do. John might not get it, but some people buy non-Prius hybrid vehicles because they believe in the technology and want to support it, not because they are trying to preach to the world.

When Camry hybrid, Highlander hybrid, Escape hybrid, Altima hybrid and Civic hybrid customers are combined, they make up a pretty significant percentage of hybrid buyers, around 50 percent in fact. So, half of all hybrid buyers are just 'wasting time'?

Maybe it's John's superficial insights into hybrid buyers that are the waste of time.

When it comes to the Prius, it's more fuel efficient than any other hybrid. It's cheaper than any other Toyota hybrid. Its design offers a huge amount of cargo space for a small car, especially when the back seats can be put down. More important, you can't compare its cost-effectiveness against its conventional counterpart - a non-hybrid Prius doesn't exist.

None of that matters to Prius buyers? Such an assumption is just plain clueless.
Labels: Hybrid Vehicles, toyota prius


Source: http://www.hybridcarblog.com/2007/08/global-insight-analyst-without-clue-on.html