TOP 100 RACING SITES
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| Team notes: Lone Star layout next up for Cup series NASCAR team reports as the Sprint Cup Series makes its first stop of the season at Texas Motor Speedway: rssfeeds.usatoday.com |
Government ownership gets thorny, already It’s obvious that government ownership of General Motors and Chrysler is going to bring up all kinds of thorny issues and unwanted pressure on how the companies will be run. But the feds haven’t even acquired their shares yet and already the two companies are getting heat from Washington. At Senate hearings yesterday, GM CEO Fritz Henderson and Chrysler President Jim Press had to justify why they plan to cut 1,100 and 789 dealerships, respectively. West Virginia Democrat Jay Rockefeller said, “I don’t believe that companies should be allowed to take taxpayers dollars for a bailout and then leave local dealers and customers to fend for themselves with no real notice and no real help,” according to USA Today. This whole issue is wrongheaded on so many levels. First and foremost, the advisors hired by the Treasury Department’s Auto Task Force told both companies that they had too many dealers. The outsize retail networks are expensive to support. By fighting over a shrinking number of customers, many of the dealers that some in the Senate hope to save weren’t profitable. Money losing dealers can’t keep top sales people and managers, nor can they go the extra mile for customers. Retail is like ground war and the Big Three (yes, Ford, too) have been losing it for years. A smaller but healthier retail network will make them stronger. Even worse than that, with the opponents of government ownership crying “socialism” without the lease bit of prompting, we have members of Congress saying that the companies should preserve dealers that don’t fit the new business plan just because GM and Chrysler are getting government funds. Well, President Obama has been pretty clear. Helping these two automakers will preserve jobs, but not every job. Keeping dealers afloat because the companies received government funds is tantamount to putting them on the dole. It’s bad business. If GM and Chrysler relent to Congress and preserve some of the dealers that they intend to cut, it will set a terrible precedent. What happens if they want to close a plant? Will senators and representatives complain to the White House or the carmakers to preserve jobs in their locales? It’s very possible. Having the government, union and bondholders all owning a piece of these companies is complex enough. The future boards and management teams of these two companies need Congressional interference in running their businesses like the government needs more debt. It’s time to back off. rss.businessweek.com |
Lowe's out as sponsor of Charlotte track in 2010 Lowe's will not renew its naming rights of Lowe's Motor Speedway when its contract expires after this season. The home improvement ... rssfeeds.usatoday.com |
GM Looking At New Ad Agencies For Chevrolet General Motors, facing criticism that it may not be moving fast enough to stir new conversations around its brands, is about to start hearing new pitches from new ad agencies.As first reported by Jean Halliday in Ad Age, it does not appear that long time ad agency Campbell-Ewald, Warren MI is facing a firing. But the automaker is finally doing what this blogger has been advocating for years---it is opening itself up to hearing great ideas to push the Chevy brand down the field to a better place.For a long time, politics and personal relationships have kept the Chevy/Campbell-Ewald relationship bound together as if by Crazy Glue; even when the advertising and thinking that produced it was terrible. The agency has been Chevy's agency since 1922.1922!!!!!!!That was then. Chevy IS General Motors. It used to be that Chevy was just one of eight brands at GM in North America. Going forward, it is one of four. But in fact, it is the whole show. If Chevrolet does not increase market share and improve perception, it's not going to matter what happens at Buick, GMC and Cadillac.New Chevy chief Brent Dewar obviously knows this.Campbell-Ewald is expected to keep doing the bulk of work on the account. It is a huge account with lots of moving parts. And it requires that GM maintain continuity to keep the trains running on time. But new ad agencies will be invited to become roster agencies so that C-E is always challenged, not only on the ideas themselves, but regarding the talent they bring to bear for Chevy.Why should the creative talent pool be restricted to people willing to live in Southeast Michigan?There are going to be some "retirements" at Campbell-Ewald, I am guessing. Dewar clearly understands, finally, that it is nuts not to have hungry, creative agencies, whether they are in Minneapolis, Los Angeles, Miami, Brazil, Romania pitching Chevy ideas that will stir the conversation anew.Finally....Religion has arrived at Chevy!!The problem right now is that there are so many car accounts in review that it is taxing some of the better shops trying to respond.Chrysler's brands have been in review. Volkswagen is in review, and will be decided after October 20. Cadillac is now in review. Now Chevy.Deutsch, which is pitching Volkswagen right now, will be expected to pitch either Chevrolet or Cadillac if they should lose. Perhaps, they can pitch both--Cadillac from its LA office perhaps and Chevy from New York. Nike agency Wieden & Kennedy is pitching VW too, as is Goodby Silverstein. Those are two agencies I would love to have creating ideas for Chevy if I am Dewar.Another terrific agency, Fallon, Minneapolis is pitching Chrysler. The Martin Agency (Geico) is available, and will most certainly be asked to pitch Caddy and Chevy. New York's Strawberry Frog is handling Indian automaker's Mahindra & Mahindra's launch in the U.S. Could they also pitch for a Cadillac model that doesn't compete?Because C-E is expected to keep working on Chevy, GM has the luxury of tapping all kinds of small shops for ideas that don't have to be full-service ad agencies. Agencies in St. Louis, Kansas City, Texas.The company should have done this a decade ago at least.Politics is the only reason the company did not do it before. Funny, that it took U.S. government ownership of GM to get rid of the politics.GM is advertising a campaign with the theme, "May The Best Car Win."As far as Chevy's advertising goes...now, it's "Let The Best Idea Win" no matter where it comes from. rss.businessweek.com |
Toyota join the F1 exodus Formula One is reeling after Toyota became the latest automaker to quit the motor sport in response to the economic crisis, days after tyre manufacturer Bridgestone pulled out. foxsports.com.au |