More GM Marketing News
In business it is typically understood that when profits drop, marketing allotments are one of the first things to follow. So, the recent news that GM is ramping their marketing budget back up to pre-deficit numbers must be a good thing! This year GM will see a rise in their marketing budget of 5%. That number is also, surely, a testament to the faith that the company has in their new head of marketing, Joel Ewanick. Ewanick has been with GM right around 3 months now, and in that time has begun to make large strides forward. The first major sign of his progress was the recent Corvette ZR1 national ad campaign which began, but that is just the beginning. This year will also mark the beginning of a new, full-scale, Camaro marketing campaign. This campaign presents faith in both Ewanick and the Camaro, and is a positive sign for GM moving forward. Ewanick has also announced that GM, and specifically the Chevrolet brand, will be returning to the Super Bowl. Last year, during their financial troubles, GM sat out the Super Bowl marketing blitz completely. The return this year presents more positive news for the company's economic outlook. Rounding out Ewanick's big moves is his new Cadillac marketing scheme which will begin this year. Cadillac is being given a new brand slogan, and with this new slogan will come a national marketing campaign as well. The slogan, "The new standard for the world" is catchy, but a little long-winded. I am no marketing genius, mind you, but I can't help but wonder if simply "The new standard" isn't a catchier slogan. It seems to me that adding the "for the world" at the end of it creates a little redundancy. Of course, the second part may be included to highlight Cadillac's high-end performance battle with companies like BMW and Mercedes. Their CTS-V, which puts of 556 HP stock and provides an incredible combination of luxury and performance, and definitely put a little fear in the eyes of BMW and MB as it outperforms equivalent priced vehicles from those competitors line-ups (see BMW M3, 5 Series, and MB S-Class). All in all, this set of news coming from GM and their new head of marketing is incredibly positive and points towards fairer pastures ahead. Here's to you, Mr. Ewanick, and the bright future you bring.
New Camaro Marketing Campaign
Chevrolet hasn't given any details concerning what the campaign will entail, just yet, but they have officially announced that Septmer of 2010 will bring about an all new Camaro ad campaign. The new Chevy ad blitz is, undoubtedly, Chevy's way of battling Ford's Mustang, as its sales have slightly surpassed the Camaro the past couple months (they sold 3 more units nationwide this past month, so the gap isn't exactly large). I imagine we'll see Camaro take a commanding lead of the sales battle with the Mustang once this marketing campaign hits.
Also, the Camaro is now hitting British shores. With its release there, a lot of British car reviewers have begun weighing in on the vehicle. We know our neighbors across the pond can be snobby, but the Camaro reviews have been very positive over there, thus far. Here are two of my favorite ones, and many more will undoubtedly follow. The guy in the first one is definitely having a whole lot of fun driving that Camaro, too!:
Camaro Z28 Artist Rendering
We've seen the spy photos of the Z28 thus far, and it looks pretty awesome. Using those, artist Jon Sibal put together a rendition of what the Z28's front end most likely looks like. You can make out some angles and details in the spy photos, and obviously Mr. Sibal used those same cues in the rendering he has put together. It's a good looking car that doesn't venture far from the standard Camaro styling, which is an absolute plus. Now, we just have the performance numbers to truly speculate on!
Someone Knows No Moderation
In a truly beautiful exercise of excess, someone (with way too much money) has put hundreds of man hours and hundreds of thousands of dollars (you read that right) in to their Camaro. No, this Camaro is not made of gold (but that might be cool). This Camaro has every modification imaginable on it, puts out 1400RWHP and 900+ Lbs Torque, and is an entertainment system on 4 wheels. It's an excessive amount of money, but it comes out to an awesome result. The Camaro's gorgeous (as always) even if the wing on the back is as excessive as the price tag. A very cool Camaro, with very cool mods. Below is a complete mod list as well as photos, click the small thumbs for larger images:
$320,000 Camaro
Power: 1400whp with 900lb-ft (est.)
ENGINE
GM 6.0L LSX V8
ENGINE MODIFICATIONS
Turbonetics hybrid 91mm
Twin Turbonetics Duo 35 Blow-off Valves
Twin Turbonetics RG 45 Wastegates
Twin Spearco cores with custom end tanks
Vibrant Piping used was all 304 stainless
Custom 5-inch downpipe
Custom 3-inch dual exhaust
Custom aluminum sheet metal intake manifold
Custom exhaust manifolds
Custom charge piping
Flex-A-Lite radiator and fan combo
Custom stainless coolant piping
Custom transmission and oil cooling radiators and lines
Injectors 2150cc Fuel injector clinic
Aeromotive A1000 (x2)
Aeromotive pro series EFI FPR
Aeromotive fuel controller
Earl’s SS lines
custom fab fuel rail
custom built aluminum fuel cell with scavenger built in
DRIVELINE
TCI custom built 4l80e Transmission and stall torque converter
custom back half Carbon Fiber tub
custom made 4 link trailing arms
factory unibody rails extended and strengthened
Moser 9-inch rear end fabricated to accommodate rear suspension parts
Moser axles
custom driveshaft
shaved holes and smoothed undercarriage ...all painted
QA1 coilovers
WHEELS, TIRES, BRAKES
STRUT 22x10-inch front with 3-inch
STRUT 24x15-inch rear with 7-inch
Pirelli P Zero 265/35R22 front
Pirelli P Zero 405/25R24 rear
Baer 6-piston 355mm all around
INTERIOR
Custom fabricated and reupholstered front seats
Custom fabricated rear seats
Reshaped door panels for speakers
Custom headliner
Custom rear inner quarter panels
Redesigned dash and center console (relocated factory heater and controls)
Auto Meter gauges: fuel, boost, wideband, oil pressure
Imported Italian leather with custom hand stitched (baseball stitch) interior
Custom integrated roll cage with seat belt inserts
Sparco 5-point front harnesses
Sparco 4-point rear seat belt
Carbon by design hood
Carbon by design trunk
Carbon by design radiator cover
Custom carbon panels in trunk, floor, rear tubs etc.
Custom carbon wing (pro stock style)
Custom carbon rear bumper diffuser
Custom Carbon Rear Tub
EXTERIOR
Custom side skirts dropped 1 1/2 front 3 1/2 rear (to accommodate difference in tire height)
Channelled rocker and floor to accommodate side exhaust
Redesigned custom front bumper
Redesigned custom rear bumper
STRUT Carbon fiber Camaro Front Grille
Shaved side markers front and back
Custom PPG Nexa water based black cherry paint
AUDIO & MULTIMEDIA
Pioneer AVIC-Z110BT - Flagship In-Dash Navigation AV Receiver with DVD Playback and Built-In Bluetooth
Pioneer Premier:
TS-C720PRS 6.75-inch Component Speaker Package
PRS-A900 4-Channel Bridgeable Amplifier
PRS-D2000SPL Competition-Level SPL Class D Mono Amplifier
TS-SW1201S2|S4 12-inch Shallow-Mount Subwoofer (x4)
ND-BC20PA Rear View Camera with Visual DSP
Apple Mac Mini with 3G and WiFi
