#branding

Both General Motors and Kia presented new brand logos this week—but which is best?

Alfa Romeo and Maserati are two legendary Italian brands that even automotive laymen intrinsically recognize are exotic. But as car enthusiasts know, if you peel back the veneer things aren’t always as they seem.

At times the auto industry can feel overwhelming, with all the different products, brands and stories to keep straight. There’s always something going on in this business, from breaking news to vehicle reviews.

Sliding in new directions both mechanically and stylistically, Acura is taking steps to revitalize itself as a brand, but will keep its notoriously “beaky” front end look despite its questionable reception.

While General Motors is shying away from social media and advertising, its competition is taking the chance to fill the gap and get attention. 

The Evoque shown above is an attractive, compelling vehicle, designed to attract equally attractive and compelling owners. But its full name is the “Land Rover Range Rover Evoque,” a name straight out the Department Of Redundancy Department, and sure won’t help you attract Victoria Beckham, who helped unveil it back in July of 2010.

In another boneheaded move by an overpaid marketing wonk, a Chevrolet executive wrote an internal memo, obtained by the New York Times, asking GM employees to refrain from referring to the Chevrolet brand as “Chevy”.

A favorite past time of computer literate car fans is to log on to automotive-related internet forums and criticize the decisions of auto industry types with decades of experience in the field. Everything from marketing campaigns to product choices are questioned, and while this right may be a cornerstone of our free society, often the blather is idiotic and myopic, and the commenter wouldn’t last a day running a real car company.