When Cadillac aired its 30-second “Go To Green Hell” Super Bowl ad for the upcoming ATS sedan during the last two-minutes of the game’s last quarter, a total of 111.3 million viewers tuned in, effectively making this ad the most watched television commercial in U.S. history. Could the marketing department at GM have somehow foreseen the future and realized the game of the year would come down to the wire?

GM global chief marketing officer Joel Ewanick said, “Cadillac is expanding with new models challenging the world’s best luxury cars. This stunning viewership data proves that Cadillac’s big message reached the largest audience… When it comes to Super Bowl ads, everyone has opinions on their favorite, But its a fact that this Cadillac spot had the biggest audience during the game.”

While Ewanick’s quote suggests that the reception for the advertisement reflects approval for the product, these statistics are more representative of the time it aired. If the same ad had aired at any time other than 9:39:37 PM, the title for “most watched ad” would have likely gone to a commercial with more supermodels, pyrotechnics, and special effects.

Watch the ad after the jump.

Get the Flash Player to see this player.

[Source: Kantar Media]

Despite Ford’s efforts to stop GM, the apocalypse-surviving Chevy Silverado commercial aired last night during the Super Bowl.

According to GM, the advertisement was intended as a “good-humored” spoof on the Mayan calendar predictions. Depicting a band of Silverado owners that are navigating across a “completely over-the-top, outrageous version of the devastation and destruction predicted to occur this year by the Mayan calendar,” the ad also features giant attack robots, meteors, and frogs that are falling from the sky. The punch line is when the gang of Silverado owners realized one of their friends did not survive because they drove a Ford rather than “the longest lasting, most dependable truck on the road.”

Ford took issue with the ad and we now know what the company said in a formal letter sent to GM requesting for the ad to be pulled. Representing lawyer Lynne M. Matuszak wrote, “Ford demands that Chevrolet immediately cease and desist from making any unsubstantiated and disparaging claims regarding Ford’s pickup trucks.” Matuszak’s letter further demanded that GM, “permanently remove the commercial from its website, its YouTube and Facebook pages and any other internet sites.”

Ford’s letter then warned, “If Chevrolet does not comply with the above terms prior to the start of the Super Bowl, then Ford will take all appropriate steps to enforce and protect its reputation.”

Taking it a step further, Ford called out the Silverado’s safety record, noting that the 2012 Ford F-150 earned an IIHS Top Safety pick while the Silverado received less than impressive side impact, rear crash, and rollover results.

GM’s global chief marketing officer Joel Ewanick and GM are committed to broadcasting the ad and sharing it on YouTube. Joel Ewanick said, ”We stand by our claims in the commercial, that the Silverado is the most dependable, longest-lasting full-size pickup on the road. The ad is a fun way of putting this claim in the context of the apocalypse. We can wait until the world ends, and if we need to, we will apologize. In the meantime, people who are really worried about the Mayan calendar coming true should buy a Silverado right away.”

Like Coca Cola versus Pepsi, the clash of Ford vs. GM will last for many years to come. We will be expecting a humorous and entertaining rebuttal ad from Ford soon.

[Source: Detroit News]

Why not watch the ad again below:

Get the Flash Player to see this player.

Toyota has launched a new social media initiative with a chance for participants to win a brand new 2012 Camry for themselves and one more for a friend. The opportunity will come tomorrow, Sunday, Feb. 5, during a live NBC broadcast – we’re presuming Toyota means the Super Bowl, but the oddly worded press release mentioned no such thing.

To enter, you’ll need the Shazam music identification smartphone app, and use it, when prompted, during the broadcast of Toyota’s “Connections” commercial, which encourages the nearly seven million Camry owners across the country to share stories, moments and memories they’ve had with their camera in the past 30 years. By entering the giveaway using Shazam technology, the winner of the contest could start a new “Camry Effect” by not only winning a Camry for themselves, but also to gift another Camry for a friend.

Vice president of digital marketing at Toyota says, “The Camry Effect is one of the most ambitious social media campaigns we’ve ever implemented. Partnering with Shazam allows us to increase awareness of this effort on the national stage and give one lucky winner the opportunity to positively affect a friend and start writing his or her Camry story.”

Who’s going to tune in tomorrow?

To encourage engineers to push the internal combustion technology forward, Republican Congressman Dan Lungren has introduced a bill that will reward a handsome $1 billion in Federal prize money to the first U.S. automaker that can successfully sell 60,000 mid-size sedans that are capable of achieving 100 mpg on gasoline.

In 2007, the X Prize Foundation held a contest with a similar format called the Progressive Insurance Automotive X Prize. Participating teams were challenged to create a vehicle that was capable of reaching 100 mpg, travel safely in highway speeds, and emit less than 200 grams of carbon dioxide per mile. The winner of the challenge would receive a $10 million reward that will be used to fund the project to become a mass-market vehicle. Unfortunately, none of the vehicles were deemed commercially viable for mass production.

But now that it has been 5 years since the Automotive X Prize, the technology may be closer to our reach if not already attained. However, unlike the Automotive X Prize, Congressman Lungren would only award the winner after 60,000 units of its landmark 100 mpg mid-size sedan have been successfully sold. Not only does the bill ban vehicles of radical shapes and sizes like the Aptera, but 60,000 units is a daunting number that’ll effectively discourage any startup automaker. Compounded with the restriction to U.S. automakers only, the bill suggests a three-way battle between GM, Ford, and Chrysler.

While the bill does not necessarily suggest that a hybrid system is off limits, the aim is to encourage technological advances in the internal combustion gasoline engine, which rules out diesel technology as well. Given the parameters, perhaps earning the prize is much more difficult than it seems.

In a January 2012 sales conference call, Toyota division group vice president and general manager Bob Carter reported some surprising results.

Recovering from its mid-2011 slump, Toyota sold 124,540 units from its Toyota, Lexus and Scion divisions. Those sales translate to a 7.5 percent increase over last January. Toyota enjoyed a 9 percent increase in sales for January, thanks in tremendous part to a 56 percent jump in sales for the all-new Camry.

Surprisingly, the Camry garnering the highest customer demand is the sport trim Camry SE. Moreover, the Camry SE even helped Toyota bring in an unprecedented number of new and young buyers. Responding to the new trend, Carter said “demand for the SE model continues to top the Camry lineup and we could have sold more in January if we had them. So we’re adjusting our SE production mix in order to better meet customer demand in the months ahead, going from about 8 percent for the previous generation Camry, to more than 40 percent for the current production mix.”

As for Toyota hybrids, the Camry Hybrid’s modest 2,100-unit January sales represent a 146 percent increase from last year. Carter expects sales to increase as availability improves, announcing an annual sales target of 50,000 Camry Hybrids for 2012.

Toyota intends to continue its marketing focus on Camry, especially by dedicating airtime during the Super Bowl and the Daytona 500, where the Camry will also serve as the official pace car. Toyota’s notoriously bland midsize family sedan just got interesting.

GALLERY: 2012 Toyota Camry

Ford knows it will take a lot of work to restore its Lincoln premium brand. Most recently, Ford created an elaborate booth with modern decor for Lincoln at the 2012 Detroit Auto Show only to see the MKZ concept go up in smoke. Furthermore, the Lincoln MKZ concept failed to garner the same level of attention as the parent company’s 2013 Ford Fusion, or its main rival’s new 2013 Cadillac ATS compact sedan.

Ford global sales chief Jim Farley admits, “It will take every ounce of our energy to execute Lincoln in North America.” Apparently, that is exactly what Ford plans to do. Over the next couple of years, Ford will introduce seven important new models for the Lincoln line-up. According to Ford CEO Alan Mulally, he expects the new Lincoln vehicles to be just as great as what Mercedes-Benz, Lexus, and BMW have to offer. However, rather than developing a dedicated front-engine, rear-wheel-drive luxury platform, Lincoln will stick to platform sharing with mainstream Ford vehicles.

According to Jim Farley, Lincoln’s success is not only dependent on its products, but is dependent on the improvement of customer service as well. Farley said, “the secret sauce to Lexus was the personal touch.” Ideas and suggestions extended to Lincoln dealers include washing an owner’s Lincoln vehicle after servicing, or putting a rose on the seat when returning a car to its owner after repairs.

Ford admits that customers aren’t very keen on Lincoln and that it will be difficult to target young, financially successful men, which would have been obvious luxury targets. Jim Farley says that Lincoln will go after a different demographic that he calls “the magician.” Magicians are trend-setting early adopters that live along the coasts. These young individuals are more likely to try new, interesting products, regardless of what others think.

When Ford Motors dropped Mercury, the decision proved to be extremely beneficial to the American automaker as it allowed greater focus on Ford products, dialing in quality and image. Time will tell whether Ford can get Lincoln to return to its past glory or whether the once iconic luxury brand will join Mercury in the history books.

[Source: USA Today]

Honda has announced a recall in the United States for 206 Ridgeline trucks built from 2011 through 2012. This recall is to address a possible mismatch between the Ridgeline’s spare tire and the FMVSS mandated tire information placard installed on the vehicles’ driver-side doorjambs.

Honda Ridgeline trucks sold in the United States are fitted with a compact spare tire and, in some cases, placards may incorrectly indicate that the Ridgeline came with a full-sized spare tire instead. To solve this matter, Honda will either provide Ridgeline owners with a spare that will match the information provided on the vehicle’s placard or it will install a new placard that reflects the spare tire installed by the factory. While this issue may not seem like an urgent safety hazard, the recommended cold inflation pressure for the tire may not be correctly indicated.

No crashes or injuries have been reported due to spare tire failures but Honda’s recall encourages owners of all affected Ridgelines to take their vehicles to an authorized dealer when they receive a recall notification in the mail. Recalls notifications will begin to reach Ridgeline owners by mid-February 2012. An owner could also take the initiative by contacting www.recalls.honda.com or by calling (800) 999-1009, option 4.

The National Insurance Crime Bureau (NCIB),  a non-profit organization created by the insurance industry to address insurance-related crime, publishes an annual report called Hot Wheels to identify America’s 10 most stolen vehicles. This year, the NICB introduced a special issue called Hot Wheels Classics, which focuses on a specific model with historical significance.

For its first Classics report, NCIB had chosen to go with the iconic Ford Mustang Pony Car. Although Memphis Raines could never steal the “Eleanor” Shelby Mustang GT500 without engaging in a wild car chase, NCIB’s records reported that thieves have successfully stolen a total of 611,093 Mustangs from 1964 to 2011. While data for each year is available, years prior to 1981 may not be accurate as effective vehicle identification numbers (VIN) protocols were not formalized until 1981, according to NCIB.

Since the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration standardized VIN in 1981, the NCIB indicated that a total of 411,155 Mustangs have been reported stolen through 2011. The most thefts occurred in 1981 when 20,708 Mustangs were stolen. In 2011, the number of thefts have fallen to 4,347.

From 2001-2011, the past decade indicated that the model year which suffered the most thefts is the year 2000 Mustang at a total of 7,085, followed by the 1995 model year at 6790 thefts, and then the 1998 Mustang at 5394 thefts. All in all, the top 10 most stolen model years concentrated on Mustangs produced from 1989 to 2004. What’s more, the top 10 most stolen model years alone account for nearly 50 percent of all Mustang thefts that have occurred in the past decade.

To help Mustang owners to protect their prized pony cars, NCIB suggests owners to start with a little common sense by locking the car before leaving it on the street. Theft deterrent technologies such as warning devices and immobilizing devices can further improve upon the vehicle’s security. Finally, if a Mustang manages to get stolen anyway, a tracking device will dramatically increase its chances of recovery.

[Source: NICB]

GALLERY: Ford Mustang GT

Just when CAFE loosened standards and lowered from 56.5 MPG to 54 MPG by 2025, the California Air Resources Board (CARB) has decided to propose new and more stringent conditions for automakers that sell cars in California. The California Air Resources Board will not only enforce CAFE, but will also require at least 15.4 percent of all cars sold by any major automaker in the state to either be fully electric, plug-in hybrid, or hydrogen fuel cell by 2025.

Mary Nichols, chair of the California Air Resources Board, observes 15.4 percent as, “a relatively modest goal, but that’s all that we’re mandating. Probably the most heartening aspect of this whole rulemaking was the level of cooperation that we received from the industry… Overall, the degree of support for the package was just extraordinary.”

It is worth noting that earlier this month, researcher LMC Automotive discovered that hybrid sales in the United States have decreased in 2011 to 2.2 percent compared to 2.4 percent of all vehicle sales in 2010. These numbers are far below the proposed 15.4 percent mandate. Despite high profile unveilings of gas-electric products at auto shows across the world,  consumers find the cost premium of owning a hybrid over conventional combustion engine vehicles too expensive.

According to the California New Car Dealers Association, this plan would cause automakers to increase the average price of a new vehicle by an estimated $3,200 in order to develop technology that will accommodate the new rules. Appropriately, Mary Nichols also said, “direct incentives to people who buy these cars (like) rebates and credits” are also being worked out.

California’s new regulation will likely be adopted by an additional 10 states, resulting to the projected total number of advanced green vehicles near three million total units by 2025, 1.4 million of which would be in California.

[Source: Autoblog]

While 2011 marked Ford‘s biggest profit since 1998, fourth quarter results were still below the estimates of financial analysts. Despite marking Ford’s 11th consecutive quarterly profit, investors showed concern regarding the American automaker’s $190 million loss in Europe and $83 million loss in Asia. Ford stock had fallen 5.5 percent to $12.04 a share in the first half-hour of trading Friday morning.

Even though Barclays Capital analyst Brian Johnson said all regions were below expectations, the North American posted a quarter net income of $13.6 billion. CFO Lewis Booth admitted, “The quarter was driven by North America.”

Ford CEO Alan Mulally added, “We delivered strong results for the full year as we continued to serve our customers around the world.”

Going forward, Lewis Booth assures that the North American market will remain extremely strong, South America will remain consistently profitable as regional vehicles get replaced by Ford’s global line-up, and Asia will return to profitability.

Ever since Ford had been the only automaker of the Big Three to not accept a government loan during the financial crisis, great expectations have rested on Ford’s shoulders. Despite the market’s reaction to Ford’s latest fourth-quarter report, Ford is confident of sustaining profitability as it reveals promising products like the upcoming 2013 Ford Fusion.

Ford stock was traded at $12.21 a share, down 4.16 percent, when Friday’s market closed.

[Source: Detroit Free Press]

Beginning with the 2012 Chevrolet Sonic, Chevrolet plans to apply eco-impact labels on all of its brand-new vehicles by 2013. As the first of any automaker to present its cars in this manner, Chevrolet’s Ecologic label allows customers to assess environmental impacts associated with any particular Chevrolet vehicle in all stages of its product life.

First, “Before the Road” presents the environmental impact of the vehicle’s manufacturing and assembly. Next, “On the Road” notes fuel-saving features such as cylinder shut-off systems, aerodynamics, and low-resistance tires. Finally, “After the Road” reveals how much of the vehicle can be recycled at the end of its useful life.

With these Ecologic labels, GM makes itself more attractive to environmentally conscious consumers. According to GM North America President Mark Reuss, “Customers want companies to be honest and transparent about their environmental efforts and sustainability goals, and rightly so. Putting an Ecologic label on each Chevrolet is just one more way for us to share our environmental progress.”

The numbers and data on the Ecologic labels are determined by independent, third-party sustainability agency Two Tomorrows, a company that provides environmental audit and assurance services to companies.

[Source: Forbes]

While past reports have suggested that the Dodge Avenger is dead, speculation has apparently been a bit premature. Chrysler/Fiat have plans for a number of new cars in the future including the introduction of new midsize sedans which will update the Chrysler 200 and Dodge Avenger for 2013. The new Avenger and 200 will be based on the Dodge Dart platform. Chrysler/Fiat CEO Sergio Marchionne also intends to have a Chrysler premium compact hatchback in the mix, known for now as the “Chrysler 100.” If given the ‘okay’ for production, then the Chrysler hatch will be exported as Fiat European luxury brand Lancia as well.

Also, next generation crossovers 2013 Jeep Compass and Jeep Liberty will receive the Dart platform too. Despite the small-car platform, Marchionne insists, ”It’s going to be a trail-rated, full-blooded Jeep that has its origins in the architecture of a sports car.”

But more importantly, Italian sports car enthusiasts of the western hemisphere have long awaited the return of Alfa Romeo ever since the merger of Chrysler and Fiat was first announced. While Alfa Romeo’s return to the United States has been delayed until 2013, Marchionne insists the legendary Italian marque will return. “There will be plants making Alfas in the United States and Europe,” says Marchionne. “I need to export to Europe from the U.S. The volumes I get here are how I reintroduce Alfa to Europe.”

Expectations are high for the Alfa vehicles as an upcoming 1.8-liter engine producing a staggering 300-hp is currently in the works. In regards to Alfa Romeo vehicles for the United States, Marchionne said, ”We had to make sure they were lightweight, fast cars with Alfa powertrains.

[Source: USA Today]