Filed under: Truck, Government/Legal, Marketing/Advertising, Chevrolet, Ford

Chevrolet is having some pointed fun with its apocalyptic Super Bowl ad featuring the Silverado called "2012," only the fun is pointed directly at Ford, which finds it a little too sharp to be all that much fun. So on the eve of the big game, Ford sent Chevy a cease-and-desist letter to pull the ad and "pressured" NBC not to run the commercial, according to a report on Yahoo!'s Motoramic blog. Chevy has released a statement in response, which you can read after the jump, indicating that the ad will run despite Ford's protest.

Ford found no reason to chuckle at some of the commercial's claims, "particularly around durability." One in particular comes from a character that says of their now-deceased, F-150-driving pal, "Dave didn't drive the longest-lasting most dependable truck on the road. Dave drove a Ford."

Ford spokesman Mike Levine says his company has more trucks with 250,000-plus miles on the road than any other brand, which would appear to contradict the small print that appears in the "2012" ad that reads, "Dependability based on longevity: 1981-2011 full-size pickup registrations." Ford says its lawyers will decide what to do (if anything) after the ad airs during tonight's game, but Chevy's legal minions must have vetted the spot closely well before time.

Or Ford could take Chevy marketing honcho Joel Ewanick up on his offer and bide its time. Said Ewanick, "We can wait until the world ends, and if we need to, we will apologize."

Continue reading Ford asks Chevrolet, then NBC, to pull Silverado Super Bowl ad

Ford asks Chevrolet, then NBC, to pull Silverado Super Bowl ad originally appeared on Autoblog on Sun, 05 Feb 2012 17:55:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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We don't support drunk driving or any attempts to get out of an arrest for doing so, but we have give one Florida woman credit for a creative on the spot excuse when she was pulled over last weekend for speeding and swerving through traffic. More »

UPDATED! Ford's not pleased with the Chevy truck super bowl ad that implies Ford trucks aren't built tough enough to survive the Mayan apocalypse. How upset are they? They're so pissed the automaker's sent letters to both GM and NBC asking them to pull the ad from tonight's big game. More »

Filed under: Motorsports, Toyota, Racing

When Toyota announced its return to endurance sports car racing with the new TS030 Hybrid this season, the plan was to enter a handful of races, like Le Mans and Spa-Francorchamps, on an invitational basis.

Plans change, though, and Toyota has now upgraded the program to a full manufacturer entry, paving the way for it to compete in the entire FIA World Endurance Championship schedule. Now, with budget constraints, it's likely that Toyota will still pick and choose which races to contest, but it does open the door.

The change was apparently made in order to support endurance racing as a motorsport discipline. As part of its arrangement with the FIA, organizers at the Automobile Club de l'Ouest (ACO) need at least two manufacturers in the LMP1 category. With Peugeot's withdrawal, the series lacked the requisite level of participation, so Toyota stepped up to fill the void. Follow the jump for the full announcement.

Continue reading Toyota upgrades limited TS030 Hybrid racing program to full WEC entry

Toyota upgrades limited TS030 Hybrid racing program to full WEC entry originally appeared on Autoblog on Sun, 05 Feb 2012 13:01:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Filed under: Budget, Sedan, Etc., Government/Legal, Marketing/Advertising, Hyundai

Hyundai has been targeted by Consumer Watchdog, a non-profit advocacy organization, over the automaker's 40 mpg fuel efficiency claim on the Hyundai Elantra. The group says Elantra owners have seen fuel economy averages of 18 and 19 mpg instead of the the 29 mpg city and 40 mpg highway reported by Hyundai and the Environmental Protection Agency. As such, the group has sent letters to both Hyundai CEO John Krafcik and President Eok Jo Kim warning that if the automaker advertised the 40 mpg claim in the company's Super Bowl spots, Consumer Watchdog would release a retaliatory video of its own. The group has since followed through with that threat.

The Elantra spot scheduled to run during tonight's game, "Victory Lap," makes no mention of fuel economy whatsoever, focusing instead on the sedan's winning the 2012 North American Car of the Year award. When Hyundai previewed its first three Super Bowl spots on January 30, the automaker's official announcement indicated that this was the intent all along:

Finally, to round out the game-day lineup, Hyundai will celebrate its 2012 North American Car of the Year victory for Elantra with a new 30-second spot called "Victory Lap." The Elantra earned the prestigious award from a jury of 50 independent automotive media in early January.

Earlier today, we erroneously stated in this post that the ad running this evening was changed to not reflect the fuel economy numbers. Hyundai emphatically denies that any changes were made along the way.

In an email to Autoblog, Jim Trainor, Hyundai's senior group manager for product public relations, writes:

We never removed a fuel economy claim from our Elantra Super Bowl spot. It is, and always was, a focus on the North American Car of the Year award bestowed on Elantra. No group "made us" change our commercial and no outside group is going to dictate to us what the content of our commercials will be. The commercial you will see today is exactly how we meant it and exactly what it has been from the start.

Click past the jump for a look at the Elantra Super Bowl spot, the Consumer Watchdog clip about the vehicle's mileage claims and a press release from the non-profit.

In a related note, Popular Mechanics just-published real-world fuel economy test of two cars boasting 40 mpg EPA highway ratings is a very timely and interesting read. PM's test subjects?The Ford Focus SFE and the Hyundai Elantra.

Ultimately, when you get past all the noise, it's important to remember that "your mileage may vary" is a mantra for a reason.

Continue reading Did Hyundai pull MPG claims from Super Bowl ad due to watchdog group pressure? [w/video]

Did Hyundai pull MPG claims from Super Bowl ad due to watchdog group pressure? [w/video] originally appeared on Autoblog on Sun, 05 Feb 2012 11:31:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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It seems with custom 4x4 show trucks and the people who build them "more" is always better. It doesn't particularly matter what it is—wheels, lift, length, silly graphics—the more there is, the better it is. If ever there were a vehicle to illustrate this way of thinking it's this 6x6 1993 Ford F350 currently listed on Ebay. More »