Tuesday, July 19, 2011

A Selection of my Favourite Car Commercials – Golf GTi



Following on from the previous post, the next commercial from my favourites list stars the Volkswagen Golf GTi. This commercial combines the iconic scene from Singing in the Rain where Gene Kelly wanders happy down a street with the introduction of the Golf. The Golf GTi, which is iconic in its own right, was first introduced in the late 1970s and, on the surface, hasn’t changed a great deal. Indeed, there wasn’t too much that needed changing in the original car with the alterations simply bringing mild improvements on an already successful theme.  The commercial illustrates this vividly by demonstrating that small changes are all that is required to bring a time honoured car into the present day. Without further ado, I hope you enjoy the commercial.   

Wednesday, July 13, 2011

A Selection of my Favourite Car Commercials – Gas Powered Everything


Passenger vehicles are a huge industry across the globe account for near enough a trillion dollars of revenue per year which is set to increase in the future. Not surprisingly this level of economic activity brings with it a hefty level of competition to attract new customers by either bringing them into the market or acquiring them from competitors. Not only must automotive manufacturers make desirable products but they must also market them effectively to potential customers. 

With this level of money at stake, even increasing your market share by 1% can bring in 100s of millions of dollars of additional revenue. With this in mind the automotive industry invests heavily in advertising their products bringing in top marketing talent to come up with attention grabbing commercials. Some of these commercials that have come out over the years have been truly amazing and I’ve started to collect a few of the best on my Youtube account. Over the coming few weeks I’ll be posting my favourites for you to enjoy. Today’s instalment, keeping with the theme of this blog, is a thought provoking piece from Nissan that also pokes some fun at one of their nearest rivals, I hope you enjoy.   


What Will Consumers Think of Vehicle to Grid Technology?


The introduction of plug-in vehicles to the mass automotive market will undoubtedly make a consumer’s purchasing decision more complex. They will have to consider the virtues and vices of these new powertrain technologies and how they will fit in with their lifestyles. As if this was not complicated enough, the future introduction of an additional option related to plug-in vehicles has the possibility of leaving the general driver scratching their heads.

Vehicle-to-Grid technology allows a plug-in vehicle to communicate with the electricity grid and offer responsive services such as storing unused electricity during times of low demand with the option of releasing this stored energy back to the grid should any demand peaks occur. This service would be paid for by the utility companies offering plug-in vehicle drivers with an additional source of revenue to offset their vehicle’s high upfront costs. As more renewable energy is put onto the grid new mechanisms will need to be installed to smooth out supply of energy. Having the capability to drawn down on stored supplies generated from renewable energy would be much more effective than firing up a coal electricity plant every time there is a drop in generation.