UAW steps up organizing drive at Shahid Khan's Flex-N-Gate 4:22 pm U.S. ET | Feb. 12, 2013  The UAW, stepping up its organizing efforts at auto supplier Flex-N-Gate, plans rallies at seven of the company's plants Wednesday to highlight what the union contends is mistreatment of workers at the supplier's nonunion operations.... Read More »
Tesla refutes N.Y. Times review of Model S, 'cold' range 11:19 am U.S. ET | Feb. 11, 2013  Tesla Motors refuted the accuracy and accounts of a Model S review published by The New York Times that raised concerns about the electric vehicle's range in cold weather, an account that sent the company's share price down in Monday trading.... Read More »
Lincoln kicks off media campaign at Grammys 4:51 pm U.S. ET | Feb. 9, 2013  Lincoln will kick off a multimedia campaign called “Hello Again” with two commercials Sunday night during the Grammy Awards telecast. The campaign “is really a celebration of the re-emergence of the Lincoln brand,” Matt VanDyke, Lincoln’s director of global marketing, sales and service, said in an interview at the National Automobile Dealers Association convention.... Read More »
Google, regulators at odds over timing of self-driving cars 8:04 am U.S. ET | Feb. 6, 2013  Google sees self-driving cars being available to consumers in three to five years. Regulators and the insurance industry aren't so sure it can happen that quickly. States may have to decide how to license machines rather than people. Insurance companies have to reassess how to assign fault after accidents.... Read More »
Chrysler takes patriotic road with popular Super Bowl ads 10:48 am U.S. ET | Feb. 5, 2013  Chrysler was once again one of the big winners in the Super Bowl ad battle, scoring with a military-themed spot narrated by Oprah Winfrey and another highlighting farmers that underscored the automaker's attempts to rehabilitate its image by playing to viewers' patriotism.... Read More »
VINCE BOND JR. How Twitter-verse viewed the auto industry’s Super Bowl spots 3:12 pm U.S. ET | Feb. 4, 2013  Automakers spent millions of dollars last night to be memorable. Automotive News’ 30,000-plus Twitter followers were eager to praise some commercials, while shredding others like wild dogs on fresh steak.... Read More »
2013 SUPER BOWL ADS - WINNERS AND LOSERS Auto advertisers hit it big in Super Bowl; Chrysler stands out 8:56 pm U.S. ET | Feb. 3, 2013  Auto advertisers were back in force in the 2013 Super Bowl with commercials that were funny and touching -- with a few that just fell flat. Chrysler stood out -- yet again -- despite not running with the pack online in the week leading up to the Super Bowl.... Read More »
NICK BUNKLEY Lincoln's Super Bowl sign of the 'alpacalypse' 10:13 am U.S. ET | Feb. 1, 2013  Last year, General Motors ran a Super Bowl spot asserting that the Chevrolet Silverado is the only truck strong enough to survive an apocalypse. Now, Ford is showing us what happens when its Lincoln MKZ encounters an "alpacalypse."... Read More »
Automakers' Super Bowl spots rule YouTube 5:08 pm U.S. ET | Jan. 31, 2013  Carmakers' Super Bowl commercials so far are dominating viewership among the big game's ads on YouTube, the social-media video site.... Read More »
Auto insurance 'arms race' questioned: Rodgers clashes with Flo 11:54 am U.S. ET | Jan. 30, 2013  American auto insurers, a group that has enlisted Hollywood actors and professional athletes to pitch their coverage, failed to boost sales even after spending billions of dollars on advertisements, McKinsey says.... Read More »
2013 SUPER BOWL ADVERTISING Hyundai teams up with rock band Flaming Lips for Super Bowl ad 4:06 pm U.S. ET | Jan. 25, 2013  Hyundai has teamed-up with psychedelic rock band the Flaming Lips for the brand’s 60-second Super Bowl commercial running prior to kickoff.... Read More »
2013 SUPER BOWL ADVERTISING VW releases ad teaser: No car, no problem 11:04 am U.S. ET | Jan. 24, 2013  Volkswagen of America gave a glimpse of its Super Bowl spot today with an online teaser video, and like another of the automaker's most recent advertisements, it does not include a car.... Read More »
DAVE GUILFORD Why Super Bowl ads have become awkward 4:17 pm U.S. ET | Jan. 23, 2013  We haven't seen many of automakers' Super Bowl ads so far. But we probably will. The argument seems to be that putting your ad up on the Web in advance is free, so why not get the additional exposure?... Read More »
Cars.com to open 'Why Drama' campaign with Super Bowl spot 3:56 pm U.S. ET | Jan. 21, 2013  Cars.com will return to the Super Bowl next month with a commercial touting how the vehicle shopping Web site takes the drama out of car buying. In a statement, Cars.com says the commercial will be the first of a new ad campaign -- dubbed "Why Drama" -- that the company says will air beyond the 2013 calendar year. The spot will mark the Web site's sixth straight year as a Super Bowl advertiser.... Read More »
AUTOMOTIVE NEWS WORLD CONGRESS When products are similar, sales process becomes crucial 12:01 am U.S. ET | Jan. 21, 2013  A fast, seamless and transparent car-buying experience increasingly will determine a brand's sales success, panelists from Google, Hyundai and TrueCar told the Automotive News World Congress.... Read More »
2013 AUTOMOTIVE NEWS WORLD CONGRESS Panel: Online experience new battleground for buyers 6:50 pm U.S. ET | Jan. 16, 2013  With brand competition so close these days on vehicle quality, cost and styling, the customer shopping experience online and in the store has become a key battleground for automakers, panelists from Google, Hyundai and TrueCar said at the Automotive News World Congress.... Read More »
GM in talks with Facebook about return to paid ads 11:31 am U.S. ET | Jan. 16, 2013  General Motors and Facebook are discussing the return of the automaker as a paid advertiser about eight months after GM said it would stop running ads on the social networking website, a top GM executive said.... Read More »
BRUCE GAIN Car marketing tweaked due to tough times 12:01 am U.S. ET | Jan. 14, 2013  Europe's shrinking car market has changed automakers' marketing messages. Since early 2012, carmakers have shifted from generic, brand-focused campaigns to ads that show how specific features benefit drivers -- and their wallets.... Read More »
The smoker and the librarian 11:09 am U.S. ET | Jan. 12, 2013 I first met Jack Teahen in 1994 when I joined Automotive News as the assistant librarian.... Read More »
In battle for the car, Sirius faces fight from Pandora 9:19 am U.S. ET | Jan. 12, 2013  Sirius XM Radio's grip on American drivers is under an increasing threat as the availability of Internet connections in more cars is helping Pandora Media counter some of its rival's big selling points.... Read More »
JOHN K. TEAHEN JR. -- 1925-2013 Jack Teahen -- friend, mentor, 'numbers nut,' curmudgeon, cornerstone of Automotive News -- dies at 87 12:38 pm U.S. ET | Jan. 9, 2013  John K. Teahen Jr., who was born a week before Automotive News' founding in 1925 and became a pillar of the publication through six decades of writing and editing, died Tuesday, Jan. 8, after a long illness. He was 87. His first byline appeared in Automotive News on Nov. 14, 1955. His last was posted on autonews.com on Sept. 18 of last year, a month after he turned 87.... Read More »
REMEMBERING JACK TEAHEN How Jack steered us away from stupidity 9:34 pm U.S. ET | Jan. 9, 2013  I don't think I realized how much I enjoyed having Jack Teahen around. I guess I'll realize that more now that he won't be stopping in for his periodic newsroom visits.... Read More »
Colleagues remember a man of patience, wit 2:09 pm U.S. ET | Jan. 9, 2013  Reflections from some former colleagues:... Read More »
The curmudgeon and the copy editor 9:51 pm U.S. ET | Jan. 9, 2013  When I got to Automotive News about 15 years ago, Jack Teahen and I hit it off right away. We had some things in common: Irish backgrounds; experience at the Detroit Free Press; a fondness for grammar, punctuation and syntax; and the reputation of being just a bit curmudgeonly. Who, me?... Read More »
A man with the heart of a lion 4:00 pm U.S. ET | Jan. 9, 2013  Jack Teahen reminded me of Georg Auer, Austrian correspondent for Automotive News Europe who also worked well into his eighties. Both were slightly built, but each had the heart of a lion.... Read More »
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