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[extract] Jaguar has unveiled a new global marketing and branding strategy. Together with the launch of a new Jaguar logo and corporate identity, the marketing campaign aims to increase awareness of the brand amongst a new audience and to enhance the Jaguar

Hyundai intends to distinguish between its upscale models and its mainstream vehicles and to accomplish this, the Korean automaker is considering a plan to market its premium vehicles under a Genesis sub-brand, not unlike what Toyota has done with their Lexus branding. Dave Zuchowski, executive vice president of sales for Hyundai Motor America, said that this proposed move would replace Hyundai's round "H" badge with a new badge on rear-wheel-drive premium vehicles, such as the Equus, Genesis sedan and Genesis Coupe. These upscale vehicles would get the Genesis badge with an alphanumeric naming system. Mr Zuchowski clarified that Hyundai has not made a decision about the rebranding exercise yet. At this moment, the company is studying if the usage of the Hyundai badge would hamper or improve sales. Anyway, the combined sales of the Genesis and Genesis Coupe increased by 13% in 2011 to 32,998 units, as compared to a year ago. Additionally, in the first year of production, Hyundai sold 3,193 units of its US$60,000 Equus sedan. That

[extract] Conducted by Polk and AutoTrader.com, the 2012 New Luxury Vehicle Loyalty study examines the reasons why luxury car buyers stay loyal or switch to a competitor brand. The survey was conducted between September to November 2011 among 1485 American luxury car buyers from six high-end car manufacturers namely Acura, Audi, BMW, Cadillac, Lexus and Mercedes-Benz.

[extract] For decades, Volvo has peddled its cars with an emphasis on their safety prowess, a reputation that still stands today. In recent years, Volvo has attempted to expand beyond their

i just tested the kia cerato forte couple earlier on, as my friend just got that car. a very nice drive, and a great looks car with decent pick up, and spacious interior. surprisly good speaker too, and defintaly a bang for the buck! was actually impressed by this car. but i notice that many ppl drop of the idea of this car, when they know it is kia, or worst still some even change the logo of the car.... most ridicules is change the logo to lexus... or some unknown logo. why ppl just cant get over the brand and acknolwdge it is really a good car for the pricing u paid, and infact it is under priced?

The most valuable car marque in the world today is BMW. Automotive News reports that BMW has replaced Toyota to take the number one spot in the list of automakers. The study was part of an overall study called the BrandZ Top 100 conducted by Millward Brown research group. The car manufacturers are number 25 and 26 on the list respectively. I suppose Toyota's drop in position was caused by all the controversy caused by its recalls and faults throughout the United States and Europe. Of course somehow Toyota owners in Japan and here in South East Asia do not seem to have any of the problems faced by the people elsewhere. It's a conspiracy I tell you! According to the study, Toyota's value declined by 27 percent to a shade under US$21.8 billion. Meanwhile, BMW also suffered a drop, mainly due to the recent economic crisis. The BMW drop was less at only nine percent, putting its total value also at $21.8 billion.The researchers at Millward Brown seem to think Toyota should recover from the recall crisis and said that the carmaker's aggressive work to rebuild its reputation should do much to restore the company's global standing. Expect them to retake the position soon. The recent credit crunch that caused the recent economic crisis had taken its toll on all car manufacturers. Mercedes Benz (number 53 on the list), who basically seem to have a higher standing here in South East Asia, and Porsche (number 65) have suffered. The former saw their brand value drop by 11 percent and the latter by 31 percent. That somehow does not seem to stop all those towkays from buying the latest E-class anyway. So what is it about the value of a certain brand? Strong brands have the power to create business value. They impact much more than revenues and profit margins. Strong brands create competitive advantages by commanding a price premium and decrease the cost of entry into new markets and categories. They reduce business risk and help attract and retain talented staff. There you have it. A short and concise explanation on the value of a brand and why its supposedly very important. BMW must be doing things right as even with cars that are over-designed to some and nowhere near as ULTIMATE as you'd expect the Ultimate Driving Machine to be. Maybe the Joy of Driving really exists in all those niche marketing vehicles they bring out nowadays. For those curious about the top three in the list, its Google on top, followed by IBM and then Apple. The list can be found here

Jaguar Racing will be transformed next year into a Ford-branded F1 team, according to the latest word from the F1 paddock. There is a strong body of opinion at Ford that the company should benefit from the programme if it is spending all the money. Jaguar Cars, a Ford subsidiary, is currently the beneficiary of the investment but Jaguar sales have been faltering in recent months and production is currently being streamlined to meet demand. Using the Ford brand will open up many more possibilities for marketing but we hear that Ford wants to reduce its costs a little more and is looking for a partner to take over 30% of the team and help with the funding. The management of the team should not be affected by any of the changes. >>www.grandprix.com