No Wonder GM is in trouble

[Uncle Bob]

You can't aways judge someone by one incident.

Not too many years ago Cadillac was nearly moribund......most of it's customer base were people old enough to be buying their last car....oh, and the coach makers building the rigs to give them their last ride.  Today they seem to have some sway with the luxury/sport sedan crowd, and along with the recent Malibu are sales successes in a mixed bag.  The guy responsible for that has also publicly stated something to the effect that the Volt is a dumb idea......even though he's on the payroll.  That would be Bob Lutz also.  One of the few real car guys in management (which means the Obama lackeys probably don't listen to him much anymore)  Oh, he was also the driving force behind pushing the Viper to market at Chrysler even though they could barely afford to do it.

Sometimes we car lovers are at an understanding disadvantage.  One of the things I learned years ago when I had my shop was that about 80 percent of the people out there see their cars as mere appliances in their life.  They have no more emotional attachment to them than they do to their toaster.  From a marketing point of view that has a significant impact.

Speaking of toasters, I get a real kick out of the most recent Kia Soul commercial, the one with the rappin' rats.  If you don't get the inside joke about the toaster and cardboard box references you're either not their target market or don't have contact with those that are.

[Carnut]

Heh, heh, I guess I am "not their target market or don't have contact with those that are" because I totally don't understand that commercial.

[Uncle Bob]

OOPS, my recollection on Lutz's criticism on the Volt was incorrect, it's the notion of global warming that he thinks is nuts.

Carnut, there's a partial hint in Franks Aztek entry above.

[Uncle Bob]

Heh, heh, I guess I am "not their target market or don't have contact with those that are" because I totally don't understand that commercial.

Okay, since you're a visual kind of guy, below is a picture of the Scion reference.  The cardboard box is a reference to the jab that the Honda Element is the box they ship the Civics in.  I guess you could call it ricer humor.....

[Crosley.In.AZ]

neighbor had an Aztec.. she loved the vehicle, admitted it was a bit ugly.

I do not watch commercials on TV.  I record 90% of TV shows I watch on DVR , so I buzz through commercials on fast forward.

I never understood the caddy SUV thing... why pay 5k  to 10 k more $$  for a vehicle that does the same as a GMC  or Cheby .

I see many Chevys with Caddy look alike stick on stuff , like fender vents , emblems , etc ... Caddy front sheet metal  clips on Chevys

[Carnut]

OK, just watched the Kia Rat commercial and saw the toaster and box car scenes and can now understand what statement may have been being made.

But still wonder about the Rats, whats the deal with them?

Can't they be considered making fun of a certain racial group?

[enjenjo]

OK, just watched the Kia Rat commercial and saw the toaster and box car scenes and can now understand what statement may have been being made.

But still wonder about the Rats, whats the deal with them?

Can't they be considered making fun of a certain racial group?

I thought of that too. By the way, they are hamsters.

[Uncle Bob]

OK, just watched the Kia Rat commercial and saw the toaster and box car scenes and can now understand what statement may have been being made.

But still wonder about the Rats, whats the deal with them?

Can't they be considered making fun of a certain racial group?

I thought of that too. By the way, they are hamsters.

I could go on a whole riff on the false charges of racism thing, but we don't generally do politics here.  Let's just say that the charge is abused/overused to the point of uselessness.  Which is not to say that some good folks aren't still affected by it, right or wrong.

The current one is the second time they've used the hamster theme.  The idea being that hamsters are noted for running the wheel and getting nowhere.  With this commercial the implication is, drive a Kia Soul and you're getting somewhere.  There is a third one in the works for release in November.  I probably caused confusion with the "rappin' rat" reference because hamsters, to me, look like rats without tails, and I just like the alliteration of the r words run together.

I'm doing a poll on another forum and it's pretty clear that folks over say, oh 35, focus more on the hip hop "music" component than the message of the competing cars inferiority (by Kias estimation).  It's that target audience thing again.  But from an advertising point of view this commercial is working great.  How many times have you remembered a cute commercial but can't remember what product it's for about a minute or two after it's done.  That ain't happening with this one, folks (at keast the likely buyers) remember who it's for.  

Anyway, to tie it back in to the original point of the thread, it will be interesting to see if GM can figure out a way to effectively advertise it's product.  What would be a way to market the Volt to the holier than thou, eco-* types anyway?

[Carnut]

Heh, heh, I think the Volt is gonna follow the Aztek into GM's hall of shame.

[Crosley.In.AZ]

since I laid on the couch most of the day and the TV was on ,  I saw this commercial with the rodents, Kia  and toaster.

I safely say I do not get it.

[Uncle Bob]

since I laid on the couch most of the day and the TV was on ,  I saw this commercial with the rodents, Kia  and toaster.

I safely say I do not get it.

So it's safe to assume that the hamster themed clothing line this commercial series is spawning won't be on your Christmas wish list?  

[tomslik]

OK, just watched the Kia Rat commercial and saw the toaster and box car scenes and can now understand what statement may have been being made.

But still wonder about the Rats, whats the deal with them?

Can't they be considered making fun of a certain racial group?

I thought of that too. By the way, they are hamsters.

i thought they were gerbils and the target market was richard gere....



and i don't get it, either.

anyway, it looks loke another copycat scion xb to me...

[Uncle Bob]

Don't give up on GM yet!!  With this kind of marketing savvy it won't be long now.......

Take THAT you silly hamsters!

[Carnut]

Definitely brings back visions of 'See The USA In Your Chevrolet'.

[tomslik]

Don't give up on GM yet!!  With this kind of marketing savvy it won't be long now.......

Take THAT you silly hamsters!

i got thru 10 seconds before i puked...

wow, a whole 40 miles before ya gotta plug it in and get some of that "free" electricity...