Memorial Day Quickies - Monday, May 31, 2010

1977 Alfa Romeo Alfetta Sedan - My first Alfa Romeo was an Alfetta sedan. I have a soft spot for them.

For many years these cars were ignored by the Alfa crowd. Not that there's anything wrong with them, it's just that in the US lineup they took the place of the legendary GTV coupe and Berlina (sedan). Those were tough acts to follow.

Finally, it appears that people are recognizing these cars for what they are; well balanced, fun to drive cars.

This car is a nice "driver". It appears to have been well maintained.

Being offered without a reserve, click here to see the eBay listing.

1961 Renault Jolly - So, you have this need for attention. You've already taken off all your clothes, painted yourself lime green and directed traffic in a busy intersection, but that didn't do the trick.

This car may be your last best hope...

Until today I had no idea that there was a Renault 4CV based Jolly. Apparently, this was someones answer (was there a question?) to the Fiat Jolly.

If you don't draw attention to yourself in this 12,000 mile, salmon colored Jolly, you'll just haven't face the fact that you're destined for a life of anonymity.

Located in Costa Mesa, CA, click here to see the eBay listing.

"Cool Beach Cars" is a website dedicated to the Renault Jolly, Fiat Jolly, Mini Moke and a few other "beach cars". You can find the site here.

1966 Humber Super Snipe - Think of this as a British Buick. It is large (by British standards), comfortable and semi-luxurious. It's not a sports-sedan.

In the 1960s, the Rootes Group sold quite a few Sunbeams and Hillmans in the US, but very few Humbers. This is not a common car in North America.

This car has an interesting history. The restoration was started in 1996. Some assembly is still required.

If you're looking for an easy project and a car that would be unique at almost any car show, this Humber might be worth checking out.

Located in Beaver Dam, WI, click here to see the eBay listing.

The Stockbridge Saga, Part 3 - We're Pretty Certain You're Not Doing Anything Wrong, But Stop Doing It Anyway...

On Tuesday night the Stockbridge ZBA held its 4th hearing regarding this matter.

For those of us who came to support Jeff it was a bit like a reunion. Like I said in the earlier post, this is not a "club" in the traditional sense of the word. Rick was there. The last time I saw him was 2007 at Lime Rock. I had no idea he had stopped racing. Tony was there. We exchange an occasional e-mail, but I can't remember when the last time I saw him was. Chris, a newer "club member", was there. He has an incredible and eclectic collection of cars (Everything from Bugattis - yes, that's plural - to an Amilcar, a Fiat Topolino, a Talbo - if you haven't seen a Talbo, check out this 1994 Car & Driver article - and many others). There were a few people there that I had never met. Prior to the hearing coming to order we stood around and talked about cars. No real surprise there.

The opposing side were a dour bunch. They didn't talk much to each other and they certainly didn't talk to us. I found myself standing next to one of them in the hallway. I said something about how nice it was being in an air conditioned building after being outside in the heat. He didn't say a word back.

The meeting was called to order. The first person to speak was the local tow truck operator. This was interesting because he didn't want to be there. For all intents and purposes, he was subpoenaed by the ZBA. He was asked how many times each year he delivered or picked up cars in the neighborhood. "40 or 50 times", was his response. How many times did he go to Jeff's house to deliver or pick up cars? "4 or 5", he answered. Did he remember which cars they were? "Yes, twice it was Jeff's dad's car, twice it was one of Jeff's". Did he know of anyone who had their car brought there for repair? "No", was his answer. I have to give this guy a lot of credit. He most likely lost 35 or 45 calls a year from that neighborhood by testifying truthfully.

The opposition stood up and said their pieces. One person had supposedly hired a private investigator to look into what cars were coming and going from Jeff's property. The PI allegedly found a car belonging to a man from Albany, NY. In a spoof call, he supposedly had gotten that person to say that Jeff was working on his car and was a "very good mechanic". I use the words "allegedly" and "supposedly" because the report was dated 2004. Jeff's garage didn't go up until 2005. One neighbor wanted to see Jeff's tax returns, to see how he derived his income. I don't know about you, but there is no way in hell I would show my tax returns to my neighbors (and I like mine). I couldn't believe the ballsiness of the request. One by one they droned on about people and cars visiting Jeff. One neighbor admitted that he can't see Jeff's property from his house (I don't think any of them can, as the neighborhood is very wooded.) It had turned from "Jeff works on cars at his house" to "Jeff has too many people visiting him". Too many people drive down the road to see Jeff. Too many of Jeff's friends drive "high end" (their words) cars. Something must be going on.

Being a friend and a frequent visitor, I can say with all honesty that virtually everything they said was false. Period.

We, the "club members" there to support Jeff, got up and said our pieces. I opened by saying that I had known Jeff for 25 years. I mentioned that I had aged better than he had. The ZBA members chuckled, the "club members" laughed. The opposition sat stone faced. One by one we all said essentially the same thing: Yes, we visit Jeff. Yes, we sometimes do some minor work on our cars there. Yes, Jeff often helps us. No, we never paid him a dime.

Hook me up to a polygraph machine and ask me the same questions and I'd pass the test with flying colors. (Including the part about having aged better than Jeff.)

After all the testimony, the ZBA members spoke. They all agreed that there was no reason to believe that Jeff was running a repair shop from his house. (In fact, they were the ones who called us a "club". I stole their terminology.) They all agreed that Jeff's garage was an impressive, clean, well designed building that violated no zoning laws and was well within code. They even agreed that it seemed to have been built with the neighborhood in mind. They all seemed to agree that Jeff was a good guy.

Then they took their vote. I figured it was a slam dunk in Jeff's favor.

Wrong-o.

While they agreed that everything was on the up and up, they seemed to feel, like the neighbors, that Jeff has too many friends with nice cars. We, the half dozen or so "club members", were too many acquaintances for Jeff to have. By a vote of 4 to 1, the ZBA upheld the cease and desist order. If anyone stops by Jeff's house, they had better not pop the hood on their car for any reason. (Including a jump start, which could be a problem for those with British cars, I suppose.) The city will impose a hefty fine on Jeff if we do.

Now, there are probably some of you who are thinking, "Welcome to the real world, Dave. A world where car repair isn't done for free and working on your own car means using a creeper and a set of jack stands." I fully understand that. I'm lucky to have a friend like Jeff. If all this means that I pay for my car repairs or do them at my own house without a lift, so be it. That's all that will change. I'll still talk to Jeff 2 or 3 times a week and we'll still talk about cars. (We may talk about his neighbors a bit now, too.) Instead of a call or an e-mail, I may drive my "high end" car (a 15 year old BMW - Which we will not be working on at Jeff's house) to see him, just to piss off the neighbors. ("Damn it, Jeff and his friend are sitting on the deck and they're doing... nothing. Doesn't that violate some law?")

The point of this is not me and my life. The point of this is what a person is allowed to do on his own property. I'm not anarchist or a Libertarian. I believe that there should be certain limits on what can and cannot be done on your property. (I mean, really, would you want your next door neighbor to open a rendering plant next to your house?) And in the grand scheme of things, with the the Gulf of Mexico beginning to look like the Gulf of Texaco (Yeah, I know, wrong oil company, but it sort of rhymes) and everything else that's going on in the world, this is extremely minor. Still, it needs to be pointed out.

There's a little irony here. I remember a call I got a few years ago from Jeff. He was in Ohio visiting John (the BMW 2002 / Volvo fan mentioned in Part 1 of this rambling post). He lost one of the fuel pumps on his 750iL just west of Buffalo, but managed to drive the car the rest of the way on 6 cylinders since it was a dual redundant system. Two days later he was able to fix the car in John's driveway - outside in the cold and the snow - and drive it home on all 12 cylinders. Today, if it was John visiting Jeff in Stockbridge, Massachusetts, and the same thing happened, John would not be able to fix his car in Jeff's driveway or in his warm garage. (I should also mention here that when Jeff told me on the phone that his car had a "dual redundant fuel system", I had no clear idea of what he meant. His response was, "Stop by the house after I get back and I'll show you." It's not real clear if he'd be allowed to do that today.)

Jeff has chosen to take this to court. As far as I can tell, no one has taken a case like this to court before. This could very well be a test case. If this decision is upheld, it's possible you'll see towns trying to pass ordinances and/or bylaws saying that you can't fix or restore your own car in your home garage, let alone help a friend or family member.

Again, I'm not a conspirasist or an anti-government, anti-zoning law type of person. In this case though, the town of Stockbridge took things too far. The thought of what the outcome of this case could have on car geeks, collectors, hobbyists, amateur racers, etc., is chilling.

I'll keep you posted.(If anyone reading this is involved in the media and wants to speak to Jeff about this, shoot me an e-mail and I'll put you in touch with him.)

The Stockbridge Saga, Pt. 2 - The Mother Hen and the Chickensh*t Town

Jeff closed his shop, but didn't lose his love of cars. The BMWs, Ferrari, Land Rovers and assorted Alfas he owns or has owned, will attest to that.

Jeff had a small garage area under his house. It wasn't especially roomy and had an 8' or less ceiling. It wasn't the best place to work on cars like the ones Jeff owns. Jeff decided that he was going to build a garage. The designs were drawn up, the plans were submitted, everything was approved and in 2005 the garage went up. It's an impressive structure. It is one of the classiest looking garages you'll ever see.

Jeff is a lot like a mother hen when it comes to cars. I talk with him 2 or 3 times a week. The conversation almost always ends or begins with "How's your car running?". If you're his friend, your car is his car. He wants to know that everything is OK with it. If I mention that it's making a noise or doing something odd, his response is always, "Bring it by, let's take a look at it." He'll throw it on his lift (yes, his garage has a lift), show me what the problem is and repair it if necessary. If it needs parts, Jeff will often be able to get them for me at cost. Sometimes I bring my own parts.

Most of my time at Jeff's house is spent discussing cars. Jeff's knowledge of cars is extraordinary. If I don't understand what he's telling me, he'll often put one of his cars (or my car, if appropriate) on the lift and show me the part he's talking about and how it works. Much of my knowledge of the inner-workings of cars comes from Jeff.

In the first post I called that the people who hung around Jeff's garage a "club". It's really not a club in the traditional sense of the word. There are no dues no meetings and many of the club members rarely, if ever, see each other. Jeff's garage is a just place where grown men (and the occasional woman) can occasionally get together and talk about their passion; cars. Sometimes we do a little work on our cars with the mother hen / professor, Jeff, watching over us. We always learn things. Best of all, it's a good time.

There are people who don't understand why Jeff does what he does. I understand. He enjoys it. "You take care of your friends" is his philosophy, my philosophy and, I would think, the philosophy of anyone with friends.

Apparently, some of the friendless people who don't understand this are his neighbors. They decided that since people occasionally stop by Jeff's house and put their car up on his lift, he must be running a commercial repair shop in a residential zoned area. They called the building inspector.

The building inspector issued a "Cease and Desist Order".

The pertinent part of the order states this:

“Given that the principal use of this address is residential, the use of the garage must be consistent with section of 4.8 of the zoning bylaws, This section states in part:

Subject to the limitations contained in this bylaw a related minor use, building or structure which is customarily incidental and subordinate to any lawful principal use shall be permitted on the same lot with the building to which it is an accessory, provided that it does not alter the character of the premises nor be detrimental to the neighborhood.

Accordingly, you are hereby ordered to cease and desist all work (including, without limitation, repair, restoration and refurbishment) on any automobile, other vehicle, or part thereof not owned by a resident of this address.”

(Interestingly, as far Jeff knows, the building inspector never actually came to look at anything. The order was based solely on the complaints of the neighbors.)

In other words, friends and family members not living at his address, can no longer use Jeff, his expertise, or his garage. Period.

Now, had this Cease and Desist Order said that Jeff had to stop running a commercial repair shop out of his house, it wouldn't have been a big deal. It would have been like telling me that I couldn't sell compact discs out of my house. It would be no big deal. I don't do that. But this Cease and Desist Order said that there was to be no work done on any cars, belonging to anybody other than Jeff, for any reason. Period. If I stopped by his house popped the hood on my car and asked Jeff to tell me if I installed some component correctly, he was in violation of the Cease and Desist Order. (I should mention here that Arlo Guthrie's opus, "Alice's Restaurant" took place in Stockbridge. Not much seems to have changed in 40 years.) As I've mentioned, I work in the music industry. I often give my friends a pile of promotional (free) CDs when they stop by my house. Apparently, if I lived in Stockbridge, doing so would mean I'm running a commercial music store out of my house.

Not too surprisingly, Jeff decided to appeal this in front of the Stockbridge Zoning Board of Appeals (ZBA).

Tomorrow... The ZBA meeting.

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The Stockbridge Saga, Part 1 - The History...

Memorial Day weekend is here and I'm going to take a few days off. Below is something I wrote last Wednesday and Thursday. It's long, so I've broken it up into 3 parts. At first it may seem like a pointless, rambling, tale about my friendship with Jeff. To a certain extent, it is. But, by the time Part 3 posts, you'll see that it's much more than that. It's about small town politics and the rights of an individual regarding what he can and can't do on his property...
....

Now the first of December was covered with snow,
And so was the turnpike from Stockbridge to Boston.
Lord, the Berkshires seemed dream-like on account of that frosting,
With ten miles behind me
And ten thousand more to go . . .
(James Taylor - "Sweet Baby James")

That song, James Taylor's first solo hit, is most likely the only reason 99.99% of the world knows that Stockbridge, Massachusetts, exists.

I know it exists because my friend, Jeff, lives there. I also spent a surreal evening there last Tuesday night...

A little history...

I met Jeff 25 or 26 years ago. I had an old Alfa Romeo at the time and one of my favorite activities was to just go for a drive in it. No destination in mind, no map, no time limit... Just fill it with gas and go for a drive.

My girlfriend at the time lived in New Hampshire and would come visit me on the weekends. We woke up one Saturday morning and decided to "go for a drive". We packed our toothbrushes and some clean underwear. (This was a tradition. Most of the time our "drives" lasted for an afternoon, maybe into the early evening. Once, we went a little too far and wound up in Northern Maine. I was too tired to drive back that night so we grabbed a hotel room. Finding toothpaste and a toothbrush in the middle-of-the-night, in the middle-of-nowhere Maine, is not too difficult. The one convenience store in the town had that. Finding underwear in the middle-of-the-night, in the middle-of-nowhere Maine, is impossible. From that point on, we left my house "prepared". That's probably more than you needed to know, huh?) This particular Saturday, we wound up in a town called Pittsfield, Massachusetts. As we approached a stop light, I spotted another Alfa Romeo. "Hey look", I said to my girlfriend, "Another Alfa". As we pulled up next to it my girlfriend looked over at the car and exclaimed "Oh my god, the driver could be your brother. He looks just like you." Jeff did look a lot like me (I have aged better. That's now a matter of public record, by the way. - More on that later.) Jeff, whose girlfriend was with him, pulled into the parking lot of a Ben & Jerry's ice cream shop. There's not much better in life than Ben & Jerry's ice cream and Alfa Romeos, so I followed him into the lot.

Jeff and I hit it off immediately. Our girlfriends hit it off immediately. We spent some time talking and as we left, Jeff handed me a card. "I own a repair shop. If you ever need work done on your car, call me." Hell, my car was an Alfa Romeo, of course I was going to need work done to it. I called him a few weeks later.

I spent a lot of time at Jeff's shop. We became close friends. After awhile money stopped changing hands. Jeff would just ask that I pay for parts, which he got for me at cost. Over the years, I met a couple of other car geeks at his shop; Tony, an all around good guy with a taste for Alfa Romeos and Volvos, John, a BMW 2002 and Volvo owner, and Rick, another Alfaholic - with an incredible Montreal - who had decided to take up SCCA racing in a GTV and along with Jeff was building the car in the shop. The shop was major force in Rick’s successful SCCA campaign. Together and separately, we all hung out at Jeff's shop. It was sort of our own little car club.

Owning a business is not all that easy. I know, I've owned one for 28 years. In my case, a retail store. As long as I pay the rent, the utilities and keep the tax people happy, I can survive. In the case of an automobile repair shop there's all that and more. You need to satisfy the EPA, the DOT and more. By 1994 Jeff had had enough. He had enough money, it was time to retire.

More tomorrow...

1953 V8 MG TD!

For a person who claims to not like engine swaps, I sure have been featuring quite a few lately, haven't I?

As I've said earlier posts, some engine swaps are so insane or so well done that I can't help but be amazed and / or impressed. This is another car whose engine swap falls into both the insane and impressive categories. It probably leans a little closer to the insane...

This is a 1953 MG TD with a Ford 289 V8 in it. The conversion was done in 1963. Besides the V8 this car received a Ford 4 speed top-loader transmission and a Triumph TR-3 rear end. The seller says that from 1963 until early 1980's it spent most of it's time as a race car, mostly in the Northeast. He has no records to prove that but, with a car like this, who cares? It's history isn't all that important.

The seller says that the firewall was moved back and the frame was strengthened to accommodate the engine. During its recent restoration it received an MGB front suspension with disc brakes. The rear brakes remain Triumph finned drums.

This V8 conversion looks like it was very well done. Still, I'd bet it's a handful to drive. What really impresses me is that this car doesn't look like a hotrod. It just looks like a nicely restored MG TD. As the seller writes, "If you park it with other MGTD's people would not know that is was not stock, but once you start the engine, everyone looks in disbelief!" I bet they do!

Located in Marietta, GA, click here to see the eBay listing.

1963 Studebaker Gran Turismo Hawk

By the late 1950s, Studebaker was all but broke. A series of miscues, mistakes and mergers had left them with little money to develop new cars.

In the 1950s and 1960s in the United States, car companies changed their body styles often. In order to survive, a company had to make each model year car look different from the year before it. Every 3 or 4 years they needed to do a complete redesign. Not doing so meant not surviving. Studebaker wanted to survive. So, in a time-honored small manufacturer / failing manufacturer tradition, Studebaker designed some new bodies and wrapped them around some ancient running gear. This is one of those cars...

The Gran Turismo (GT) Hawk was designed by Brooke Stevens and introduced in 1962. The drivetrain and chassis dated back to the 1956 Hawk (which dated back to the 1953 Starlight). Without much of a budget, Stevens did an incredible job with this car.

For all intents and purposes, it looks European. One of the more obvious design features, the grill, was borrowed from Mercedes-Benz, whose cars were being distributed in North America by Studebaker at the time. From certain angles (if you squint) it looks like a distant relative of a Facel-Vega. (Due to his limited budget, Stevens had to use the hood and trunk lid from the earlier 1950s Hawk. Still, somehow, he made it all work.) There are no huge fins and no big swatches chrome running down the side. It's a clean looking car.

The interior is where this car really shined. At a time when most American cars had bench seats and long flat metal dashboards with strip speedometers and a collection of idiot lights, the GT Hawk had a curved, padded padded dash with a full set of round instruments and bucket seats with a center console. (The shifter remained on the steering column, though.)

A V8 engine, of course, powered the car. Buyers had the choice of a 289ci engine with a 2 barrel (210 HP) or 4 barrel carb (225 HP). (In 1963 and 1964 the Avanti supercharged V8 was also available.) The Hawk was relatively quick and handled like a typical 1950s / 1960s American car.

The GT Hawk only lasted 3 model years (1962 - 1964). When Studebaker closed its South Bend, Indiana plant in December 1963, the GT Hawk was among the models discontinued by the company. By 1966, the Studebaker car company was gone completely.

This car is a nicely preserved / restored Studebaker GT Hawk. This is not the type of car I would buy, but it's a car that makes me think... If Studebaker had been in better financial shape and remained a player in the US auto industry, would this car's underpinnings have been in the style of a European GT car, too? Would the competition have tried to build a car with more European flair to compete with the Hawk? Would there have been a whole series of 1960s US GT-style cars? There are no answers to those questions, of course, and thinking about it can drive you nuts (trust me).

Located in Hillsdale, MI, click here to see the eBay listing.

Click here to find a good, concise article on the life and death of Studebaker.

/Audi S4 (2005)

1990 Citroen XM

Of all the bizarre cars I talk about wanting to own one day, the Citron XM is one that I will own. There is no doubt about that in my mind. They are getting close to that magic 25 year old mark, when I could import one with no problems.

There are plenty of people out there who don't consider this a real Citroen. It was designed and produced after Citroen was taken over by Peugeot. I look at it as a Citroen anyone could love.

Earlier Citroens were incredibly engineered, but truly bizarre cars. They were an acquired taste. They looked as if they could have been designed on another planet. Their 4 cylinder engine was almost as old as the planet.

The XM took all the good engineering points that Citroen was known for and wrapped in a modern, wedgy Bertone designed body. A V6, the Peugeot / Renault / Volvo "Douvrin" engine, was available. (An engine that, by the time it was installed in this car was incredibly durable. Early engines had camshaft problems, which gave the engine a poor reputation. Later engines, like the one in this car, can go 200,000+ miles without problems.)

The XM was the first car to be fitted with a "Hydractive" suspension, an update of Citroën's famous Hydropneumatic suspension. The XM has two additional suspension spheres that can be used to vary the car's ride. Sensors attached to the steering, accelerator pedal, brakes, vehicle body and gearbox are connected to a computer that continuously varies the both the suspension spring rates and damping to provide a soft ride for comfort and a taut ride for handling and road holding. A switch enables the driver to leave the computer to its own devices or to offer a firmer "sport" setting.

The interior had many Citroen touches, but was more conventional than any previous Citroen.

The XM was not without problems. The biggest problems were electrical, much of which can be traced to corroded grounds.

None of the above, the good or the bad, matters to me. This is a car I'd buy for the body. I like wedge shaped cars (or cars that are "angular and slightly disproportionate", as a friend says) and this is the perfect wedge. In my eyes it's a car with presence. It's classy and sporty at the same time.

This car is located in Mississauga, Ontario, Canada. Being a 1990 model year, it would be tough to title in the US. However, it seems like other people have found ways with other cars to get around this. The seller is willing to deliver it to Saratoga, NY in June.

Click here to see the eBay listing.
...
If you go to Saratoga to buy the XM, stop at a restaurant called Hattie's Chicken Shack.

I was lucky enough to be living in Albany, NY, when Hattie and her husband still operated the restaurant. Hattie opened the restaurant in 1938. By the time I was eating there - 3 or 4 times a month for a couple of years in the early 1980s - Hattie and her husband were in their 80s. (Hattie was not 100% sure when she was born, she "thought" it was in 1900.) She and her husband had the coolest old - early sixties, maybe - Cadillac convertible, which was always shiny and always parked out front. Hattie would often lecture me about my dislike of cooked green vegetables.

Hattie and her husband are long gone, but the restaurant and her recipes still live on. I still try to eat there once or twice a year. If you like fried chicken and / or New Orleans style food, you won't find a better place.

Nope, this is not turning into a food and restaurant blog. I just can't think of Saratoga without thinking of Hattie, her husband, their Cadillac and great food.

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1959 Tatra 603

I mentioned this story in an earlier post, but I'll write it again. Last year I went to the Vintage Fall Festival at Lime Rock with a friend who is as big of a car geek as I am. We were walking around the track taking in all the cars, when rounding a bend we spotted a line of incredible Porsches. OK, that's not really true... She spotted a line of incredible Porsches, I spotted the lone Tatra mixed in. My friend started veering towards the line of classic Porsches. I made a beeline for the Tatra. She just looked at me, shook her head and shot me this look that said "You are one weird human being". What can I say? I love Porsches, but you see a lot of them. How often do you see a Tatra? I'm fascinated by them.

I can't write a better description / history than the seller did, so I'll just cut and paste his here:

"A 'Communist Super car??' Well, yes - rear engined HEMI V8 all aluminum overhead cam aircoooled engine! So exotic and weird you can't make this stuff up! With VW/Porsche type rear swing axles (more on that later), 4-speed transaxle with column gear shift!! Czechlosavakian automaker TATRA and their legendary designer Hans Ledwinka are generally credited with INVENTING the whole rear engine/central tube chassis layout and concept from which the VW beetle and thus every classic Porsche derived and evolved! Unknown to most Porsche enthusiasts is that in 1938 Tatra sued Ferdinand Porsche for copying their designs! After WWII Volkswagon settled with Tatra for several million marks. TATRA is both very significant in automotive history and yet relatively unknown.

So, one can argue that the TATRA is the first true four-door "Porsche," not the Panamera!

My Tatra 603 is a good running largely original/unrestored example of the car favored by so many eastern European Communist party chiefs during the cold war era. It is believed that Fidel Castro still has his Tatra 603!

This is my favorite line...

"So UGLY its beautiful!! Personally I describe the styling as "Buck Rogers Spaceship meets cockroach!"

There are many, many cars on my list of cars to own that come before a Tatra. But, if you buy this and bring it to a show in the Northeast, look for me running towards it. I'll probably be all wide eyed and awe struck. I'll also most likely be alone. I think my last "Tatra episode" alienated the last person who'd attend car shows with me.

Located "North of Seattle, WA", click here to see the eBay listing.

They'll Be Able To Laugh About It In 20 Years... Maybe.

Toronto Globe journalist’s son crashes $180,000 Porsche...

You can read the article here.

A big thanks to Jeff for sending this to me.

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Extending Your Brand Through Song

Marketing has brought cars with music together for decades. Ads like Cadillac’s infamous Break Through spot featuring the energy of Led Zepplin along with a strong Baby Boomer emotional appeal or the wholesome goodness of Dina Shore singing “See the USA in your Chevrolet” all have their place in automotive and music history.

Some things never change, as there seems to be a surge in music and automotive marketing. It seems all brands – luxury and non-luxury – have found some sort of alignment with the passion music brings to a product and with so many genres of music and so many vehicles with different audiences finding the right fit may be easier than ever.

Shakira Shakes Her Hips for Seat

One of my favorite integrations comes from Volkswagen’s European Seat brand featuring Shakira. The campaign is developed around one song: Good Stuff. The Seat Good Stuff website is full of music, cars, games and chances to win tickets. Sharkira’s wild hair and long legs take prominence over the Seat Ibiza, which even has a Special Edition Good Stuff model to align with the campaign. Of all the current music and automaker integrations this is the only one that has built a car for sale to the public. Seat gets the prize for having not only the most elaborate, fanciful site but they also integrated things to the product level with tinted windows, iPods, and 16” “Sonda” wheels.

The campaign is further connected through a Good Stuff Facebook fan page that currently has 3,748 fans. Like most campaign Facebook sites there is very little engagement, especially from the brand as the team in charge only posted one wall post back in February.

Overall the integration is well executed, minus the lame attempt at a Facebook presence, with plenty of artist and vehicle alignment. Bringing the experience online further strengthens the brand’s sponsorship of Shakira’s European Tour. The site has several links to listen to music, find chances to win concert tickets, extend alignment with the brand through Seat’s Club Seat member website, and let’s users easily share the content with others through common social networking sites.

Ram Trucks' Letter Writing Request

Going after a completely different demographic than Seat, Chrysler Group’s new Ram Truck brand wants its potential customers to write letters to America’s soldiers at war. All letters will be collected at Zac Brown Band concerts and Ram Truck dealerships.

"This unique endeavor is derived from respect and admiration, from both the Ram Truck Brand and Zac Brown Band, for the men and women in the military," said Marissa Hunter, Head of Ram Truck Brand Communications, Chrysler Group LLC. "It is our hope that these letters serve as a source of appreciation and comfort."

In exchange for the letters, Ram Truck will give letter writers a free special Zac Brown Band CD entitled "Breaking Southern Ground."

All of this is for the launch of Ram’s Heavy Duty truck. The “Letters for Lyrics” campaign is fully integrated into the Ram Trucks shopping website. There is a page explaining what people need to do to get the free CD and several accompanying videos are viewable on the site along with links to the Ram Heavy Duty truck. There are a few icons available to promote social sharing, but they are not prominent. The main message here is to get people to write and visit a Ram Truck dealership. Hopefully, when someone comes to get a free CD, they’ll also take a test drive in any Ram or Dodge product (the two brands share the same dealer network.)

Lincoln Music

Early this year our team at Lincoln launched the Lincoln Music Experience Sweepstakes along with a Lincoln branded Music micro-site (in full disclosure: I’m the digital brand strategist for the Lincoln and Mercury brands at Team Detroit, in case you didn’t read my bio.) Over the past three years, music has played a significant role in the re-branding of Lincoln. The ads feature a space themed design treatment and usually a reinterpretation of a classic 80s song by a breakthrough brand.

To further extend Lincoln’s affiliation with music, the Lincoln and Music website originally was designed to promote a sweepstakes where one could win a Lincoln vehicle and tickets to see the band Shiny Toy Guns. Site visitors can also download music, explorer Lincoln’s THX II sound system, and had an opportunity to vote to choose the next up and coming band for the next Lincoln commercial.

And The Band Plays On

These three examples show how a variety of brands are using music to tell their product or brand story. Each vehicle segment also appeals to different target consumers and finds ways to reach out to potential customers through contests or giveaways.

All are driving consumers to the vehicle shopping pages and include some sort of social media link sharing. Since this is also about music, every site includes at least one downloadable MP3 music file to take the brand’s sound with its visitors.

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The Brief Life of Twitter Campaign Accounts

Well-known social media author/blogger Brian Solis once wrote, “Social Media is about breaking down barriers to engage in conversations.” Unfortunately, a lot of marketing teams forget that a social networking site like Twitter is all about conversation and to truly establish meaningful conversation you have to build a relationship with those who discuss your brand, product, or marketing effort.

Twitter accounts established solely for marketing campaigns are pointless and essentially demonstrate a marketing team that doesn’t really get what Twitter or even conversational marketing is all about – relationships.

I have been following several automotive marketing campaign Twitter accounts created to extend a campaign into the popular social media site. After watching many of these efforts, it became quite clear that the “conversation” only lasts until that campaign’s marketing team is reassigned and budget is exhausted.

This chart shows several Twitter accounts created solely for a marketing campaign or event marketing purpose. Here you can see how the accounts died a quick death, how many people followed, and how much engagement happened from the account's marketing team. One striking fact is that the average automotive marketing Twitter account is only active for 74 days (barely 2 months.)


Conversationally Challenged

Communications average 263 tweets during the limited time the accounts are active with most producing only around 100 tweets. Two campaigns here showed significantly higher engagement levels. The Hyundai @roadtrip149 account was giving away free iPods last August and this created a lot of Retweets and promotional communications for the iPod giveaways. Kia’s @KiaCollective account promoted several free concert events on its microsite that were part of its campaign which led to a lot of communications out to followers about new concert announcements.

The only account I could find that was decent at establishing relationships with their followers was the Volkswagen @SluggyPatterson campaign. The Punch Dub campaign the Twitter account references is personified by a grumpy old man named Sluggy Patterson who supposedly invented the Punch Dub game, where one punches someone the minute they see a VW. Engagement happens by interacting with this fictional character who seemed to mimic the popular Twitter identity @ShitMyDadSays. The account did enhance the marketing experience and really did work well to promote the campaign’s concept. Unfortunately, the team doing it only participated for 67 days.

All seven of the examples here are dormant Twitter accounts since they have been inactive for months. Of the seven only one account actually told its followers to follow the primary Twitter account for the brand. The @ThisisiQ account from the UK directs its followers to move to the @ToyotaGB account to continue engaging with the iQ and its blog.

Relationships Take Time Campaigns Don't Have

One thing is very clear when it comes to marketing campaign Twitter accounts, they don’t last long enough to provide any relationship with its followers and since there is no significant engagement there is no significant value. Brands really need consider if accounts like these are worth the effort? I’m sure some resources had to be funded to support the Twitter accounts and by the look of things the benefit to the brand and campaign is minuscule at best.

If marketing teams really want to bring their campaigns under the social media umbrella, they should do so using an established brand Twitter account that can be used to continue the relationship keeping it fresh and, most important, long-term.

An example of this strategic approach is what @Jeep is doing with its Tiki Hunt marketing effort. They did not establish a Tiki Hunt Twitter account to engage with people; instead, they are directing people to the @Jeep account and building followers and fostering engagement through their brand account which will continue to engage their followers long after the Tiki Hunt campaign is over.

Toyota Avalon: Now That's Entertainment!

When the average age of your customer is 66 years old, you have to get a bit creative to get some youthfulness into your marketing. This month’s Car & Driver has a full-page ad for the Toyota Avalon. The ad features three very beautiful women looking like they are going to a 1940’s dance at Hollywood’s Brown Derby.

The ad copy is all about the “Spacious Life” showcasing how roomy the Avalon is. No pun intended, it’s definitely a big selling point for the Avalon and what better way to connect with the consumer than by appealing to their youth, even if it was over a half century ago. Besides, the ad even may capture the interest of those not part of the WWII generation since ads with beautiful women is sure to intrigue any audience (sadly, this is probably what caught my interest if I’m being honest.)

There is nothing wrong or particularly great about the ad. I just found it an interesting way to appeal to your consumption target using some subtle sexiness while hearkening back to the youth of the customer in a tasteful way while still communicating the benefits of the vehicle.

Experience Continues Online

I was more surprised by a launch site that carried the "Travel Avalon Class" message into a campaign website.

Feature content transitions look like something out of MGM's That's Entertainment films. Content rotates to different theatrical stages where features are demonstrated by a host who looks like Ray Liotta and his female product demonstration model. They banter about "the big city", "the big easy", "those are fabulous shoes" and "welcome to the land of stars." It's all a bit cliche but that's the point. This is an attempt to take one back to a time when life was simple and Avalon's customers were young.

It really is a nicely done site though the transition between features takes awhile due to the creative assets loading and I do wonder about the patience of site visitors; although, if they do spend some time with the content it really is effective at explaining some very complex feature benefits that most site probably have an issue getting across to older customers. The Bluetooth and Navigation demonstrations are particularly effective here. Hopefully site visitors will notice the small font of the lower navigation so they can Build & Price and learn more.

Take a look at the site as my words can hardly explain what is going on here: http://www.toyota.com/vehicles/minisite/avalon/

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Toyota Swaggers Into Effective Product Positioning

A few people have asked my thoughts on the Toyota Sienna campaign, particularly the idea of positioning a minivan as a “Swagger Wagon.” Well I have to say I love it. It is becoming one of the best campaigns of 2010.

Why?

1.) It gives the vehicle a distinct personality. This is rare these days. Most marketing today is about showcasing individual features of the car. Here Toyota is focusing on giving their minivan a unique positioning statement.

2.) It mocks the target consumer in a way that even the audience it is trying to reach finds it fun and unoffensive. Anyone buying a minivan has surrendered to a life of sacrificing style for function. Toyota’s marketing team has built off this surrendering by having some ridiculous fun with the parents by blending the hilarity of rapping middle-age parents, focusing on the lifestyle as if it is something to be desirable, and still maintain the product benefits to the consumer.

3.) The two actors are perfectly cast. Someone shared with me that they come off as “asshats” but I think they embody the sense that parenting has become too serious and really needs to relax. After years of parents over nurturing their kids, the time has come to get back to focusing on the needs of the parents and some relief from child rearing.

4.) Oddly enough it creates a sense of pride in the vehicle. The Sienna is no longer just another minivan it is a “Swagger Wagon” and that identity will stick. Good or bad, it will and those who buy one will find a sense of pride in owning it. Imagine pulling up to the next family holiday party in your Swagger Wagon. Now that’s style over function.


To launch the latest music video for the campaign, Toyota bought a roadblock on YouTube’s home page that featured a banner with an integrated video taking people to the Sienna YouTube channel. I looked at the ad unit early yesterday morning and there were around 40,000 views o the video. Tonight there are 466,748 views! A very impressive feat for a one-day home page ad unit; though, it wasn’t only the ad. Toyota received a lot of buzz coverage from the major and minor automotive blogs and some other media outlets because the video is actually entertaining.

The most impressive contribution, I didn’t once think about Toyota’s recall issues while watching it.

Jeep's Tiki Hunt Bound to Geographic Limitations

Well this was a first. I have never been to a contest micro-site that does not include some sort of request for visitor information and a chance to enter to win the prize.

Leave it to Jeep to be unique. They are in the second phase of a “long term social media plan for Jeep to engage with its enthusiasts and consumers alike.” The first phase was a Tweet to Win dig contest at the New York International Auto Show (NYIAS.)

Now Jeep has placed three tiki idols in three locations throughout the U.S. and has several clues on the TikiHunt.com micro-site. There are idols buried in California, Colorado and Illinois. Participants in Los Angeles and Chicago have already won two of the idols. The third and final tiki idol is hidden somewhere in Colorado with two clues left to be uncovered.

The one big issue I have with this contest is it severely limits participation, as winners must go to the location to find the hidden tikis. So, if you don’t live in Los Angeles, Chicago or Denver then you really can’t play to win. I suppose you could fly to the location to win but that seems like a long shot and major expense if you don’t get there in time before a local contestant figures it out.

Meanwhile, what is in it for the brand since there are no handraisers to add to their database? There is some engagement on the Jeep Facebook and Twitter pages but the engagement doesn’t really lead to much other than some commenting or liking of posts or maybe a retweet on Twitter.

There is a link to learn more about the Jeep Wrangler Islander edition on the micro-site, which brings people either to the vehicle landing page or one can view Jeep Gear. But that’s it. There just isn’t much in the way of leading to key engagement activities like Build & Pricing a Wrangler Islander or doing a Dealer Inventory Search.

It just seems there are some missing elements here to make this contest more effective for the company. Also, I would’ve made the hunt more virtual maybe using something like Google Street View and being the first to do a screen capture so that anyone across the country could participate to win, not just people who are physically already in the city.

Showcase Your Auto Enthusiast Prowess Win a NISMO

Nissan is appealing to their enthusiast target customer in its latest contest. The NISMO 370Z Sports Car Enthusiast Challenge & Sweepstakes does this in a fun and unique way by having contestants take a quiz for an opportunity to get more entries to win a 2010 Nissan 370Z NISMO sports car.

The contest goes through June 28, 2010 and to date has 44,388 contestants having played the game since early April. Participants get entries to win by correctly answer questions of a per day 3 question quiz, by simply returning to the site and entering their email, and can also gain more entries by sharing the site with up to 3 of their friends for up to 3 additional entries.

The share with your friends to get more entries to win is the first time I've seen an automaker incentivise contest sharing by giving a reason for people to share: more entries to win. I've never really understood sharing a contest site with others because doesn't more participants equal a worse chance to win? Here Nissan battles that issue by giving a bonus entries to the person doing the share.

Quiz questions are very effective here as the questions build more knowledge about the Nissan 370Z NISMO. It's a great way to increase interest in the vehicle to an enthusiast culture who cares about the detailed specifications of the sports car.

The site also links out to the Nissan site where contestants can choose from a variety of exit paths specific to where they are in their own shopping or interest path.

Automotive Facebook Fans Likes by Brand: April 2010

Welcome to the all-new less committal Automotive Facebook “Likes” by Brand monthly report. In case you haven’t kept up with the monthly changes in Facebook-land, the company decided to remove the Fan distinction and move to a Like action that people can do on a brand page. So that Ford Mustang you were a huge fan of, guess what? Now you just “like” it.

Oh well, maybe one can show their enthusiasm in other digital ways, perhaps by doing something we all did long before Facebook existed – add a picture of their favorite car to a computer’s wallpaper. Now that’s being a fan!



So who convinced the social community to really, really Like them the most in the month of April? Two brands definitely standout and both are very new to the Facebook fan page world so they have some major growth percentage-wise mainly because they are starting from such low fan count numbers.

Scion had a user community fan page converted to “Unofficial Scion” last month only to come out with their own page in March. In April, Scion drove up fan numbers running some simple Become a Fan ad units; thereby, increasing their fan count by 780% in April.

So who beat a 780% growth in one month? Some big trunks with menacing grilles: Ram had 1,029% growth with 18,894 fans added in one month. Ram also had Become a Fan ad units run in April to help generate such impressive growth. All of the Chrysler brands are making a strong push to advertise for fans over the past several months with major ad buys from Ram, Dodge and Jeep.



The remaining brands experienced typical fluctuations in growth. Most double-digit increases can be accounted to product releases or news. Toyota meanwhile continued with their video ad unit to showcase their response to the recall news. ‘

Other than a lot of changes with Facebook’s change from Fan to Like, the month was mostly uneventful for the automotive world on Facebook.