Get My Volt. How?

So I was listening to Chevy's Volt pricing announcment and noticed Joel Ewanick, General Motors' vice president for North American marketing, was promoting a new website for the Volt using the web address: http://www.getmyvolt.com. So I tried it to see how I could get my Volt. Unfortunately, it just took me, after two redirects, to the Volt landing page on Chevrolet.com site that has been up for months with no calls to action to order a Volt (the image above is where I was landed.) Too bad, I was hoping to see how the effort differed from Nissan's Leaf pre-order website that was very clear in how to order their electric vehicle offering.

As part of the pricing announcement, Chevy hosted a Q&A where Chevrolet Volt marketing director Tony DiSalle and Volt vehicle line director Tony Posawatz shared some answers to questions mainly around availability and the ordering process.

UPDATE: They added a green button sometime yesterday to start the process with a dealer in certain markets where the Volt will launch, but I checked back this morning
and it's gone.

Shape Your Fiesta, By Helping Ford Determine Options

Using the web to gauge consumer interest is nothing new. Ford is trying it right now with their “Shape the 2011 Fiesta” quiz. Visitors can select what options, color and transmission they want for their ideal Fiesta. It’s a great way to see what demand there may be for a new vehicle.

The issue with the idea is will it attract future consumers or just auto enthusiast types who are more than willing to select a manual over automatic transmission for a dream Fiesta, but never really buy such a car? The hope, of course, is that those visiting the Fiesta pre-reveal site are truly considers of the product and will positively impact the production decisions as the car crosses the Atlantic Ocean to enter the U.S. market.

Ford is evaluating quiz-takers by how they define themselves as “loafer or high-top” and “brand-new skateboard or brand-new golf driver”, in their “Choose Your Thing” quiz at the end of the shape your Fiesta poll.

It’s an interesting approach and a commendable way to determine demand, provided potential buyers actually do find the site. I keep filling it hoping they’ll build a manual, hatch in Green Apple.

Is Smart the Right Product at the Right Time?

It was just announced today that the new Smart car fortwo surpassed the 15,000 units they expected to sale and not by an insignificant margin in a down market. They sold 25,000 units overall and had 100,000 people send in their $99 checks to reserve a Smart car in 2008.

The reservation approach was part of Smart’s marketing push to get people to pre-order a vehicle prior to the car’s launch in the United States. Smart did no TV and went with an online campaign approach, similar to what Mini did back when it launched its brand in the States. Apparently, if you are a stylish, European, small car you will launch with an online campaign and avoid the expense of TV since word of mouth is bound to drive your sales.

Smart is constantly hailed as a car for the consumer looking for high mpg economy in a world of unstable gas prices. But a lot of cars are being offered for this new shift to fuel economy conscience customers. Toyota has the Yaris. Honda has the Fit. The Yaris and Fit are not attractive cars. They are pure economical choices for a cost driven customer. Meanwhile, Smart and Mini offer high mileage choices but with the added benefit of being stylish and iconic.

After finishing a tumultuous 2008 in automotive sales and crazy up and downs at the fuel pump, it is interesting to see how a car is correlate to the gas pump. The Honda Fit and Toyota Yaris are definitely following the behavior of bouncing gas prices while the Smart and Mini keep a relatively steady, almost predictable, sales stream.

It really makes me wonder two things:

1.) Is stylish and fuel-efficient the perfect combination in today’s market?
2.) Do Mini and Smart simply sell a consistent number of vehicles because they limit supply so much that we do not see the sales swings found in higher production unit vehicles?

What are your thoughts?


Note: The chart's nameplate sales by month come from Automotive News and the gas prices come from the Energy Information Administration. Official Statistics from the US Government. 2008 Data on Average US Retail Gas Prices