Dealer Group’s TV Ads Featuring the “Trunk Monkey” Are a Big Hit

Portland Oregon’s Suburban Auto Group releases two more ads featuring a chimpanzee as the “ultimate accessory” for your new car – very funny! Suburban Auto Group in Portland, OR, has attracted a lot of positive attention for a series of ads featuring a chimpanzee as the “ultimate accessory” – “The Trunk Monkey.” Two new ads are scheduled for release this week for a total of 8 since they started running in 2003. The ads are produced by marketing agency R/West and they have turned the comedic ads into a syndication success - licensing the ads to dealerships on a nationwide basis. Imagine an option that will watch after your teen-aged daughter while out on a date, chase down egg-throwing kids, bribe a cop for you, deliver a baby, and administer first aid. You can view all the above ads at
www.trunkmonkeyad.com
The newest spots, not online yet, depict the ‘Trunk Monkey’ receiving a promotion to the dealership’s sales team. According to a report in the Portland Business Journal, the ‘Trunk Monkey’ is shown visiting with customers on the lot, at the parts counter, and at the F&I desk where he approves credit. However in the follow-up spot, the ‘Trunk Monkey’ gets demoted. The light-hearted ads have gained a lot of attention in the Portland area and have won two Northwest Regional Emmy Awards. And, as you might expect, you now can purchase ‘Trunk Monkey’ t-shirts, etc.

Texas Dealer Installs “Owner Manual for Life” in Every Glovebox

Speaking of unusual options, Wichita Falls, TX dealer Derek Williamson puts a copy of the Bible in every car he delivers. Every vehicle sold at Premier Pontiac Buick GMC in Seymour Texas leaves the dealership with what is essentially a copy of the New Testament in the glove compartment. Stung by the common stigma attached to auto dealers, Derek Williamson wants his customers to know that he is a good and honest Christian man. According to an article in the Times Record News of Wichita, TX, Williamson handles the placement of the New Testaments personally, not involving dealership staff. He also claims not to harass customers with regard to their personal faith, religion, or regular church attendance. He does acknowledge that Wichita Falls is a heavily Christian community and he has not received any complaints from customers. He states that most criticism comes from other dealers, some calling him a “Holy Roller.” But apparently he takes this in stride and continues to purchase and install the “Owner’s Manual for Life” in every vehicle sold.

Survey asks “What’s the ugliest car of all time?”

Before moving on to the survey’s winner, what would your choice have been? What’s the ugliest car of all time? That was the question posed on a survey of nearly 2,500 collector car owners, reports Toronto’s Globe and Mail. And the Survey says the winner (?) is the AMC Pacer, a hatchback that flopped into the market in 1975 and out by 1980. In fact, AMC scored the most vehicles in this list of top 10 ugliest cars, with the Gremlin and Matador station wagon also making the list. The Serbian-built Yugo came in at number two, a small two-door hatchback not radically ugly in and of itself from a distance, but became so close up, where the shoddy build quality could be seen plainly by all. "The Yugo was a car that fell apart while you drove," reported another of the almost 2,500 total respondents to the survey. The most modern vehicle to make the list was the much maligned, and very deserving Pontiac Aztek, which bombed in the marketplace before its death in 2005, while the mechanically identical but more conservatively styled Buick Rendezvous is just now heading out of production. Other cars to make the list included the Chevrolet Chevette, Ford Edsel, Chevrolet Corvair, Ford Pinto, and Chevrolet Vega.

Ford expects to sell Jaguar, Land Rover by early 2008

Ford doesn’t plan to retain a stake in its Jaguar and Land Rover once those properties are sold, according to Lewis Booth, the head of the automaker's European operations. Addressing analysts in Frankfurt Booth said Ford hopes to complete the sale of its two British luxury brands by the end of the year -- or the beginning of 2008 at the latest. Sources close to the situation told The Detroit News that Ford has asked prospective purchasers to submit their final bids by the end of this month. "We're selling the business because we need the money and we need the focus," Booth said. "So, we're not going out there with the intention of keeping an equity stake." Booth added that Ford is continuing its "strategic review" of its other European luxury brand, Sweden's Volvo, and hopes to complete that process by year end. Ford CEO Alan Mulally has said Ford does not need a global luxury brand to compete internationally, and instead wants to focus on reviving the company's core Blue Oval brand.

The Surprise Press Departure a Blow, But Unlikely to Slow Toyota

The departure of Toyota Motor North America President Jim Press from the No.1 Japanese auto maker may come as a shock, but it won’t slow the growth of the company, analysts tell Ward’s. Press, who first joined Toyota Motor Sales U.S.A. Inc. in 1970, says in a statement: “Toyota has been the centerpiece of my life. This was the most difficult decision I have made, but I am truly looking forward to an exciting new chapter in my career.” That chapter begins this month as Press becomes co-vice chairman and co-president of Chrysler. Press’ resignation from Toyota Motor Corp. is effective Sept. 14, and he is expected to officially join Chrysler Sept. 17. He is the only non-Japanese executive to ever sit on Toyota’s board of directors and the second high-profile Toyota executive that Chrysler, under the new ownership of private-equity firm Cerberus Capital Management LP, has lured away in recent weeks. Under Press’ leadership, Toyota today ranks No.2 in sales in the U.S. It also is No.1 globally in terms of vehicle output. Symbolically, this has got to be a blow (to Toyota),” David Cole, chairman of the Center for Automotive Research, says of Press’ jump to Chrysler. However, he points out that in typical Toyota fashion, the company already has a replacement for Press, current TMNA Executive Vice President Shigeru Hayakawa. “They always have a succession plan in place,” Cole says. In his new job, Press will be in charge of Chrysler’s North American and international sales, as well as global marketing and “strengthening and energizing the dealer body,” he says in an official Chrysler release. One Toyota dealer says Press probably wanted to get back to a position that would put him in contact with dealers. “There has been talk among dealers who knew Jim well that he wanted to return to a position of sales and dealer leadership,” says Douglas Kool of Kool Toyota in Grand Rapids, MI. Jim Dunn, general manager of JM Lexus of Margate, FL, the nation’s leading Lexus sales-volume store, says Press “always has liked challenges and may have felt Chrysler offers more of a challenge in the years ahead.” Cole says Press’ rapport with dealers will come in handy at Chrysler, where the auto maker’s retailers have been up in arms over the direction and marketing of the Chrysler, Dodge and Jeep brands.