toyota recall

On Thursday, February 18, 2016 Toyota announced a recall of about 2.9 million sports utility vehicles.

The recall covers RAV4 SUVS from the 2005 through 2014 model years, the RAV4 electric vehicle from 2012 through 2014, sold in North America, and the Vanguard sold in Japan from 2005-2016.

In a severe frontal crash, the seat belts in both second - row window seats could come into contact with a metal seat cushion frame. If this were to happen the seat belts could be cut and not restrain passengers.

The company says it will add plastic covers to the metal frame at no cost to customers. The recall also affects 625,000 vehicles in Europe, 434,000 vehicles in China and 177,000 in Japan.

The New York Times was a source for this post.

chevy's secret weapon

New car launches affect automaker positioning. The U.S. auto market looks stable for 2016. So the stage is set for General Motors to reintroduce a vehicle that's been in and out of the Chevy line-up since 1964.

The Chevy Malibu

2016 Chevrolet Malibu

The U.S. auto market hasn't been exactly friendly to larger sedans. The market has been ruled by SUVs and trucks. Chevy is most likely taking a larger than normal risk with the Malibu. However the car has potential to make a mark with car buyers this year. The timing is good as Chevy has the Malibu well positioned to grab a decent portion of the market share.

Auto industry watchers have said that the U.S. auto market is ready for a new larger sedan. Malibu just might be the ticket. With four doors, the Malibu will get onto the radar of those who are looking for more room and want a car.

General Motors has been trying to bolster family sedans. That's no secret. Its two major competitors are the Toyota Camry and Honda Accord. GM has ambitious sales goals for the vehicle, of between 200,000 to 300,000 units per year.

What makes the Malibu special? Comfort and technology. It has an 8-inch touchscreen and a really cool front end which adds to its upscale look. A 160-hp turbo 1.5-liter four-cylinder is under the hood; a 250-hp turbo 2.0-liter four is optional.

The Chevrolet brand has the name to deliver and with the new Malibu they're positioned to grab a good share of the four door sedan market. 

MSRP $22,500 - Lease $418 per month

 The hybrid Malibu: 48 mpg city and 45 mpg highway.

caranddriver.com and businessinsider.com were sources for this post

the devil's in the details

Acura introduced their Super Bowl ad for the Acura NSX.

Classic hard rock is in the Acura ad with VanHalen's "Runnin' With the Devil". 

The song fits well with what Acura wants to convey: unbridled fury with unique design.

This super car hosts sleek line that combines beauty with performance. It has a hand-built engine which takes about five hours to build. Acura prides itself on being an in-house production facility. The NSX boasts of form and function. It's powerful and alluring.

The NSX, a mid-engine concept car, was introduced in 2012 at the Detroit Auto Show. Fast forward to 2016 and the new NSX is upon us. The NSX is powered by Acura’s first turbocharged engine since the original RDX crossover. The NSX’s 75-degree, dry-sump V-6 twin-turbocharged engine is supplemented by three electric motors, one sandwiched between the engine and the nine-speed dual-clutch automatic transmission, and one at each front wheel.

Acura will hit a home run with the new NSX and its halo effect will invigorate Acura’s product planners and designers as much as its customers.
Car and Driver Magazine was used as a source for this post.

5 ambassadorship lessons

Jaguar's story is one of age. It's your story and my story. More on that later.

When I was a kid, back in the late 60's, I'd seen about five Jaguars. Of course that was the muscle car era. I had ridden in several of those, much to my delight. When I'd looked at a Jaguar, it caught my eye. It was different. It was unique.

 I, to this day, have not ridden or driven a Jaguar. I'd ridden in several muscle cars and was delighted. I went on to own three. The innovation was special and it still is. However, I haven't "clumped" innovation into one big category, even when it comes to cars.

To me, Jaguar's innovation is different. Maybe it's Europe. Certainly the advertising has made the difference. This difference has been over many years. The product has lived up to the billing. You might be thinking that I'll never own a Jaguar. I'm thinking that now. But I can still admire the brand.

The Jaguar brand has given us many lessons in promotion and admiration. They create the content. Their recent content creation is the Jaguar XE. The car is elegant and fun. Know the experience better by following the #FEELXE hashtag.

Through the years Jaguar has made their brand "knowable" to many throughout the world. They did this by making their story my story. Now my Jaguar story isn't the same story as an owner, but I have a story just the same.

They did this by ambassadorship. And we can learn 5 items from this to promote our brand:

1. Make people feel special. Make your customers feel fan special. Produce content that is sharable. Give something that is worth remembering.
2. Keep your friends close. To be successful in influence marketing groom the relationship with your online customers and prospects.
3. Conversations are everything. Jaguar keeps the conversation moving. They respond, thank, and share.
4. Give them something to talk about. And we talk about it.
5. Listen to your fans. Yes, a conversation overload.

Jaguar's effort is impressive for sure.

12 business strategy failures

Adopting a business strategy is great. The key to this success is adopting the correct business strategy. To simply try a strategy on for size often doesn't succeed.

Here are 12 reasons for top business strategy failures:

1. Not understanding what a strategy is.
2. Focusing on results first, not focusing on the strategy.
3. Just going through the motions of developing a strategy plan.
4. Not being passionate about the strategy.
5. Not understanding the target audience.
6. Not understanding the environment.
7. Not recognizing market trends.
8. Overestimating the capacity of the business.
9. Not having a clear focus on a powerful, value proposition.
10. Lack of broad involvement.
11. Resisting change.
12. Having the wrong people in leadership roles.

Focus on the knowledge of the topic. When change happens quickly, opportunities once presented can vanish fast. Keep your options open.

Strategy-Keys.com was the source for this entry.