Jan. 30, 2019
See Jason Bateman as a Unique Elevator Operator in Hyundai Super Bowl Commercial
There’s an old high school football cheer for when referees make a bad call: Elevator! Elevator! We got the shaft! Hyundai offers a funny Super Bowl ad called "The Elevator" that's premised on the times when we all get the shaft. USA Today reports that in the ad Jason Bateman is the elevator operator as a couple gets on to say they are going car shopping. "You're going down," Bateman says. "Way down." They pass floors for root canals, jury duty, vegan dinner parties-and parents giving kids "The Talk." At last the elevator arrives at car buying. No, the couple says, we're buying a Hyundai. "Going up," Bateman says. The commercial is for Hyundai's Shopper Assurance program, which the company says makes car buying more convenient and more pleasant. Click here to watch it. Hyundai won USA TODAY's Ad Meter-a ranking of ads based on consumer votes-for its 2016 commercial called "First Date." Kevin Hart starred as a father feeling as fathers do when their daughters go on first dates. The 60-second spot will run in the first quarter. Click here for the full story.
Q&A with AIADA's New Chairman Howard Hakes
Howard Hakes won't get to choose most of his battles over the next year. As incoming chairman of the American International Automobile Dealers Association, the main trade association for dealers of imported vehicles, his job is to respond to threats to the well-being of his members. That won't be easy, given the center stage that international trade occupies in Washington. AIADA will work diligently this year to pass the successor trade agreement to NAFTA, the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement, because the alternative would be economically devastating to all U.S. dealers, Hakes said. Tariffs must be fought back before they make it more difficult for consumers to afford new vehicles, he added. Hakes, president of Hitchcock Automotive Resources, a group of three Toyota dealerships in Southern California, spoke with Automotive News Staff Reporter Larry P. Vellequette. Click here for the edited excerpts, including AIADA’s top priorities for the year.
New Car Tariffs Could Miss Their Intended Target
The Trump administration is weighing whether to invoke national security to place tariffs on cars, even as questions linger about the effectiveness of similar tariffs on steel and aluminum imports. According to Roll Call, almost eight months after those steel and aluminum tariffs went into effect, the U.S. remains embroiled in a trade war with China, and some of America’s closest allies — Canada, Mexico and the European Union — are caught in the crossfire. The Commerce Department is set to conclude in February its 270-day Section 232 investigation into whether to use national security as justification for an additional tariff on cars and auto parts Imposing tariffs on autos would hit a handful of key U.S. allies harder than it would hit China, said Jeff Bialos, a partner at the law firm Eversheds Sutherland who served in senior posts at the Defense and Commerce departments during the Clinton administration. According to Commerce Department figures, the top exporters of cars and light trucks to the U.S. in 2017 were, in order: Mexico, Canada, Japan, Germany, South Korea and the United Kingdom. China ranked 10th, behind Sweden and Slovakia. For more on how tariffs on autos could backfire, click here.
Refreshed Tacoma's Message: Bring it On
With the return of the Ford Ranger and Jeep Gladiator to U.S. dealerships this year, the midsize pickup segment will be a battlefield in 2019. Thankfully for Toyota — which didn't flee the segment when the going got tough a decade ago, unlike its domestic rivals — the Tacoma commands this battlefield's high ground. Automotive News reports that a refreshed 2020 Toyota Tacoma makes its debut at Feb. 7 at the Chicago auto show. (You can watch the livestream here.) A new exterior look and interior updates are expected to augment the redesign done four years ago for the 2016 model year. But the big news for the "Taco" this coming year isn't just how it looks, but just how many of them there might be. After years of struggling to meet demand for Tacoma, Toyota Motor North America should have all the Tacomas and Tundras its dealers can sell this year, thanks to an innovative three-plant strategy. Toyota's top executives say they welcome the return of Ford and FCA to the midsize pickup segment, where their added advertising dollars are sure to stoke interest in the segment as a whole. For more on the Tacoma, click here.
Colorado Car Dealers Sue Regulators to Repeal Tougher Fuel Efficiency Standards
Tougher vehicle fuel standards approved late last year by Colorado state regulators were unlawful and should be set aside, the Colorado Automobile Dealers Association says in a new lawsuit. The lawsuit, filed Monday, seeks to repeal a rule approved in November by the Colorado Air Quality Control Commission that requires automakers to boost fuel efficiency. According to the Denver Post, the auto dealers contend the new standards would result in onerous sticker price increases that would harm working families, and accused regulators of making up their minds before taking public input. Approval of the more stringent standards in Colorado followed the Trump administration’s proposal to roll back the Obama administration’s requirement for automakers to nearly double the average fuel economy of new cars and trucks by 2025. The new regulation will add $2,110 to the sticker price of average new vehicles in Colorado and even more for sports utility vehicles and trucks, the Colorado dealer association said. For the full story, click here.
Around the Web
China’s Zotye Sets Sights on U.S. Market [Wards]
GM Brands Have Cut Complimentary Maintenance from Three Years to One [Car & Driver]
Dangerous Idiot Sleeps While Driving His Tesla on Autopilot [Jalopnik]
2019 Hyundai Kona Electric Pricing Very Obviously Targets the Chevy Bolt [TTAC]
