L.A. agency wins VW ad account

Deutsch LA, the West Coast office of ad agency Deutsch Inc., has won Volkswagen’s coveted U.S. advertising account.

Deutsch LA replaces Crispin Porter + Bogusky of Miami, which had handled VW’s U.S. advertising since 2005.

The size of the account wasn't disclosed. TNS Media Intelligence reported that VW spent $204 million on U.S. advertising last year.

That spending is almost sure to increase as the German automaker tries to make inroads into the U.S. market, where it currently holds a meager 2% market share (General Motors sold more cars in the U.S. in September alone than VW sold here in the first nine months of the year.)

“The clear intention of the company is to be No. 1 globally,” said Tim Ellis, VW’s head of U.S. marketing, “and the United States plays into that strategy in a big way.”

That strategy will include an aggressive advertising campaign that cuts across all manner of media platforms, from TV to social networking sites to mobile phones.

Volkswagen immediately becomes Deutsch LA’s biggest account, joining the likes of Sony PlayStation, DirecTV and Dr Pepper in the agency’s stable.

“This is beyond big,” agency co-CEO Mike Sheldon said. “Opportunities like this come around once in a career.”

Sheldon said the VW account will likely result in the addition of 100 new people at the agency’s 300-person Marina del Rey offices.

Sheldon said his agency plans to broaden VW’s appeal beyond its current base of hip twenty-somethings while still maintaining an aura of cool around the brand. The agency’s first work on behalf of its new client should begin appearing sometime in the first quarter of 2010, he added.

Deutsch, it should be noted, is German for “German.” Whether the agency’s VW campaign features the Teutonic accents and lingo that have plagued the automaker’s ads for years remains to be seen. Here's betting they lose the lederhosen.

-- Martin Zimmerman

Volkswagen brings the fun: Giant piano stairs and other ‘Fun Theory’ marketing

If stairs played musical notes when you walked on them, would you be more likely to take them?

The video of people skipping the escalator in favor of composing music on the piano stairs of Odenplan subway station in Stockholm, Sweden, has been viewed more than 2.5 million times on YouTube. (Watch it above in the embedded player.)

The video is part of a new viral marketing campaign called “The Fun Theory.” The concept, created by Volkswagen Sweden and ad agency DDB Stockholm, is based on the idea that “fun is the easiest way to change people’s behavior for the better.”

Another campaign video shows people picking up trash off the ground in a park just to hear “The World’s Deepest Bin,” a regular trash can wired with motion-activated depth sound effects.

The goal with these fun, do-good videos is to promote VW’s new environmentally friendly BlueMotionTechnologies brand in an increasingly more competitive eco-car market.

“As traditional advertising is becoming less effective, and the competition in the market for environmentally sound cars is becoming more fierce, we believed we needed a more innovative approach to draw attention to BlueMotion,” DDB Stockholm deputy manager Lars Axelsson said in an e-mail.

VW brings nine models to Frankfurt

With home-court advantage at the Frankfurt Motor Show, Volkswagen has chosen this moment to showcase just how aggressive its integration into the American market will be. At the show this year there are nine relevant concepts and models, and a number of them will actually appear in U.S. dealerships (though some might not make it to the party until 2013). The company certainly knows its target audience; the selection includes alternative-fuel concepts, boy-racer dream cars and a much-anticipated three-door. Almost every one is a compact.

It's a brilliant move to highlight the small and green offerings of the line (not a whiff of the Touareg this time around), especially when America is desperate to fill the roads with more fuel-sipping, guilt-assuaging vehicles.

It's been confirmed that the Polo Three-Door will be ours next year. The car's been in production since 1975, and 2010 marks its first entry into America's marketplace. The mini hatchback (not to be confused with Mini's Coupe) has a few things going for it, not the least of which is its lack of participation in slightly terrifying ad campaigns. More importantly, its array of small displacement engines -- including a diesel option -- and low curb weight make it a fuel-sipper. Smaller than the Golf, it will slot in at the bottom of VW's lineup.

This isn't to say VW is rejecting our need for speed. In fact, it's embracing it. With a 2.0-liter TSI that produces 265 horsepower, the brand-new 2010 Golf R is the most powerful production Golf ever. All-wheel drive treatment and the addition of the DSG gearbox make it a worthy replacement to the R32. America will get to test its 5.5-second zero to 60 mph time sometime next year. 

VW's biggest news this year comes in the form of two alternative-fuel concepts. The E-Up! concept has been heralded (by VW itself) as "Beetle of the 21st Century" and is slated to arrive in 2013. It may look like a more futuristic Tata Nano, but its lithium-ion battery will provide a range of 80 miles without a recharge. For longer jaunts, VW revisited its 1L concept, now called the L1 and transformed it into a two-seater, 1000-pound Honda Insight with the styling cues of a carbon-fiber Enterprise aircraft carrier. A 1-liter TDI engine and electric motor should combine to make an estimated 170 mpg. VW is saying it will be ready for production by 2013, but will we be ready for it?

-- Alison Lakin

Alison Lakin is a staff writer at DriverSide.com.

Photos (from top): Volkswagen L1 Concept, Polo, E-Up! Concept. Credit: Volkswagen

Made in China: Volkswagen's hydrogen fuel cell vehicle

On the heels of the Obama administration’s announcement that it will move away from hydrogen fuel cell funding, Volkswagen confirmed that it remains committed to building fuel cells for hydrogen-powered vehicles.

To stress the company's point, we were invited to the California Fuel Cell Partnership in Sacramento to test-drive Volkswagen’s fuel cell prototypes.

Currently, the automaker’s fuel cell efforts are housed under the sheet metal of Chinese-spec Passat Lingyus, which were built primarily for the 2008 Beijing Olympics. VW gave scientists at Tongji University in China free rein to create, implement and refine the fuel cell components within them.

All 22 Passat Lingyus are roadworthy, with a range of 186 miles per hydrogen top-up. However, according to John Tillman, program manager of Volkswagen’s Advanced Powertrain Research Program, the fuel cells are “still at least a generation out from being ready for public consumption.” You don’t say?

Despite this, the fuel cell vehicles were a lot more functional than we’d expected. Electric cars are silent, clean diesels have a torquey burble, but the fuel cell vehicle quietly whirred down the road, the ride punctuated by occasional noises that sounded similar to carnival ride hydraulics or something a Foley artist would create for a Will Smith movie set five minutes into the future.

Acceleration is akin to an electric car, where power builds slowly but steadily due to the single-gear transmission. Stomping on the gas pedal, er, hydrogen pedal, won’t get you anywhere fast, but the Lingyus never feels dangerously slow.

Minor gripes: The air conditioning can’t be turned on unless you find repetitive grinding from the electric motor soothing, and the vibrations from the fuel cell, which spans the entire length of the cabin, transmit into the seats. Think of it as driving with surround sound. Undoubtedly, the engineers are more concerned with fuel cell durability than the odd noise and burp here and there.

There is clearly a long way to go before fuel cells will be ready for mainstream applications, and the question of their viability remains. Still, those at VW – and many other automakers – want it known they consider research into this technology a fundamental aspect of alternative fuel development. Whether it’s throwing good money at a problem solution, only time will tell.

-- Alison Lakin

Photo: Alison Lakin

Lakin is a staff writer at DriverSide.com.

Cold War for car buffs

Got a bad case of auto-related Cold War nostalgia? The Los Angeles County Museum of Art has the cure.

As part of a new exhibit called Art of Two Germanys/Cold War Cultures, LACMA is temporarily displaying three automotive artifacts that are sure to bring back memories of a time when capitalism and communism were going toe-to-toe around the globe.

The cars, a 1969 Volkswagen Beetle, a 1956 BMW Isetta and a 1972 East German Trabant will be on view through Feb. 8 in the museum entrance area.

For autophiles and ideologues of a certain age, nothing says “dictatorship of the proletariat” quite like a Trabant. Millions of these drab sedans were made between the late ‘50s and the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989, and the car’s lack of pizazz and performance (not to mention the years-long wait to get one) came to symbolize for many the shortcomings of state-run industry — a useful lesson, perhaps, for the Big Three as they look to Washington for help.

According to some sources, the Trabant name is derived from the Latin word for “companion,” although it is also the German word for “satellite.” (Either way, it recalls the name of the first successful satellite, which was launched by the Soviet Union in 1957 and dubbed “Sputnik,” Russian for “fellow traveler.”) More prosaically, "traben" is also the German verb for "trot."

Often referred to as the Trabi, the car’s design changed little over the years. East Germans would keep them for decades and, according to Wikipedia, used Trabis were often worth more than new ones because they were available right away.

Classic car buffs may be more interested in the Isetta, a little runabout produced by BMW in the 1950s and early 1960s. “Powered” by a one-cylinder, 13-horsepower modified motorcycle engine, the Isetta bears little resemblance to the high-performance machines BMW is known for today.

Based on an Italian design, the Isetta was an odd-looking egg — in fact, Germans called the car “the rolling egg” because of its ovoid shape.

The VW Beetle needs no introduction, of course. More than 24 million were built over three decades, and a Bug with a “Stop the War” bumper sticker is enough to induce flashbacks in some folks who survived the ‘60s. And lest anyone think that constancy of design (or lack of imagination) was a strictly Marxist-Leninist construct, its worth noting that the Beetle’s basic motif changed even less than the Trabant’s over the years.

The Beetle and the Isetta, by the way, are on loan from the Petersen Automotive Museum. The Trabant is owned by local artist Richard Jackson.

The Art of Two Germanys exhibit, which features around 300 paintings, sculptures, photographs and other artworks, runs through April 19. More information on the exhibit and several related programs is available at the LACMA website.

-- Martin Zimmerman

Photos: Top: BMW Isetta (left) and Volkswagen Beetle (right); bottom: Trabant

Photo credit: LACMA

Volkswagen to Bring the Polo to the U.S.

About a year and a half ago, the green-car set wrung its hands and tore at its hair because yet another great, awesome and altogether amazing vehicle would not be coming to the U.S. This car, a Volkswagen Polo, was small, efficient, simple and, in one test, got 70 miles per gallon. It was particularly frustrating because rumors of the car coming here had been rampant since 2005.

As recently as August, VW folks were cold on the likelihood of the car coming, pointing to unfavorable exchange rates as a barrier to entry.

Today, all that has changed, as the people's carmaker has told Automotive News that it will indeed bring the Polo stateside. This is a big win for VW fans and for fuel-economy freaks because the Polo, a tiny little hood ornament of a subcompact, is a true gas-sipper.

VW hasn't confirmed when it would bring the vehicle, but it did indicate it would build the Polo at the company's plant in Puebla, Mexico, where the original Beetle was made until a few years ago. That, presumably, will help it with the exchange-rate problems.

The Wolfsburg, Germany, company is concerned about its relatively small footprint in the U.S....

2009 North American Car and Truck of the Year -- the short list

Contenders have been announced for the 2009 North American Car of the Year, along with the 2009 North American Truck of the Year. To be eligible, vehicles have to be completely new or represent a redesign for the model year. This list and the final accolades are determined by a panel of automotive journalists. The winners will be announced Jan. 11 at the 2009 Detroit Auto Show. Let’s check out the car category hopefuls first.

Flying the home flag is the Ford Flex SUV/crossover. As its name suggests, the interior offers plenty of scope for various combinations of passengers and cargo. It’s comfortable, practical and drives well. Plus, with the Scion xB, Nissan Cube and Kia Soul coming from the East, the time of the box is nigh. The Flex is flung by a 262-horsepower 3.5-liter V-6; it comes with front-wheel drive or all-wheel drive; and starts at $28,295.

Fresh from winning the 2009 Green Car of the Year is Volkswagen’s Jetta TDI with its Clean Diesel technology. If ever there was a car for the times, this could be it. This sedan (or wagon) is compact yet sturdy, thrifty yet nifty, and there are no pesky hybrid-related batteries to worry about at the end of the car’s life. Emissions-wise, it gets a clean enough bill of health to be legal in all 50 states. Fuel consumption is rated at 30 mpg in the city and 41 mpg on the highway, and it starts at $21,990.

More contenders after the jump...

Doggone it: Car companies’ pet accessories to keep animals safe

The giant purse means well, sure. It's a practical way of keeping those tiny pups safe between shopping and brunch without the annoyance of a leash or of strangers stopping for a pat ... as long as you're not worried about shedding. And lest we forget, some of us have a best friend that weighs more than a Big Gulp.

Either way, all bets are off when the dog could roam free in the car. As one commenter said another time when Up to Speed broached the subject of in-car pet restraints, “I doubt anybody would want to get hit in the head by a dog of any size.”

Programs like Bark Buckle Up, which works with 15 auto manufacturers, teach the importance of pet safety, such as latching animals to seats for drives. And car companies have come to our aid with lines of pet accessories for both safety and messes.

L.A. Auto Show: Porsche acquired VW to save itself

Largely overlooked in the Detroit Big 3 death watch/three-ring circus has been one of the most incredible examples of clever stock trading in modern history. And it happened at a car company!

Last month, Porsche AG surprised the world by announcing it had acquired a nearly 43% stake in Volkswagen AG with an option to buy 32% more. Without anybody noticing, wee little Porsche, maker of scarcely 100,000 cars per year, had cornered a 75% position in VW, which cranks out nearly 6 million vehicles. And since nobody guessed how large Porsche's position was beforehand, short sellers suddenly got caught with their pants down, driving VW stock into the ionosphere. VW shares quintupled, peaking at over 1,000 euros, and making VW, briefly, the most valuable company in the world.

Needless to say, Porsche found itself in the catbird seat, able to sell part of its position without having to cede control of the bigger carmaker. It was a great example of the business acumen of a company that has the highest profit margins in the world of cars.

How high? About 12% high, according to Klaus Berning, a member of Porsche's board and head of sales and marketing for the company, who helped introduce Porsche's new Boxter and Cayman models at the L.A. Auto Show on Wednesday. But the highlight of his speech was ...

L.A. Auto Show: Kelley Blue Book's Best Resale Value winners

Kelley Blue Book, the online and tangible guide to new and used vehicle information and pricing, has released its annual list of Best Resale Value Awards for the 2009 model year to coincide with the L.A. Auto Show.

Honda, which had the most vehicles with the best resale value and averages 44.5% of its MSRP at resale, reclaimed its title as best resale brand — an honor it shared with sister company Acura in 2007. (The automaker ranked fourth for the 2008 model year, with Volkswagen leading the pack. VW came in third for 2009).

The Kelley Blue Book list recognizes "current and upcoming vehicles for their projected retained value five years from now (the average ownership period)." Automotive market analysts tabulate the winners based on projections from the Kelley Blue Book Residual Value Guide. Check out this photo gallery of the top 10 resellers with specs and pricing and see these and winners in other categories after the jump.