Mercedes-Benz Style Coupé concept portes baubles from Tiffany around her neck and glams the heels as she makes a dashing appearance at Pebble. Carrying the pearly design vocabulary are the starry wheels and rear diffuser. Bright silver, recessed entrance pull handles polish this dreamy figure. Svelte mirrors contrast flowing bodylines. She’s stunning. My only question—where […]
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duPont Auto Entourage at Pebble Beach.
Maker of agricultural and nutrition products. Developer of safety and protection devices. Industrial biotech giant. The thrust behind one of the largest car manufacturers in the world, General Motors is DuPont. Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance welcomes DuPont Company—an innovative, technology powerhouse whose industrialized footprint ranks 86th in Fortune 500. DuPont’s love of automobiles extends beyond […]
Top Gear Trio Primed for Amazon.
BBC’s highest revenue producing show Top Gear’s Jeremy Clarkson, Richard Hammond and “Captain Slow” James May return to TV under a new but not likely broadcaster, Amazon. Streaming in 2016, Clarkson and crew will be led by executive producer Andy Wilman who also left the regaled BBC show. The entire team are thrilled at the […]
Bugattis at the Quail—Deux S’il Vous Plait.
A mega millionaire would be hard-pressed to contain oneself at this gathering. The Quail represents the epitome of the finest car corral in the world—where automotive jet setters convene for a weekend of see and be seen. Helicopters, Bugattis, fine cigars and the latest from Pagani, Koenigsegg, McLaren and other reputes take to the links […]
When Templates Crush the Brand.
What happened with the Cadillac and Chevrolet ads last week? I’m a fan of the 60-day satisfaction guarantee and applaud GM’s positioning line, “May the Best Car Win.” But McCann-Erickson’s latest creative has choked GM’s reinvigoration program and has left its brands (including consumers) in a cloud of smoke. The cookie-cutter ads have blended both […]
If Cars Sucked—Like A Dyson.
James Dyson vacuum cleaners hold the secret to the auto industry’s plight or its profits. Advertising Age, Wall Street Journal, and The Economist all agree, the plummeting auto industry has nothing (and everything) to lose. The industry’s biggest opportunity is now. It’s change or die. James Dyson set out to solve a simple problem, a […]
McLaren Dressed to the Nines at Quail.
Why transform a perfectly good McLaren MP4-12c into a boulevard bespoke? I overheard an undisclosed oil and gas tycoon had it custom built so visits to the opera were more — civilized. Hmm. Super car goes incognito to spiff up and put some starch in its collar. Clad in automotive spats in the form of […]
Pedigree and Provenance—Bugatti Then & Now.
Masterful engineering and focus for the brand that has thrived for nearly a century. Bugatti. Say it again. Bugatti. The name makes you feel hungry for motorsport and decidedly particular about the marque that defines “vitesse”. Bugatti’s pedigree and prominence in motorsports is as enduring as the brand itself. What will Bugatti’s owner Volkswagen come […]
Jaguar Still Relevant — Long & Slender.
Jack McAfee’s Jaguar is long on looks. This gorgeous vintage engages with its lightweight chassis and art deco glory. The long and slender body is still relevant today. Jaguar is only a channel away from France’s gorgeous Talbot marque. Long live the kings of car royalty. Copyright © Warren McKenna Visit Jaguar here
Concours d’LeMons With a Twist.
We actually had one of these strange Gremlins growing up. I remember liking it a lot more than the Ford Pinto it replaced. Ah, the 70s! Crush pop, okiedokie cheese popcorn, Foreigner albums, long shaggy hair and cars. We took a walk down memory lane at the funky and very fun alternative Concours. 1960s through […]
When Hood Ornaments Created Badge Value.
One look at the 1930 Cadillac 452 Fleetwood Roadster’s hood jewelry and you were entranced. This mermaid would make Starbuck’s logo blush. Bob and Brigitte Thayer’s roadster hails from Atlanta, Georgia during Pebble Beach Concours. Like ships, hood ornaments represented a figurehead and a symbol of prosperity reflecting favorably on a vessel’s owners. And during […]
Lotus Heaven from Eleven Series.
Vintage racing candy. The smooth lines of car No. 86 bless this 1956 Eleven Series 1 from Lotus. If God had a car, he’d drive this. Copyright © Warren McKenna Visit Lotus here
Rumble in the Jungle. Electrics Win—Dot Now.
The greatest heavyweight showdown, Muhammad Ali vs. George Foreman, proves that boxing, like the ultra-competitive automotive industry, is a game of survival of the fittest. Car makers and consumers, you can bet the global economy, the biggest title fight is happening right now. And it’s about to get electric. Extraordinary product design and traditional marketing […]
Wayne Carini and I Land in LA.
On the chase for classics and barn finds. Little did I know that Wayne Carini and I were headed to the same place to do the same thing—chase and find classic cars worth acquiring. Vintage European marques worth 100 times their original price. Wayne even looks like my dad, with a stache. Great guy and […]
The Leno Show, Cars & Star Power.
“I made $5 billion over the summer.” Leno rocks the crowd with his return to TV and his opening monologue. Jay confesses he turned his old cars into a gold mine with the Cash for Clunkers program. (wink) GM and the car industry could learn a lot from the reinvented Jay Leno Show. A couple […]
Barn Finds Increase at Gooding & Co.
Gooding & Company and several other auctions, continue to add rustic gems by including barn finds in its Pebble Beach collection. We are seeing more of these added to the auctioneers’ offerings providing bidders with a blank canvas for their restoration projects. More on this in another blog post. Copyright © Warren McKenna Visit Gooding […]
Kind of Blue Makes Green for GM.
Al Ries and Jack Trout were right (and wrong). The #1 immutable law of marketing is “be there first not necessarily better.” WSJ reported Apple’s 15% revenue growth for its new iPhone. The iPhone 3G S sizzles while its once unflappable cousin the iPod simmers. This reminded me of the late 90’s campaign positioning Apple […]