Classic Ad: General Motors, the Day After

November 20, 2010, 7:00 am

By ROBERT PEELE

Two cars race across an arid plain, hurling clouds of desert dust. A Casio keyboard goes silent as in tandem the drivers shift to neutral. The older car slows, then crawls to a stop; its driver emerges, still helmeted, and watches the newer model glide into the ashen distance.

Classic? Maybe not. Mysterious? Definitely.

As General Motors presented its new face to the stockholding public this week, Wheels came across this strange commercial from a previous (and entirely forgotten) G.M. rebranding effort. The newer model is better, the ad seems to say, but as for what particular automotive feature was being promoted in this desolate, post-apocalyptic landscape, your guess is as good as ours. Was it the ’84 Celebrity’s superior fuel economy? G.M.’s move toward front-wheel drive technology? Increased coasting range during the inevitable nuclear-winter gas shortages?

A decidedly informal survey of automotive experts and amateur film critics could not determine the exact intent of the ad. I’ve watched it more than a dozen times, and I still can’t figure it out. Mystery works great in the movie theater, but it’s less helpful when you’re trying to move units — perhaps that’s why no one we surveyed could remember the commercial being broadcast. (And speaking of mysteries, is that the Stig behind the wheel?)

Honk if you remember this commercial. And if you can help us decipher it, honk twice.

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Classic Ad: General Motors, the Day After

November 20, 2010, 7:00 am

By ROBERT PEELE

Two cars race across an arid plain, hurling clouds of desert dust. A Casio keyboard goes silent as in tandem the drivers shift to neutral. The older car slows, then crawls to a stop; its driver emerges, still helmeted, and watches the newer model glide into the ashen distance.

Classic? Maybe not. Mysterious? Definitely.

As General Motors presented its new face to the stockholding public this week, Wheels came across this strange commercial from a previous (and entirely forgotten) G.M. rebranding effort. The newer model is better, the ad seems to say, but as for what particular automotive feature was being touted in this desolate, post-apocalyptic landscape, your guess is as good as ours. Was it the ’84 Celebrity’s superior fuel economy? G.M.’s move toward front-wheel drive technology? Increased coasting range during the inevitable nuclear-winter gas shortages?

A decidedly informal survey of automotive experts and amateur film critics could not determine the exact intent of the ad. I’ve watched it more than a dozen times, and I still can’t figure it out. Mystery works great in the movie theater, but it’s less helpful when you’re trying to move units — perhaps that’s why no one we surveyed could remember the commercial being aired. (And speaking of mysteries, is that the Stig behind the wheel?)

Honk if you remember this commercial. And if you can help us decipher it, honk twice.

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General Electric to Place Big Order for Chevrolet Volt

November 11, 2010, 10:09 am

By JIM MOTAVALLI

7:57 p.m. | Updated

General Electric said Thursday ?that ?it would buy 25,000 electric vehicles by 2015, including 12,000 from General Motors.

Among the cars will be the Chevrolet Volt coming next year, although the Volt is technically a plug-in hybrid with a limited all-electric range.

G.E. said it would convert “at least half” of its ?30,000 ?company cars ?to electric cars and would act as a partner with fleet customers.

The plan was originally announced in London last month by G.E.’s chairman and chief executive, Jeffrey R. Immelt, but the company has now released details. G.E. said it would add other companies to its order list “as manufacturers expand their electric vehicle portfolios.”

According to Bloomberg Businessweek, Mr. Immelt also said in London that half of G.E.’s ?45,000 sales force would drive electric cars.

The company also ?will ?open what it called “electric vehicle customer experience and learning centers” at its Advanced Manufacturing and Software Technology Center in Van Buren Township, Mich., and at GE Capital Fleet Services headquarters in Eden Prairie, Minn.

G.E.’s plan is a coup ?for General Motors, whose chief executive, Daniel F. Akerson,? called ?the order “a vote of confidence in the Chevrolet Volt, which we will begin delivering to retail customers by the end of this year.”

G.E. said nothing about a possible order for the Nissan Leaf or other battery-electric cars, but the extra range of the Volt, which has an onboard gasoline engine, would presumably be an advantage for G.E.’s traveling sales force

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