Ford Motor Co.'s sales may have been down sharply last month, but at least someone is watching its TV ads.
Inspired by the company's "Swap Your Ride" campaign, which features footage of consumers test-driving Ford vehicles, a Boston-area man drove his 1992 Honda Accord to a Blue Oval dealership and demanded a new Ford Taurus in exchange.
On top of the swap, he wanted the promised cash rebate, too. The man was apparently quite serious, if a little unclear on the ad concept.
When Insider asked a Ford executive what this said about Ford customers, he quipped: "What does it say about Honda owners?"
Buses-in-the-sky plan
"Xanadu" conjures up memories of a bad but likable Olivia Newton-John musical. A project with the same name bandied about in the Motor City this week may be equally kooky.
The Xanadu Plan calls for a casino atop Cobo Center; a computer science and math school "where the students skip to school not skip school"; and recasting City Airport as a landing pad for futuristic "airbuses" that "bring in tourist [sic] by the thousands." A Xanadu Ltd. spokesman said the plan had "wide support" from a variety of officials.
Insider couldn't find those officials and offers a better name for the project: Xanadon't.
Some stocking stuffer
Your spouse may not have been thrilled the last time you bought him or her an appliance for Christmas, but Neiman Marcus's over-the-top Christmas Book includes a machine guaranteed to please: a Lexus IS F Special Build Sedan, the fastest production car made by Lexus.
The $68,000 gift vehicle includes a half-day of pro-driver training but does not include taxes, title, license, registration fees or the cost of expanding your chimney.
Sorry, Tom: U.S. likes trucks
Automakers and bloggers have joined in the bashing of New York Times columnist Thomas Friedman for denouncing Toyota over its failure to support better fuel economy.
Todd Lassa of Motor Trend wrote: "This is so uninformed, I don't know where to start."
Rep. Joe Knollenberg, R-Bloomfield Twp., cited Freidman's "dangerous views."
The most surprising defender? GM.
"There is nothing sinister about Toyota -- or anyone else -- building trucks," GM wrote.
"To the unending frustration of Mr. Friedman and a handful of environmentalists, Americans buy trucks," GM wrote.
Contributors: Nathan Hurst, Christine Tierney, David Shepardson and Bryce Hoffman.
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