The all new 2011 Audi A8 is set to help our confidence soar with the introduction of wi-fi access from within the cabin of the car.
The first car to ofer this functionality, the Audi A8 is installing a WLAN hotspot to the cabin making dialling up to the internet as easy as turning on your engine.
Of course, this will now mean that we have less of a reason to interact on our journeys now...Will this spell the end of conversation as we know it? I think in my case it would take a lot more to shut me up!
Tuesday, 6 July 2010
Friday, 2 July 2010
World’s most deadly road?
It has been reported that the A537 is Britain’s most dangerous road. The A537 winds its way through the Peak District and is affectionately known as the ‘Cat & Fiddle Road.’
The road which is predominantly popular with tourists contains an obstacle course filled with steep turns, and severe bends has been rumoured to have now been nicknamed ‘The widow maker’ – Not so nice!
Fatal accidents and collisions have reportedly risen by 127% in the past three years with the most common crash at the weekend during dry daylight conditions. The average casualty also worked out to be a 35 year old man, so watch out if your partner decides to drive you to a long weekend destination with the words Peak and District in its name!!
The road which is predominantly popular with tourists contains an obstacle course filled with steep turns, and severe bends has been rumoured to have now been nicknamed ‘The widow maker’ – Not so nice!
Fatal accidents and collisions have reportedly risen by 127% in the past three years with the most common crash at the weekend during dry daylight conditions. The average casualty also worked out to be a 35 year old man, so watch out if your partner decides to drive you to a long weekend destination with the words Peak and District in its name!!
My KAr for the day...
60's Ford Thunderbird in baby Pink. I have now strated my wish list. Any admirer's feel free to get purchasing...
American Pie star arrested for DUI…
The actor Chris Klein of American Pie fame was arrested Wed morning for being two and a half times over the limit!! Shocking! He was pulled on Highway 101 with a friend’s dog in the passenger seat that was later taken into custody (Only in America)!!
Previously arrested of DUI in 2004, the actor may now face time behind bars, for a whopping four days! On a recent viral YouTube audition for the film Mamma Mia, Chris looked particularly out of it and it is not pleasant to watch- Rehab anyone?
Another actor bites the dust- which bright young star is next? We’ve all heard of Lindsay and Mischa’s driving misdemeanours, Chris though? It seems like such a shame.
Previously arrested of DUI in 2004, the actor may now face time behind bars, for a whopping four days! On a recent viral YouTube audition for the film Mamma Mia, Chris looked particularly out of it and it is not pleasant to watch- Rehab anyone?
Another actor bites the dust- which bright young star is next? We’ve all heard of Lindsay and Mischa’s driving misdemeanours, Chris though? It seems like such a shame.
Victoria Beckham teams up with Land Rover?!
It has been confirmed that Victoria Beckham is set to work with the car manufacturer Land Rover in the creation of the new Range Rover Evoque. I am not sure what to make of her new title- Creative Design Executive and her opinion that a Range Rover is ‘stunning’ for that matter!
Sure it is a great opportunity and it will raise the profile of Land Rover, but is she really the best representative? (Insert comments here). The smaller and distinctly sleeker model was unveiled by the gorgeous TV presenter George lamb to a party of over 300 celebrity guests, including Prince Michael of Kent and Gabby Logan. Random- much?
A spokesperson for land Rover was quoted as saying 'I believe this appointment adds a new dimension to my design team as we continue to design products to appeal to a wider audience.' Guess we will have to wait and see on its final unveil at the Paris Motor Show in September- Apologies if I don’t get too excited!
Premiere of Edward Cullen’s Volvo?
With the premiere of Eclipse at my local cinema this Sunday, I am extremely excited to see Edward Cullen back in action!
The car manufacturer Volvo feature I the film with the product placement of the Volvo XC60, which is doing surprisingly well off of the back of the film with young fans flocking to local Volvo dealerships to own a slice of Edward!
Volvo is teaming up even further with the Twilight saga to offer you the chance to win the XC60 that the famous vampire drives! Fangs at the ready...
Thursday, 1 July 2010
Harry Potter Star set to team up with Top Gear...
The flame haired Adonis of Harry Potter- Rupert Grint is set to appear on top TV Series Top Gear on July 11th and I am quite sure there will be a few excited girlies out there!
Rupert is set to take to the famous track and hopefully make his way to the top of the leaderboard! Taking on the new Kia Cee’d, I wonder if he will use his magic powers to get to the finish line in the quickest time!!
All this HOT weather call for one thing and one thing only-“Road trip!!”
I am in charge of our social activities this weekend and what beautiful sunny weather planned, I have decided to road-trip!! The road trip will take place in my trusty Ford Ka, which I have been adding modifications to along the way, so I am crossing my fingers that it does the job!
For my trip I will obviously need music and let’s face it, the radio isn’t exactly fantastic at the moment and since the purchase of my IPod I no longer buy CD’s. So… I have decided to invest in an IPod connector for my radio- Problem sorted!
Only thing is- who’s going to take charge of the music and be DJ? Please let it not be Nicola!! She’s far too partial to a Disney Soundtrack or two!!
Mazda celebrate 20 years with THE latest I-Phone App!
To celebrate 20 years in the business, Mazda has teamed up with Fishlabs, the German Studio to create ‘You cruise by Mazda MX-5’ a new game for your I-phone.
The application is a racing game that is set in various scenarios across the world, including Desert Ride and Country Cruise. With the choice of an open or closed top Mazda MX-5, you get to personalise your ride and chose the colour you desire for your car.
The new application is based on the Rally Monster Pro game that is already available but the ‘You cruise by Mazda MX-5’ has been tweaked to improve speeds and general driving habits. With the option to link into various social networking sites such as Facebook, you get to interact with your peers and post onto a fictional global leaderboard.
Nearby Mazda dealerships are listed providing upselling opportunities for the car manufacturer with help and tips for your Mazda MX-5 creating a real sense of community between Mazda and its owners.
The application is a racing game that is set in various scenarios across the world, including Desert Ride and Country Cruise. With the choice of an open or closed top Mazda MX-5, you get to personalise your ride and chose the colour you desire for your car.
The new application is based on the Rally Monster Pro game that is already available but the ‘You cruise by Mazda MX-5’ has been tweaked to improve speeds and general driving habits. With the option to link into various social networking sites such as Facebook, you get to interact with your peers and post onto a fictional global leaderboard.
Nearby Mazda dealerships are listed providing upselling opportunities for the car manufacturer with help and tips for your Mazda MX-5 creating a real sense of community between Mazda and its owners.
Fiat change how people drive- The Eco way...
I recently attended Marketing Week Live at Olympia and attended a talk regarding the Fiat EcoDrive Project- the consumer application opening up product integration into the digital world. To say it was informative is an understatement, it was so interesting and the speaker from Fiat was engaging with the audience from the moment he started speaking!
The aim of the project was to make the vehicle an integrated part of the consumers lifestyle and create a solid bond between the consumer and Fiat. A good example of this kind of relationship is the Nike plus Platform, where you not only purchase trainers but a whole lot more. This platform enabled Nike to capture customer data whilst still engaging the customer through the use of a microchip placed within a pair of trainers.
Fiat grasped onto this idea and realised that they could expand on this through the use of a ‘magic key’ placed into the cars. The use of the magic key meant that customers could engage with the music played through the magic key and the reactions could be monitored through the use of the volume button to gage ratings. Fiat knew that this could potentially be quite hard work with the fact they could not own the music so the idea developed into more about Fiat’s green credentials which they had always prided themselves on. This led to a USB key that could monitor the customers driving skills, their fuel consumption and their C02 emissions and Fiat could then give advice on how to make their drive greener using their captured credentials.
The brand value was ‘A to B with a smile’ and ‘From Car to PC in a USB’ really capturing the idea of digital placed into everyday life. Fiat personalised their approach creating the fictional characters Franco and Merv to make the relationship genuine as opposed to a client selling to a consumer. The last thing Fiat wanted was for the customer to feel like this was just another tedious task in an already busy day and instead a playful application that was fun to use.
So how it works… You purchase the Fiat car and the USB is already installed ready to monitor your driving behaviour. You then take the USB and upload the application onto your PC which is sent to a central database and then analysed by the Technical team at Fiat. The results are then sent back to the consumer, with not only generic results but particularly personal results, including an Eco Index of Accelerations, Decelerations, Changing gears and Speeds judged. The consumer has the option to shrink the data and really play with it, calculating the petrol used, their MPG’s and hidden costs that you would not normally be able to view.
The simple, single-minded idea was a success, with a media value of now over £10,000,000 and exposure across the world. For Fiat, it created more than just a capture of personal details and a strong bond with the consumer- it created channels of upselling to Fiat dealerships and also real results of how Fiats Eco friendly cars are doing their bit for the planet. It has proved how going digital has enabled them to control how people drive & it has created a real and sustained behavioural change within its Fiat drivers. This is just the start with Fiat, with the ‘My Car’ option in the pipeline enabling feedback to the driver via smart phones. With a multitude of possibilities, Fiat really has the opportunity to change driving for good.
The aim of the project was to make the vehicle an integrated part of the consumers lifestyle and create a solid bond between the consumer and Fiat. A good example of this kind of relationship is the Nike plus Platform, where you not only purchase trainers but a whole lot more. This platform enabled Nike to capture customer data whilst still engaging the customer through the use of a microchip placed within a pair of trainers.
Fiat grasped onto this idea and realised that they could expand on this through the use of a ‘magic key’ placed into the cars. The use of the magic key meant that customers could engage with the music played through the magic key and the reactions could be monitored through the use of the volume button to gage ratings. Fiat knew that this could potentially be quite hard work with the fact they could not own the music so the idea developed into more about Fiat’s green credentials which they had always prided themselves on. This led to a USB key that could monitor the customers driving skills, their fuel consumption and their C02 emissions and Fiat could then give advice on how to make their drive greener using their captured credentials.
The brand value was ‘A to B with a smile’ and ‘From Car to PC in a USB’ really capturing the idea of digital placed into everyday life. Fiat personalised their approach creating the fictional characters Franco and Merv to make the relationship genuine as opposed to a client selling to a consumer. The last thing Fiat wanted was for the customer to feel like this was just another tedious task in an already busy day and instead a playful application that was fun to use.
So how it works… You purchase the Fiat car and the USB is already installed ready to monitor your driving behaviour. You then take the USB and upload the application onto your PC which is sent to a central database and then analysed by the Technical team at Fiat. The results are then sent back to the consumer, with not only generic results but particularly personal results, including an Eco Index of Accelerations, Decelerations, Changing gears and Speeds judged. The consumer has the option to shrink the data and really play with it, calculating the petrol used, their MPG’s and hidden costs that you would not normally be able to view.
The simple, single-minded idea was a success, with a media value of now over £10,000,000 and exposure across the world. For Fiat, it created more than just a capture of personal details and a strong bond with the consumer- it created channels of upselling to Fiat dealerships and also real results of how Fiats Eco friendly cars are doing their bit for the planet. It has proved how going digital has enabled them to control how people drive & it has created a real and sustained behavioural change within its Fiat drivers. This is just the start with Fiat, with the ‘My Car’ option in the pipeline enabling feedback to the driver via smart phones. With a multitude of possibilities, Fiat really has the opportunity to change driving for good.
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