As more OEMs accept and even embrace social media, a few have taken steps to bring that content into their brand Web sites.  The Chrysler Group continues to show the greatest commitment which is evident from its YouTube and/or Facebook callouts on the home pages and model pages.   The Chrysler and Jeep sites go ... Read More »

Editor’s note: Last week we published an analysis of online conversations regarding Toyota recall situation using freely available tools.  This allowed us to measure the volume of conversation, but not what people were actually saying.  The following analysis from the Web Intelligence Division of J.D. Power ... Read More »

Late last year, Fiat-Chrysler announced that they would spin off Dodge’s pickup truck business under a separate Ram brand.  Online, the first step in this direction has been to split the Dodge brand site.  Now, truck shoppers on www.dodge.com are redirected to www.ramtrucks.com.  The sites themselves ... Read More »

Monthly payment calculators are probably not the first thing people seek out on OEM Web sites, but they are certainly useful tools.  Some tools are nothing more than simple mathematical calculators, but most are tied more closely to other data.  In the most recent fielding of the Manufacturer Website Evaluator ... Read More »

Given Toyota’s frequent presence in the news, I thought it would be interesting to see what the chatter looks like online.  It’s easy to trend the volume of Toyota-related conversations occurring on blog posts, message boards, and Twitter with freely available tools.  In doing this analysis, I focused ... Read More »

We recently interviewed Dave Sargent, Vice President of Vehicle Research at J.D. Power and Associates, regarding his take on Toyota's recent problems. 1. How are the recalls going to hurt Toyota sales? A: There is a short-term and a long-term impact.  In the short term, the affected models account for approximately 70% ... Read More »

On February 11th and 12th J.D. Power and Associates hosted its annual International Automotive Roundtable prior to the NADA.  There were many great speakers, including Bob Lutz, Vice Chairman, General Motors Company, and Sir Martin Sorrell, Chief Executive, WPP.  On the first day we always spend the majority of ... Read More »

Just a few years ago, podcasting was THE new marketing arena.  These days, German luxury marques – particularly Audi, BMW, and Mercedes-Benz – are the most actively podcasting automotive OEMs (at least, via iTunes).  All three have extensive online video strategies and podcasts are a low-cost, ... Read More »

Vehicle shoppers have access to a wealth of cost-related information online.  For the most critical data, multiple sites offer their own variations (e.g. Edmunds TMV vs. Kbb New Car Value vs. Cars.com Smart Target Price) in an effort to lure and keep these consumers on their sites.  Other useful information such ... Read More »

It’s no surprise that people are beginning to watch their favorite television shows online.  Missed an episode, forgot to set the DVR, or just killing time on your laptop somewhere?  In just moments you can be streaming full episodes via hulu, tv.com, or abc.com just to name a few.  In fact, 14% of the ... Read More »