JULY 3, 2024

HAPPY INDEPENDENCE DAY!

The original - and still our favorite - Autoextremist logo. 

The AE Quote of the Century: Everybody loves The High-Octane Truth. Until they don't. -WG 

(Bentley images)

Bentley Motors has revealed the fourth-generation Continental GT Speed, "redefining the ultimate blend of supercar performance, handcrafted luxury and everyday usability," according to Bentley PR minions. Details? A comprehensive exterior and interior redesign influenced by the coach-built Bentley Bacalar and Batur. An all-new Ultra Performance Hybrid powertrain with 782 PS and 1,000 Nm, from a 4.0-liter V8 working in tandem with a 190 PS electric motor. 0-60 mph takes 3.1 seconds, with the benefit of 50 miles (81 km) of usable electric-only range (on the EU drive cycle) and a total range of 534 miles (859 km). A new chassis system with new two-chamber air springs paired with new dual-valve dampers, along with Bentley Dynamic Ride (48V active anti-roll control), eLSD and torque vectoring. The Continental GT boasts a 49:51, rear-biased weight distribution for the first time in the car’s history. For the first time in the history of the Continental GT, the convertible Continental GTC is being launched concurrently with the coupe, and both coupe and convertible models will be crafted entirely by hand at Bentley’s Dream Factory in Crewe, England. Production and deliveries are due to begin in Q3. No price info as of yet.

 

(VW images)

Volkswagen announced that the new 2025 Jetta and Jetta GLI will offer refined style and better value. Refreshed for 2025, the Jetta and the sport-tuned Jetta GLI benefit from updated exterior styling tweaks and updates, newly revised and upgraded interior décor and technology - including a floating touchscreen infotainment system - and a lower starting price than the outgoing 2024 automatic-transmission model with a starting MSRP of $21,995. (A lower starting price? Wow. -WG) What else is new? Modernized front and rear end treatments, a revised front fascia featuring new upper and lower grille designs and new LED headlights, as well as an available light bar (starting on Sport models). A new trunk lid with a standard light bar connecting the taillights is included. Wheel offerings include new 17-inch aluminum alloys for SE models and 18-inch alloys for SEL and GLI, along with new optional black-wheel packages for SE and GLI. Two new exterior color options—Monterey Blue Pearl and Monument Gray—are offered. The IQ.DRIVE system is standard on all 2025 Jetta and Jetta GLI models. The system utilizes front and rear radar, a front camera and several ultrasound sensors to collect data from the surrounding area, enabling Travel Assist (semi-automated driving assistance); Front Assist (Forward Collision Warning and Automatic Emergency Braking with Pedestrian Monitoring); Active Blind Spot Monitor; Rear Traffic Alert; Adaptive Cruise Control (ACC) Stop and Go; Lane Assist (Lane Keeping System); and Emergency Assist (semi-automated vehicle assistance in a medical emergency). The Jetta retains its 1.5-liter, 158HP turbocharged inline 4-cylinder matched with the standard eight-speed automatic transmission. Meanwhile, the Jetta GLI is powered by a 2.0-liter EA888 engine that delivers 228HP and 258 pound-feet of torque, which can still be paired with either a seven-speed dual-clutch automatic transmission or a six-speed manual gearbox. For enthusiasts, the sport-tuned Jetta GLI also features larger brakes, VAQ electronically-controlled torque-sensing limited-slip differential and XDS® electronic differential lock, the DCC® adaptive damping system, and a unique sport exhaust system. The revamped Jetta lineup is expected to reach U.S. dealers by the end of Q3 2024.

  

Editors' Note: THE GM MARKETING MESS. As I have said repeatedly over the nearly two-and-one-half decades of writing for this website, the automakers that have a brand image and don’t have the first clue as to what to do with it, or worse – have squandered a great brand legacy because of cluelessness, ineptitude, or both – draw zero sympathy from me. We have a living, breathing example of this playing out right now at General Motors, which has completed the ad agency "review" that began in January and announced a major overhaul of its agency roster this past week. According to a report in Automotive News, incumbents Commonwealth/McCann and Leo Burnett Detroit are losing large chunks of business, as GM brings a new group of agencies on board to oversee creative content and customer relations management. Agency additions include Stagwell’s Anomaly and 72andSunny, along with independents Mother and Preacher. (Anomaly will have lead duties on Chevy, Mother will lead Buick, 72andSunny has Cadillac and Preacher gets GMC.) They will be supported by S4-owned Media.Monks, which will “bring a modern approach to real-time, efficient content development,” GM said in a statement. (Cough, hack, right.) This latest brilliance is courtesy of CMO Norm de Greve and his much-loathed henchman, Tony Weisman, a guy who painted himself in the "un-hirable" category before de Greve resurrected his stagnant career. Together with longtime GM Executive Molly Peck, now GM's Chief Transformation Officer, this stumblebum trio (brain trust?) is hell-bent on shaking things up and is convinced that this is the way to go. Clearly, they think they've got it goin' on, but this just in: They don't. This is such a giant, steaming bowl of Not Good that it makes me physically ill. Explaining the shakeup, Peck explained that GM brand leaders will "hold the strategy," (there's mistake number 1), while the creative agencies will “lead the creative vision — the brand, the look, the tone, the feel, the major campaigns. And then Media.Monks will take those assets and leverage them to reach consumers in a very fast, efficient and prolific way.” (Talk about quintessential Marketing Hack speak!) We're feeling that this is a recipe for disaster. The on-boarding of these agencies alone will take a full twelve months at least, in an environment that doesn't even remotely have that kind of time. The most telling bit in the announcement? "Peck suggested GM’s new creative shops could move some people to Detroit. GM is also beefing up its hiring of internal marketing staff in the region. “We sought out the very best agencies possible, no matter where they were located, geographically speaking,” Peck said. “That doesn't mean that we’re moving away from a Detroit-based presence, though.” Guess what? Every single one of these agencies will be expected to have offices here, and then the cycle will start all over again. Are these shops good? Yes, of course, but once they get sucked into the swirling maelstrom that has defined GM marketing for decades, they will become deballed in a matter of months and lose their collective soul. You can count on it. Why did this even happen in the first place? As I've pointed out previously, CEO Mary Barra continues to listen to the ex-Silicon Valley hacks on GM's board, which is akin to GM's True Believers consulting New York Ballet operatives for advice on how to build the next Corvette. The High-Octane Truth is that Barra has never had even a shred of a feel for marketing. She - and GM - continue to flail in the marketing arena, and this latest agency upheaval just kicks the can down the road. The current roster of GM marketing operatives is inept and incapable, and sadly, we predict this won't move the brand image needle one bit for GM, or its divisions. Pathetic. -PMD & WG

The AE Song of the Week:

Can't seem to get my mind off of you
Back here at home there's nothin' to do
Now that I'm away
I wish I'd stayed
Tomorrow's a day of mine that you won't be in

When you looked at me I should've run
But I thought it was just for fun
I see I was wrong
And I'm not so strong
I should've known all along that time would tell

A week without you
Thought I'd forget
Two weeks without you and I
Still haven't gotten over you yet

Vacation, all I ever wanted
Vacation, had to get away
Vacation, meant to be spent alone
Vacation, all I ever wanted
Vacation, had to get away
Vacation, meant to be spent alone

A week without you
Thought I'd forget
Two weeks without you and I
Still haven't gotten over you yet

Vacation, all I ever wanted
Vacation, had to get away
Vacation, meant to be spent alone
Vacation, all I ever wanted
Vacation, had to get away
Vacation, meant to be spent alone
Vacation, all I ever wanted
Vacation, had to get away
Vacation, meant to be spent alone

"Vacation" by The Go-Go's from the album "Vacation" (1982).* Written by Kathy Valentine, Charlotte Caffey and Jane Wiedlin. Publisher: Spirit Music Group, Universal Music Publishing Group. Lyrics licensed and provided by LyricFind. Watch the Original Music Video here. 

*Go-Go's bass player Kathy Valentine wrote this song in 1980 when she was a member of a Los Angeles band called The Textones. Kathy grew up in Austin, Texas, and on a trip back to the city, met a dreamy boy named Billy who sang in a band called Boy Problems. On the flight back to LA, she wrote these lines on a napkin:

Now that I'm away, I wish I'd stayed
Tomorrow's a day of mine you won't be in

"The short romance had softened me, and the words, written from true-life longing, resonated forever," she wrote in her memoir, All I Ever Wanted. Valentine finished the song and recorded it with The Textones, which were comprised of two guys and two girls. Their version was released in the UK as the B-side of their first single, song written by Tom Petty called "I Can't Fight It." The Textones went to England to promote the single, but it went nowhere. Valentine left the group and got recruited into The Go-Go's, an all-girl band that was selling out shows at places like the Whiskey A Go Go. When The Go-Go's recorded their second album, Valentine reworked the song with the group's guitarists, Jane Wiedlin and Charlotte Caffey. In a Songfacts interview with Wiedlin, she said, "We really loved the song, but it didn't really have a chorus, so Charlotte and I ended up working with Kathy a little bit more on the song, and sort of Go-Go-fying it, basically adding the chorus. But that storyline was one about having a summer romance, thinking that it was all just for fun and games, and then later realizing that you are actually in love." The original Textones version of this song runs just 1:45 and starts with the line, "I've thought a lot of things about you." Jane Wiedlin came up with the idea of changing that line to "Can't seem to get my mind off of you." The guy who inspired this song knows it is about him. When Songfacts asked Kathy Valentine if she has seen him since, she replied: "A few times, yes, and he knows I wrote about him in the book!" (Knowledge courtesy of Songfacts.com)

Editor's Note: You can access previous issues of AE by clicking on "Next 1 Entries" below. - WG