Dodge leaving NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series in 2009:

With the tightening of the purse strings at parent company Chrysler, the weakening economy and slow truck sales in general, Dodge has decided to pull out of the NASCAR Craftsman Truck series following the completion of this year's festivities. This announcement should hardly come as a shock as Dodge made the decision to run just one factory-backed racer for 2008. That lone truck was being run by Bobby Hamilton Racing and we have no details on what the team plans to do for '09. The fact that Dodge has pulled support for the NASCAR Trucks has many pondering if the beleaguered automaker will do the same for the automotive side of the racing series. According to Dodge Motorsports senior manager Mike Delahanty, there are no reasons to jump to conclusions. We'll keep our collective ears to the ground. Thanks for the tip, Hernando!

Michael Schumacher making motorcycle helmets now

Click on the image for more high-res shots of the Schuberth Race helmet

Seven-time Formula 1 champion Michael Schumacher doesn't seem to have any desire to take it easy after retiring from the pinnacle of motorsports. It turns out that his four-wheeled racing excellence has translated rather nicely to two, and it sounds as if the ex-champ's perfectionist attitude continues on unabated as he now begins designing helmets for Schuberth. The German producer of brain buckets had previously supplied the headgear for Schumacher as he raced in F1 and currently provides the units for Ralf Schumacher, Nick Heidfeld, Felipe Massa, Kimi Räikkönen and Mark Webber. Though no details regarding pricing or availability have been released as of yet, Schuberth assures that its new 'Schuberth Race' helmet is "an extremely lightweight and aerodynamic helmet, filled with numerous technical and safety innovations." From the looks of things, the helmet, with its orange and grey highlights, would be perfect mounted atop a KTM rider's head.

MV Agusta scores Batman placement, will give away F4 superbike

It seems that motorcycle manufacturers are finally starting to see the value in product placement, as big budget films like Indiana Jones 4 and the upcoming Transformers sequel can attest. While the Italian motorcycle maker MV Agusta has been making noise as it searches for a new owner, it has also apparently been hard at work getting its products the screen time they deserve. In The Dark Knight, Batman will have his very own custom bike to ride, but Bruce Wayne will be seen riding a new F4 superbike from the Italian manufacturer. To celebrate this achievement, MV Agusta will be teaming up with The Hershey Company to give away a new Dark Knight themed bike valued at $35,000. We clearly want to win this item very badly.

GM launches UsedCarAmbush.com to pump CPOVs

Used car sales as a profession has a rather sullied reputation. Some establishments deserve the distaste, while others work hard to take care of customers and stock their lots with good merchandise. Certified Pre-Owned vehicles are often a good bet, because they're automaker-sanctioned and undergo an extensive checklist before hitting the lot. GM is making a frontal assault on non-CPO used cars by launching UsedCarAmbush.com, expending lots of hidden camera effort and Mission: Impossible trappings to put home the point that GM's Certified Used vehicles come with a multitude of benefits.

Unfortunately, it's an epic fail, mainly because private sellers were targeted instead of shady operators. Who ever heard of a private sale offering financing, roadside assistance, or warranty? Does GM (or its agency, Mullen) really think that the guy with 8 cars on his front lawn is their sales arm's competition? It's a case of a very slick website, lots of time and money invested, but totally wrong aim. If a fuzzy-haired guy in a ratty sportcoat starts asking you about financing on that Aztek you've always regretted, punch him. That would be more compelling video than what they've got now, which is basically just private sellers getting confused with this dude's out of place questions. Press release after the jump.

This is not how cars are built - Fiesta Love Factory

If Willy Wonka made cars, this is what it would look like. The cold, hard reality is that automobiles are ground out like sausages in huge factories that ingest raw materials at one end and spit out shiny metal boxes filled with ticky-tacky at the other end. Marketing's a funny thing, though; building an emotional connection to your product can often lead to sales gold, so Ford's slathering its Fiesta marketing effort in pheromones to make it irresistible to buyers. It's all very trippy and fun, full of primary colors and smiling faces, but the thing is, we already love the Fiesta. They could put Orson Welles out there at his most cantankerous, and that'd be fine. We do dig the creativity, and since it's an entry level car, maybe the target market will be entirely comfortable with the campaign, having just recently graduated from Sesame Street, anyway.

Belgium: Dodge wants you to steam up the windows in the Journey

When
we read the tip from reader Thijs B. telling us that in Belgium, Dodge
is planning a Journey launch promo centered around backseat
baby-making, we thought it was a big joke. So we started using our
Google powers to see what else we could dig up. And guess what? It's
legit.

If you go to babymadeonboard.be, you'll be greeted by the screen above, which features a play on those annoying "Baby On Board" window signs that were ubiquitous during the 80s.
It's paired with a countdown timer that will zero out on the weekend of
June 14, which is when the Dodge Journey officially launches in
Belgium. A quick WHOIS lookup on DNS.be reveals that the site's domain name is registered to someone at the Brussels office of Proximity BBDO, a BBDO partner. BBDO is Chrysler's ad agency.

More Googling led us to a Dodge press release
posted on a Belgian media portal. The car is being targeted toward men,
and its launch slogan roughly translates to "Become a father, stay a
man." According to the PR, Dodge suggests that "everyone try out the
back seat of the Dodge Journey in a little unorthodox manner."
Well, that's one way of getting folks to look past Chrysler's
lamentable interiors. People whose "backseat trial" is successful and
subsequently produce a newborn child 9 months after the car's launch
weekend have a chance to win themselves a new Dodge Journey, and the
baby's picture will be posted to the website.

We don't think that Dodge really wants
people taking special test drives out of Belgian dealerships for the
purpose of steaming up the windows the old fashioned way (we can
imagine porters quitting en masse on June 13th if this were the case).
This particular assignment can probably be completed at home, too. To
help encourage people to take action, however, all Journey floor models
will have those "Baby Made on Board" signs in their windows. If you're
in Belgium, are planning a family, and are in the market for a new car,
you might want to (ahem) get to work on or around June 14. Maybe
earlier. After all, a little practice never hurts. Thanks for the tip, Thijs!

Next generation of in-car tech may be sponsored by advertisers

Not surprisingly, young car buyers want their new cars filled with as much technology as possible. Specifically, navigation systems and in-car telematics like Ford's SYNC and General Motors' OnStar are highly desirable among 16-24 year-old car buyers. As it turns out, though, it is that same demographic that is least willing to pay for these features. So, what's the solution? Advertising. As we've noted before, the chances seem good that at some point in the not-too-distant future, our navigation screens will show us local spots with preference given to those establishments that have paid for placement.

Not everyone is likely to be happy about this trend. Besides the irritation of a constant barrage of advertisements, there is also a danger in letting your car know too much about you. If your vehicle were to track your movements, or even purchases made from inside your vehicle, that information could be made available to other organizations. Those concerned that "Big Brother" is watching them may not want features like this keeping their eyes on our driving habits. On the flip side, this knowledge could make for advertisements in which we're truly interested. And, would it be so bad if your car alerted you to an upcoming speed trap? Just so long as it's not installed in a certain Plymouth Fury from '58...

Hyundai to spend $80m on Genesis sedan launch, pre-sales top 700 so far

Hyundai has big plans for its luxury Genesis sedan, and the Korean automaker is willing to pony up $80m to get the word out. Rich appointments, rear-wheel-drive, a choice of powerful engines, and a starting price of $30k is a good story to sell customers on, and the Genesis sedan is being looked at as the halo car in Hyundai's lineup. That helps justify spending the most launch money on any Hyundai ever, even though only 30,000 Genesis sedans are scheduled to be sold per year. Genesis marketing begins with a 15-city tour involving about 100 sedans, and will include television ads plus the Internet and plenty of viral events.

We're very anxious to see if Hyundai can deliver a legitimate Lexus GS competitor for over $10,000 less, and if the Genesis is as good as advertised, the $80m will be money well spent. Hit the jump to see the Hyundai Genesis sedan Super Bowl commercials.

Fiat 500 billboard in Berlin talks back

Since its debut last year, the new FIAT 500 has been one of the most talked about small cars in Europe. Now people in Berlin can share their thoughts on the 500 with th everyone in the immediate vicinity. A pair of billboards installed near the former Checkpoint Charlie reflect the words of passers-by. Along with videos and other messages, the 3,100-square foot boards also invite viewers to send a text message to a special number. The messages then scroll across a 65-foot wide ticker on each board. Presumably the messages are moderated in some way (either human or automated) before they appear on the boards, otherwise this PR stunt could get very interesting.

More creative incentives: Buy a VW Routan and get $1,500 for college

The new Volkswagen Routan minivan hasn't even gone on sale yet and there is already an incentive on its hood. This one, however, is not your typical cash back deal. Instead, Volkswagen is working under the assumption that the people likely to actually purchase a Routan are those with kids to haul. As such, VW of America is teaming up with Upromise to provide buyers with $1,500 towards a higher education savings plan. Upromise is a company that works with retailers to provide cash back bonuses when one of their registered credit card is used for purchases. Those rebates can then be transferred to a 529 education savings plan. To be eligible for the college bonus, you have to pre-order the Chrysler-built Routan by the end of August and take delivery by the end of November.