Ah, the good old United States of America. Home of mom, baseball, apple pie, the Mustang and the Corvette. It stands to reason that the most auto-dense country in the world would be leading the charge of automotive innovation, and we covered some of the innovative products coming from domestic manufacturers here.
But that’s not stopping the rest of the world from employing their resources to make car ownership easier, cheaper and greener. Our friends at Iconoculture have rounded up some of the best examples of how car ownership is changing throughout the world.
1) A Driverless Car?
Researchers in Germany are working on a variety of alternative technologies for vehicle control, including a robotic van that can stop, turn left or right, brake in front of an obstacle – a neat compliment to driverless trains and rail systems available throughout the world. Researchers in the German program also developed an iPhone app capable of steering a car, as well as a system that enables drivers to steer vehicles using eye movements – a potentially revolutionary technology for the disabled.
2) Hello, goodbye
In Argentina, the Ford Ka is striking a chord with young consumers looking for their first car. The design is perfect for young, hip Argentines: it’s small, got great gas mileage, and has a roomy enough cabin to haul 4 of your friends comfortably. The marketing campaign is just as inspired: the theme is HolaChau (hello, goodbye) and the advertisements tell consumers that with the Ka they can say “hola” to camping with friends, and “chau” to getting caught in the rain, for instance. Ford also has established incentives for young consumers to join the auto culture; free driving lessons are offered along with purchase.
3) Read my lips: no car taxes
Elsewhere in Latin America, Mexican president Felipe Calderon has suspended his country’s tax on car ownership, the tenencia. It’s an effort to stimulate Mexico’s auto industry by removing a fairly onerous impediment to ownership, as the tenencia often amounted to several hundred dollars, depending on the value of the car.
4) È elettrico!
Amid increasing concern about the climate, air quality and energy prices, a few Italian cities are experimenting with new infrastructure designed to promote electric car use. Rome, Pisa and Milan are all piloting a new electric car recharging program by Enel and Daimler. Lombardy, Milan, and Brescia are offering a similar recharging program, along with an electric vehicle-sharing program similar to Zipcar, and in Sicily and Florence, solar energy charging systems have been rolled out.
MLC members, please visit our newly-launched Iconoculture microsite for more information on these and other global auto industry trends. For more information on Iconoculture, please contact your account manager.
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