Rant: Current car commercials

WestCo Scott · 10-19-2010, 03:27 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jeffblue

"I had just polished off a bottle of jimmy bean on my way home from the bar. I was totally wasted, but thankfully, my Mercedes Benz wasn't."

"I had just snorted 5 xanyx before leaving my friends house. On the way home, i looked down to load some meth into my pipe, and i didn't realize that the truck in front of me had stopped. I was about to take a hit of meth, but thankfully my mercedes benz wasn't"

haha. Though I do dislike how the worlds machines are loosing most of the direct metal to man feel it does make me feel a bit more safe as we all know the average driver is terrifying at the least.

Cars have gotten the best of me and I have gotten a few scares on the road in the past that I know if I didn't have any motorsport background I would have not been here. With this, the average joe who went to the DMV and got a piece of plastic is putting everyone at risk with a 3000+ pound machine.

The modern automobile maker is trying to prevent accidents in a way of aiding the inexperienced. Sure we can make brakes better, but if you do not know how to use them they are good as useless. Things like ABS, traction control, and new technologies are coming to aid the typical highway driver to a 'safer' road experience.

I do wish there was more R&D on the parts that most of us here enjoy such as brakes, tires, etc. but the masses don't agree- they are still trying to figure our what that vdc button does!

Maybe a gutted option of the safety features.. that is cheaper is the way to go..

-Scott

shadoquad · 10-19-2010, 03:38 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by WestCo Scott

it does make me feel a bit more safe as we all know the average driver is terrifying at the least.

F*cked up as it may be, this is the mentality that bothers me the most in modern society. Let the government or some large corporation do the thinking for the sheep. Take the responsibility off of the consumer, as we assume that he/she is lowest common denominator. And our academic institutions should lower their standards, and the driving test shouldn't be hard, because you know, morons need to graduate/drive, too.

If you want a real rant, I could provide one.

I know it's not PC, and it won't win me too many friends.

Jeffblue · 10-19-2010, 03:39 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by shadoquad

F*cked up as it may be, this is the mentality that bothers me the most in modern society. Let the government or some large corporation do the thinking for the sheep. Take the responsibility off of the consumer, as we assume that he/she is lowest common denominator. And our academic institutions should lower their standards, and the driving test shouldn't be hard, because you know, morons need to graduate/drive, too.

If you want a real rant, I could provide one.

I know it's not PC, and it won't win me too many friends.

i vote for a shado rant.

shadoquad · 10-19-2010, 10:53 AM

What equally offends me are the commercials that encourage the buyer to not think about what amounts to a very serious purchase. The Lexus commercials with the Xmas bow, the Volvo slogan "Volvo, because there is more to life than a Volvo", the Toyota "peace of mind" commercial. They want the target demographic to show up, pay MSRP plus extras, and then leave in a subpar automobile, just because they "shouldn't have to think about a car purchase". Their target demo are the group who see a vehicle as a means of conveyance and nothing more, or what I refer to as "d1ckweeds."

Jeffblue · 10-19-2010, 10:55 AM

every time i see that commercial i laugh. its like they are proud to say the people that drive their cars are totally aloof and can't drive. why would that attract someone to buying a mercedes. it would be like if Ford had commercials where idiot kids drag race their mustangs and get pulled over by the police, but they get away because their mustangs are so fast.

I had another good one for Hyundai:

So there is a lot full of Mercedes, Acura's, BMW's, Infiniti etc, all of the cars that Hyundai rips off the designs from. And all of the cars are missing bumpers, hoods, grills, tail lights etc. Then the camera pans over to a bunch of fully assembled hyundai's.

m4a1mustang · 10-19-2010, 10:58 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jeffblue

every time i see that commercial i laugh. its like they are proud to say the people that drive their cars are totally aloof and can't drive. why would that attract someone to buying a mercedes. it would be like if Ford had commercials where idiot kids drag race their mustangs and get pulled over by the police, but they get away because their mustangs are so fast.

I had another good one for Hyundai:

So there is a lot full of Mercedes, Acura's, BMW's, Infiniti etc, all of the cars that Hyundai rips off the designs from. And all of the cars are missing bumpers, hoods, grills, tail lights etc. Then the camera pans over to a bunch of fully assembled hyundai's.

I told you a while ago, Jeff, but you should be in marketing.

WarmAndSCSI · 10-19-2010, 11:03 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jeffblue

So there is a lot full of Mercedes, Acura's, BMW's, Infiniti etc, all of the cars that Hyundai rips off the designs from. And all of the cars are missing bumpers, hoods, grills, tail lights etc. Then the camera pans over to a bunch of fully assembled hyundai's.

And I discovered Hyundai's are totally still pieces of sh*t over my vacation as well. The lady we were staying with had a nicer '07 Hyundai Santa Fe and it was barely out of warranty and multiple sensor were failing. It had a complete transmission failure during its warranty as well. This is all on a dealer-maintained well-cared-for vehicle. On top of that, the interior was the worse combination of fake wood grain plus painted silver pieces that I've ever seen

GG Hyundai!

*Cue somebody coming in to argue devil's advocate for Hyundai...*

Jeffblue · 10-19-2010, 11:12 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by m4a1mustang

I told you a while ago, Jeff, but you should be in marketing.

haha, unfortunately i hated marketing in college. i don't know if its the way the teachers taught or what, but it just always seemed like such ethereal bs. marketing concepts are like breathing
'speak directly to the consumer, show you understand, offer a solution to their problem.'

Quote:

Originally Posted by WarmAndSCSI

And I discovered Hyundai's are totally still pieces of sh*t over my vacation as well. The lady we were staying with had a nicer '07 Hyundai Santa Fe and it was barely out of warranty and multiple sensor were failing. It had a complete transmission failure during its warranty as well. This is all on a dealer-maintained well-cared-for vehicle. On top of that, the interior was the worse combination of fake wood grain plus painted silver pieces that I've ever seen

GG Hyundai!

*Cue somebody coming in to argue devil's advocate for Hyundai...*

blah blah blahh value blah blah blah blah G37 blah blah blah warranty blah blah hyundai assurance blah blah i'm gay blah blah i'm trying to make myself feel better about my stupid purchase blah blah blah.

m4a1mustang · 10-19-2010, 11:15 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jeffblue

haha, unfortunately i hated marketing in college. i don't know if its the way the teachers taught or what, but it just always seemed like such ethereal bs. marketing concepts are like breathing
'speak directly to the consumer, show you understand, offer a solution to their problem.'

The best marketing minds don't go to school for marketing!

370Zsteve · 10-19-2010, 11:21 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by m4a1mustang

The best marketing minds don't go to school for marketing!

And the best marketing minds didn't become marketing professors either

Jeffblue · 10-19-2010, 11:22 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by m4a1mustang

The best marketing minds don't go to school for marketing!

I agree. Not to generalize, but most of the marketing majors in my school were ditsy girls and gay guys. Management was the other major that kind of annoyed me. I think a good manager, first and foremost, has to know a lot about the field in which they are a manager. you can know all the 3 letter management jargon in the world, if you don't know anything about Steel, you won't be a good manager in a steel manufacturing company. Same thing with marketing. While there is definitely something to be said for ad agencies etc which come up with brilliant ideas of how to sell a product, i think a good product sells itself. Of course, a good product will sell more with good marketing, but if you paint turd gold, its still turd. and the people i met in those majors had this attitude of like 'oh it doesn't matter if i don't know anything about the specific field i plan to enter or anything about its products, i'm a hot shot, i can sell/manage anything.

finance<3

WarmAndSCSI · 10-19-2010, 10:57 AM

Ugh, I couldn't agree more. I drove my inlaw's last-gen Land Cruiser for about 700 miles over the weekend and that thing is intolerable. Arguably a very well built SUV - it has a moderate curb weight, decent enough engine, wide *** tires, etc. It should handle and drive decently.

No.

1.) The steering - 8 turns lock-to-lock is not acceptable on any vehicle except a f*cking tugboat, Toyota! That terrible steering ratio made me miss the Z terribly.
2.) The weight and center of gravity - ugh... you think almost 300 bhp is a lot until you stick it in a 5000 lb SUV at 10,000 ft above sea level. Not to mention how the thing rolls into corners. I let my wife drive for part of the mountain passes and I almost threw up because of how this thing just barreled through each curve.
3.) The sheer lack of power - seriously, I've never driven such a slow vehicle. Not even our old 2005 Civic DX-VP. End of story.
edit: 4.) And the brakes. OMG it felt like trying to stop a train with a handbrake. Terrible, terrible brakes. Literally no braking feedback, and no initial bite because the power assist SUCKS.

Driving that relatively nice and well-powered SUV for a couple days truly made me realize how much of IDIOTS people who speed around in their Suburbans are. You literally have NO control in panic-type situations past a certain speed threshold (basically 50 mph in this beast), no matter how good of a driver you are.

370Zsteve · 10-19-2010, 11:12 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by theDreamer

Lately I have noticed a new trend in car commercials, many luxury brands, but even some non luxury brands. The idea that they are developing new software & hardware to prevent accidents. Now I am not against the idea of technology progress or the idea of preventing accidents, but why are companies spending so much money on new technology without upgrading current tech?

Brakes:
-A good upgrade for any car and through racing and other sciences have developed some major forward steps. Pads, current pad technology is great in that we can have great bite with low dust and no noise. Calipers, bigger calipers and proper design helps in cooling and making sure your brakes perform the same time and again.

Tires:
-A optimal upgrade which OEM manufactures could easily pick up. It might sacrifice a bit in noise or tire life, but with how much sound control and noise reduction built into cars an average driver would not even notice.

Heavier is better:
-Not sure how this became such a prominent thought in the industry, but you have cars which are very light weight (sub 3500) which stop better, just as good crash ratings and have solid real world results.

The reason for some of these points is that, you reduce stopping distance, you eliminate many accidents. Both on the highway, red lights or stop signs, etc.

One of the main commercials which has set me to write this post is a Mercedes commercial. They have 4 or 5 people talking about how they were falling asleep, drifting lanes, person in front of them stopped short. Why is Mercedes having to fix a human error or not provide better stopping abilities in their cars. Instead they want to develop nanny controls which stop for you or pull you back into your lane to correct your drift.

Well, the Mercedes commercial is for a car that has: great brakes, excellent tires, etc. One of the things you mentioned is people falling asleep...the nanny senses your head drooping and sounds a warning chime, not something you're likely to see on a cheap car. I haven't seen a commercial yet for a cheap car that touts things like performance tires and brakes..it's all about skinny tires with less rolling resistance for fuel economy.

WarmAndSCSI · 10-19-2010, 11:17 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by 370Zsteve

Well, the Mercedes commercial is for a car that has: great brakes, excellent tires, etc. One of the things you mentioned is people falling asleep...the nanny senses your head drooping and sounds a warning chime, not something you're likely to see on a cheap car. I haven't seen a commercial yet for a cheap car that touts things like performance tires and brakes..it's all about skinny tires with less rolling resistance for fuel economy.

Great brakes? Excellent tires? I would like to believe that, but I had to go look for myself.

From a C300 SPORT Sedan:

Quote:

Dual-circuit power-assisted 4-wheel disc brakes. Front: 11.6" perforated and ventilated - single-piston floating. Rear: 11.8" ventilated - single-piston floating

Single piston floating calipers, small rotors, presumably crappy brake pads to reduce noise.

Quote:

225/45 R17 front - 245/40 R17 rear, all-season performance

Nothing about an all-season tire coming from an OEM says "performance."

People who buy C class Benzes are delusional. They're utter pieces of crap, from a performance and handling perspective. And the above is on the SPORT Sedan. Even for the C350 - a $40k base price car - the rotors are just larger in diameter up front with the same crappy 1-piston floating calipers and sh*tty tire package. That's pathetic.

shadoquad · 10-19-2010, 11:18 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by WarmAndSCSI

People who buy C class Benzes are delusional. They're utter pieces of crap, from a performance and handling perspective. And the above is on the SPORT Sedan. Even for the C350 - a $40k base price car - the rotors are just larger in diameter up front with the same crappy 1-piston floating calipers and sh*tty tire package. That's pathetic.

Ah, but C class is the entry class Benz, which means "I'm paying for the badge alone."

10-19-2010, 10:57 AM	#12 (permalink)
WarmAndSCSI A True Z Fanatic Join Date: May 2010 Location: SLC, UT Posts: 1,671 Drives: '08 Evo X \| '10 370Z Rep Power: 18	Ugh, I couldn't agree more. I drove my inlaw's last-gen Land Cruiser for about 700 miles over the weekend and that thing is intolerable. Arguably a very well built SUV - it has a moderate curb weight, decent enough engine, wide *** tires, etc. It should handle and drive decently. No. 1.) The steering - 8 turns lock-to-lock is not acceptable on any vehicle except a fcking tugboat, Toyota! That terrible steering ratio made me miss the Z terribly. 2.) The weight and center of gravity - ugh... you think almost 300 bhp is a lot until you stick it in a 5000 lb SUV at 10,000 ft above sea level. Not to mention how the thing rolls into corners. I let my wife drive for part of the mountain passes and I almost threw up because of how this thing just barreled through each curve. 3.) The sheer lack of power - seriously, I've never driven such a slow vehicle. Not even our old 2005 Civic DX-VP. End of story. edit: 4.) And the brakes. OMG it felt like trying to stop a train with a handbrake. Terrible, terrible brakes. Literally no braking feedback, and no initial bite because the power assist SUCKS. Driving that relatively nice and well-powered SUV for a couple days truly made me realize how much of IDIOTS people who speed around in their Suburbans are. You literally have NO control in panic-type situations past a certain speed threshold (basically 50 mph in this beast), no matter how good of a driver you are. __________________ '10 PW 370Z 7AT* - wife's car - Project Raspberry Cheesecake '08 Evo X - built motor+trans \| BB-X @ 32 psi \| CH3OH \| self-built+tuned - ??? WHP '01 Galant V6 - built motor \| GT35R \| self-built+tuned - 550+ WHP (retired) Last edited by WarmAndSCSI; 10-19-2010 at 11:00 AM.

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10-19-2010, 10:53 AM	#4 (permalink)
shadoquad A True Z Fanatic Join Date: Apr 2010 Location: . Posts: 42,608 Drives: . Rep Power: 3886	What equally offends me are the commercials that encourage the buyer to not think about what amounts to a very serious purchase. The Lexus commercials with the Xmas bow, the Volvo slogan "Volvo, because there is more to life than a Volvo", the Toyota "peace of mind" commercial. They want the target demographic to show up, pay MSRP plus extras, and then leave in a subpar automobile, just because they "shouldn't have to think about a car purchase". Their target demo are the group who see a vehicle as a means of conveyance and nothing more, or what I refer to as "d1ckweeds."

10-19-2010, 10:55 AM	#5 (permalink)
Jeffblue A True Z Fanatic Join Date: Dec 2009 Location: NY Age: 37 Posts: 9,192 Drives: Z32TT & 335xi Coupe Rep Power: 38	every time i see that commercial i laugh. its like they are proud to say the people that drive their cars are totally aloof and can't drive. why would that attract someone to buying a mercedes. it would be like if Ford had commercials where idiot kids drag race their mustangs and get pulled over by the police, but they get away because their mustangs are so fast. I had another good one for Hyundai: So there is a lot full of Mercedes, Acura's, BMW's, Infiniti etc, all of the cars that Hyundai rips off the designs from. And all of the cars are missing bumpers, hoods, grills, tail lights etc. Then the camera pans over to a bunch of fully assembled hyundai's.