For 2013 Toyota Avalon goes fastback

NEW YORK -- Toyota unveiled a redesigned 2013 Avalon today that departs dramatically from the full-size sedan's previous styling.
With fastback lines penned by Toyota's Calty design studio in Southern California, and engineered at the automaker's technical center in Ann Arbor, Mich., the Avalon is the first Toyota vehicle developed entirely in North America, said Bob Carter, Toyota Division general manager.
The new Avalon "will lead an exciting new era of design and driving excitement for Toyota," Carter said.
The full-sized sedan market continues to shrink but automakers such as Hyundai and Chevrolet are targeting the segment with new or redesigned models.
The large-sedan segment is forecast to shrink further as a percentage of the overall U.S. market, to 2.9 percent in 2017 from 3.6 percent in 2011, AutoPacific Inc. says.
U.S. sales of the Avalon rose 2 percent last year to 28,925 units.
Among the revamped Avalon's features are 10 standard airbags, blind-spot warning system, preclusion warnings, a hand-stitched instrument panel and a sport-driving mode with quicker throttle response and more dynamic steering inputs.
The 2013 Avalon will carry a price similar to its current $33,955 sticker, including shipping, when it goes on sale this fall, Carter said.
The Avalon will ride on a 111-inch wheelbase, the same as the current model, but will have a 2.3-inch shorter overall length because of shorter front and rear overhangs. Although slightly narrower and shorter in height, rear-seat legroom is still spacious.
Toyota said the redesigned Avalon will be powered by a V-6 engine, but did not give performance specifics.
Toyota estimates it reduced the weight of the Avalon by 120 pounds over the current model.Automobile News

New global brand campaign “Live Brilliant”launch by Hyundai Motor

Hyundai Motor Company, the largest automaker in South Korea, launched a new branding campaign around the world called “Live Brilliant” as part of its efforts to strengthen its brand management activities and fulfill its vision of becoming the most beloved car company in the world, rather than larger. Hyundai, which launched for the first time and focused on improving the knowledge of your new address `Modern Premium brand" and its accompanying slogan, 'New Thinking. New Possibilities last year, now aims to illustrate how "Modern Premium" is expressed and are delivered to customers every day. Unlike previous campaigns that were run Hyundai at the regional level, the "Live bright" campaign of the company's first brand campaign worldwide with a single communication applied to all major markets to build a coherent role as a global brand.
The new campaign, based on Hyundai’s enhanced status, is expected to help global customers have a unified image of Hyundai and get a better understanding of the company’s ‘Modern Premium’ values which aim to provide more customers with new experiences and values beyond their expectations, in Hyundai’s innovative ways. Hyundai analyzed customers’ characteristics and lifestyles to determine what they wanted and expected from an automobile. Based on these expectations, combined with Hyundai’s goal of achieving “Modern Premium” values, Hyundai derived the communication concept “Brilliant.”  In the campaign, this “Brilliant” concept is expressed by not only showing Hyundai’s excellence to make customers’ lives brighter, but also depicting shiny visuals through sunshine or moonlight.
The short film-style advertising consists of four episodes, whose themes are Self, Love, Friendship and Family. The multi-award winning director Juergen Bollmeyer delicately portrayed lights, cars and beautiful lives in the brand films, while `Departures,’ a song from the original soundtrack of the movie “Like Crazy” (Winner of the Grand Jury Prize for Best Picture at the 2011 Sundance Film Festival) is used as the background music for the films. Hyundai launched its new brand direction at the 2011 North American international Auto Show in January last year, announcing its new brand direction of ‘Modern Premium’ and its new brand slogan, ‘New Thinking New Possibilities.’ `Modern premium’ is based on the concept that today’s car buyers want more from a car than status and extra features for features’ sake. They want a car that is not only used as a means of transportation, but as a ‘Life Space.’
In order to promote change in the management of Hyundai brand, Hyundai launched a series of innovative marketing activities including corporate advertising of the 'Mega Orgel, "where 427 drivers Sonatas specialists create an audio piece for the new slogan . as a result of these activities and more, the Hyundai brand value increased by 19.3 percent to around U.S. $ 6 billion in Interbrand's Best Global Brands 2011, Hyundai brand as more rapid growth in the automotive industry. the "Live bright" campaign, which begins this month from the media world of bread gradually be launched in all markets and not be limited to TV spots, but carried out in print and digital media in order to maximize the interactive communication with customers.Automobile News