Motorhead Mike Brewer joins forces with his mechanic mate Edd China to show you how to buy a classic car at the right price, fix it up on a budget, and make a tidy profit.

Mike starts with a handy £5,000 and then goes on the hunt for a decent motor for the price – looking through the small ads, internet auctions, specialist clubs and garage forecourts to find the perfect second hand car.

Once Mike’s found the right car, he uses all his canny experience to negotiate the best price, then it’s back to the Wheeler Dealers workshop where Edd casts his expert eye over what Mike has dredged up – because there are usually more than a few bits and pieces that need a bit of work.

Edd then starts on the renovation, giving tips along the way about electrics, structural issues, mechanics, cosmetic touches and finishing work. Once all the work is done, the boys clean it up, get a new MOT and get behind the wheel to take the revamped motor for a test drive.

Mike has then got to go out find a willing punter and get them to part with their cash – giving some more essential advice about how to sell a second-hand motor.

In their time the boys have bought and redone some beauties, including: a Triumph Stag, Jensen Interceptor, MGB GT, Lancia Delta Integrale, BMW M3, Ferrari 308 GT and Lotus Elan. It’s a sure treat for retro car lovers everywhere.

Graham gets behind the wheel of an original Quattro to find out exactly why it’s such a fast car icon and why it deserves to be called a Fifth Gear Legend.

Filed under: Marketing/Advertising, Videos, Audi

The current state of the automotive industry is all about blurring lines. Cars and trucks used to be on opposite sides of the market until crossovers blurred the line. Coupes and convertibles have come closer together with the proliferation of the retractable hard-top. Even the line between manual and automatic transmissions has been blurred by the advent of CVTs, DCTs and sequential gearboxes of every sort. And the same could be said for advertising.

While automakers used to pitch their products in short commercial spots – and most still do – some have started producing their own content. That is to say, the intermission has become the main act. Just look at BMW‘s film series The Hire, or Audi‘s new television program Untitled Jersey City Project.

Filmed by True Blood and Game of Thrones director Daniel Minahan, the plot revolves around a couple of young architects hired to build a stadium in Jersey City, just across the river from Manhattan, but soon find themselves in over their heads. The sequence jumps around a moving timeline, starting with the climax, as the protagonist zips around New Jersey in his new Audi A6. Each two-minute episode is set to air on FX every Sunday night for eight weeks… or you could just jump past the break and watch them all right here.

Continue reading Audi blurs the line between show and commercial with “Untitled Jersey City Project”

Audi blurs the line between show and commercial with “Untitled Jersey City Project” originally appeared on AudiMobiles on Tue, 27 Sep 2011 19:01:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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The Audi bird is a perfect metaphor for the new Audi A6 Avant’s ultra-lightweight construction, offering drivers a more agile and efficient performance. Flying nimbly through a surreal landscape populated with trees, flowers and fauna made from petrol pumps, road signs and traffic cones, the metal-framed bird boasts design elements that echo the A6 Avant — right down to its breast, which replicates the distinctive Audi grille. The hummingbird mischievously glides through its world to the strains of Johann Strauss’s Open Road, Open Sky sung by legendary American baritone and automobile lover John Charles Thomas.

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Filed under: Sedan, Marketing/Advertising, Audi

Company: Volkswagen



Brand: Audi



Medium: TV



Ad Agency: Venables Bell & Partners



Product: Audi A8



Campaign: The Best



What We Like: Audi believes its latest A8 is a truly great automobile, and it’s running with this idea because it seems both Car and Driver and Road & Track agree. Rather than simply spouting off a list of why it may have earned recognition, Audi is tackling its perceived greatness in a humorous manner. The spots are short, funny and to the point. The message is that you’d have to be clueless not to see the greatness put forth by Audi in its A8.



What We Don’t Like: While the greatness is certainly inherent in the brand new A8, it almost seems like Audi is screaming at you to notice it. Still, if that is our one minor quibble, these ads are in pretty good shape.



Strategy: The all-new Audi A8 is a great car, and it recently received Best Large Luxury Sedan accolades from both Car and Driver and Road & Track. The automaker’s ad agency is taking those awards and running with them. True greatness, as is shown in the new A8, is something that should be instantly recognizable, and it seems those who fail to see it are simply clueless.


Grade: A- (the minus is because of the perceived shouting, but the overall humor wins out).



Watch the videos after the jump and give it your own grade below.

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Continue reading AdSpotting: Audi recognizes true greatness in the new A8

AdSpotting: Audi recognizes true greatness in the new A8 originally appeared on AudiMobiles on Thu, 22 Sep 2011 16:56:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Filed under: Europe, Crossover, Audi, Luxury

Audi has grown its share of the U.S. luxury market with the help of a steady stream of new products. But while Audi has been on a product rampage, not all of its latest designs take up residence in U.S. showrooms.

Included in that group of vehicles is the Q3, but AutoWeek reports that Audi’s North American CEO Johan de Nysschen is at least considering bringing the diminutive CUV to America. That’s not a lot to go on, and de Nysschen tells AW that the Q3 will need to “overcome certain challenges” in order for Audi to introduce the model to U.S. customers.

In other words, the Q3 will need to be cheap enough for U.S. consumers to want to buy it, yet expensive enough for Audi to turn a tidy profit. What’s more, the Four-Ringed crossover will need to sell at a decent clip even if the price is right, or Audi could still lose money. If the stars align and the Q3 gets the green light, de Nysschen says it’ll likely happen in time for the model’s mid-cycle refresh.

De Nysschen says Audi still debating Q3 for U.S. originally appeared on AudiMobiles on Wed, 21 Sep 2011 16:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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