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Watch NASCAR racer Jeff Gordon put one over on a used car dealer... sorta

Full Disclosure: in my younger days, I loved nothing more than tormenting passengers with my behind-the-wheel hijinks. Once, after a particularly artful handbrake turn on a two-lane at around 50 miles per hour, I left one backseat occupant crying in their own lap. This isn't necessarily something to be proud of, but it gives you a glimpse into why it is that I find this ad from Pepsi so damn disappointing. The premise is beautiful. Take NASCAR legend Jeff Gordon, give him a disguise and set him loose upon some unsuspecting used car dealer. Hilarity ensues.
Except that this Pepsi Max commercial is so obviously staged, it can't help but feel like some ham-fisted marketing fail. From the strategically placed aftermarket cupholder mounted mid-dash for the hidden camera to the fact that the supposed dealer Camaro is displayed as a 2009 model (Hint: Chevrolet didn't make any), this clip is about as organic as a Twinkie. Still, we would never turn down a chance to watch Gordon thrash on a rental-spec coupe - only problem is, he probably didn't even do the driving himself. Check it out below.

General Motors and EVs: No stranger to firsts, but where's the leadership?

2015 is already shaping up to be the year of "affordable, 200-mile EV" concepts. Nissan and Tesla have each been talking about them for some time, the latter promising to unveil its Model 3 at the North American International Auto Show in January before balking when the time came. Instead, Chevrolet beat them all by unveiling the Bolt concept at the same event, followed shortly thereafter with suggestions of a 2016 launch – potentially offering the first nationwide EV with anything close to that range. It was the ballsiest EV-related move General Motors has made in a quarter century. But will it remain so? Exactly 25 years before the Bolt rolled up onto the turntable, then-Chairman Roger Smith unveiled GM's last ground-up EV concept, the even-more-unfortunately-named Impact, at the Los Angeles Auto Show in January 1990. A few months later, he surprised most of his colleagues by announcing its intended production in honor of Earth Day. It was the first modern foray into electric vehicles for the US by any automaker, one that was rewarded by the State of California with what is now known as the Zero Emissions Vehicle mandate. The program not only forced other automakers into competing with Roger's pet project, but inspired all of them to fight it like small children against bedtime. Some years later, the drivers themselves weighed in, with a biting documentary about that obstinance and the leadership it cost both GM and the country. Within months, GM was first back into the fray of plug-in vehicles. Many criticized the company for starting with a PHEV rather than jump straight back into EVs. The choice wasn't totally out of the blue – even EV1 was meant to be followed by a PHEV. And especially on the heels of Who Killed the Electric Car?, some skittishness was understandable: even a successful EV would invite a "we told you so" public reaction, underscoring their mistake in ending the EV1 program. If a new EV didn't do well, they'd be convicted in the public eye as serial killers. All while seeking a federal bailout. For all the flak, the resulting Chevy Volt was and is a better car than GM has ever gotten credit for. But the company seemed to grow weary of having to overcome its varied past, and while the current owners remain happy, much of the stakeholder and community engagement that so effectively built early goodwill and sales growth faded not long after launch. Marketing has been spotty in both consistency and effectiveness.

Submit your questions for Autoblog Podcast #321 LIVE!

We're set to record Autoblog Podcast #321 tonight, and you can drop us your questions and comments regarding the rest of the week's news via our Q&A module below. Subscribe to the Autoblog Podcast in iTunes if you haven't already done so, and if you want to take it all in live, tune in to our UStream (audio only) channel at 10:00 PM Eastern tonight.
Discussion Topics for Autoblog Podcast Episode #321
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