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What effect did Super Bowl ads have on online car searches?

Lexus's Super Bowl ad Let's Play starring an RC version of the RC 350 sliding around wasn't really a big hit among Autoblog readers, with a pretty miserable 13 down-votes as of this writing, compared to the winning Nissan spot with 52 up-votes. The Japanese luxury brand doesn't need to feel blue about the results, though, because in at least one metric the commercial ranks as the most popular of the night. According to Adweek analyzing figures from Kelley Blue Book, the Lexus coupe saw an astounding 1,820-percent increase in searches on the auto pricing site, more than any other vehicle advertised during the game. Viewers were apparently intrigued by the BMW i3 because the EV came in second place with a 1,131-percent jump. Third place went to the Mercedes-AMG GT with a 950-percent boost from its whimsical ad. The lowest growth for the night was from Toyota with a 20-percent upswing for the Camry. In terms of brand searches, the Kia James Bond-inspired spot brought a 68-percent increase in searches to KBB's website, according to Adweek. Dodge scored a close second with a 62-percent bump, and Fiat's humorous ad apparently resonated enough for third place and a 52-percent jump in searches. Despite the RC 350's popularity, Lexus actually ended up at the bottom of the list with just 6 percent more visitors looking for the company. To explain the weird discrepancy, a Kelley Blue Book analyst explained to Adweek that visitors came to the site specifically looking for the RC 350 and to a lesser extent the NX, which saw a 48-percent jump in queries, but that interest didn't extend to the whole brand. Related Video: News Source: Adweek Marketing/Advertising Lexus Coupe Performance Videos lexus rc lexus rc 350

Toyota profits up 23% on high US sales, despite mounting legal costs

Toyota earned $9.3 billion in net income in the financial year that ends next month. The number beats earlier forecasts and marks a five-year high for the automaker, with both operating income and revenue up by 9.5 percent and 2.5 percent, respectively. Toyota saw quarterly profit enjoy a year-on-year jump of 23.4 percent, with the manufacturer earning more than $1 billion between October and December 2012. The good news comes in spite of the fact that the Japanese automaker actually endured an operating loss in North America, due in part to legal fees.
Toyota is set to pay more than $1 billion to owners who claim their vehicles decreased in value as a result of the company's recent spate of recalls. Even so, all three of the automaker's brands enjoyed a 13.5 percent sales increase in the US in the last quarter, beating the industry average. Toyota faltered in Europe, however, where it earned $99 million in operating profit last year, compared to $111 million in 2011. You can take a closer look at the company's full press release below for more information.

Ever wonder how to really pronounce Japanese automaker names?

People tend to get very set in their ways when it comes to the pronunciation of words. Just look at the endless debates over whether or not to say the final 'e' in Porsche (which you should in terms of correct German enunciation). Or the argument about whether to follow the British convention and give the 'u' in Jaguar a special delivery or to say the 'ua' diphthong as more of a 'w' sound, as usually happens in the US.
This short video doesn't answer either of those automotive questions, but it does allow a native Japanese speaker to demonstrate the accepted pronunciations for several, major automakers from the country. One benefit is that it clears up the occasional debate over whether Nissan should be said with a long or short 'i' sound. Also, listen closely to how the female host says Mazda as Matsuda, the way it's actually said in the language. Even if this doesn't change the way you enunciate these brands, at least now you know the accurate way in Japanese.