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Honda wins Commercial of the Decade, but not for the ad you think [w/VIDEO]

Honda's Commercial of the Decade: "Grrr" - Click above to watch video
The mad men at Adweek recently voted for the Commercial of the Decade (Super Bowl commercials not included) and Honda took top honors over memorable ads from the last ten years by companies like Nike, Budweiser and Sony. That's not a big surprise considering Honda often puts a huge amount of effort into its on-air spots. However, the Japanese automaker didn't win for the commercial you might have expected: "Cog." Though Honda's famous commercial that breaks down a European Accord Tourer into a Rube Goldberg-esque machine was also a finalist, it was beaten by another Honda commercial called "Grrr" that's narrated by Garrison Keillor of all people. You've probably never seen it, but you can after the jump.
Volkswagen also made the list of finalists, but the particular ad chosen out of all the comical VW ads we've seen was unexpected as well. Most surprising carmaker with a commercial in the finals: Saturn. Who knew...

As VW electrifies, it questions the role of Lamborghini, Bugatti, Ducati

FRANKFURT — Volkswagen needs to change to stay relevant in the electric and digital vehicle era and will announce "important steps" to that end before the close of the year, Chief Executive Herbert Diess said on Wednesday. "Volkswagen needs to change: From a collection of valuable brands and fascinating combustion-engine products that thrill customers with superb engineering — to a digital company that reliably operates millions of mobility devices worldwide," Diess told shareholders at the company's virtual general meeting. Vehicles need to stay in contact with customers, offer new services and comfort functions on a weekly or even daily basis, he said. "We will take further important steps to set the course for this in the rest of 2020," Diess said. Senior executives told Reuters the company is reviewing what role its high-performance brands Lamborghini, Bugatti and Ducati will play as the company increasingly focuses on electric, digital and autonomous vehicles. Volkswagen, which also owns VW, Audi, Porsche, Seat and Skoda, is looking at whether it has the resources to accelerate development of electric platforms for smaller brands at a time it is investing billions to transform its more mainstream cars. Asked whether Ducati, which is known for making noisy combustion-engined motorbikes, has an electric future, Markus Duesmann, who oversees research and development for the group, said: "It will not take long until we see an electric Ducati." Whether Ducati, which is a medium-sized premium motorbike brand, would offer an electric variant, depends on whether a bike could offer range comparable to a combustion-engined variant, Duesmann said. Advances are being made in battery technology which could make this possible, he added. Separately Frank Witter, the company's chief financial officer, in response to a question about whether a sale of Lamborghini is planned, said Volkswagen does not comment on speculation about potential divestments. Lamborghini's Chief Executive Stefano Domenicali this week announced his departure from the sports car maker to take on a new job as president of Formula One. VW needs cash Volkswagen is reviewing the future of these three high-performance brands as part of broader quest for more economies of scale as it shifts to mass producing electric cars, senior executives told Reuters.

Autoblog Minute: VW financial woes continue, Tesla Model X dazzles

Volkswagen sees its financial woes continue, and Tesla reveals the all electric Model X crossover. Autoblog's Greg Migliore reports on this edition of Autoblog Minute Weekly Recap. Update: The post has been updated to show the complete range of estimated MPGe specs for the Model X P90D and not just the 92 combined MPGe. Show full video transcript text [00:00:00] Volkswagen sees its financial woes continue, and Tesla reveals its all electric Model X crossover. I'm Senior editor Greg Migliore and this is your Autoblog Minute Weekly Recap. Volkswagen has been removed from the DOW Jones Sustainability Index, or DJSI. A decision that takes effect on October 8th. Removal from this key index is yet another black eye for the embattled automaker and it [00:00:30] indicates VW's fall as a company leads the way in economic, environmental and social performance. Ever since the emissions scandal broke the world's top selling automaker's stock has struggled. Reports estimate VW's losses to be a staggering 30.8 billion dollars. Tesla rolled out the Model X this week. A live web-stream showed us what to expect. Like, how the Falcon Wing doors adapt to tight parking spots and low garages. Towing capacity [00:01:00] was also demonstrated. The CUV is said to be able to haul 5,000 pounds, while carrying 7 passengers and luggage. Still, there was no mention of how towing would affect battery life or the range of the all electric crossover. The Model X also boasts a giant air filtration system with a "Bioweapon Defense Mode," a feature that is said to protect passengers against bacteria, harmful gasses and as Elon Musk joked, possible apocalyptic events. [00:01:30] Stay tuned. According to early EPA estimates, the Model X 90D has a range of 257 miles with 90 MPGe city, 94 highway and 92 combined MPGe. Those are the highlights from the week that was. Be sure to check out my full weekly recap this Saturday. Plus I'll have some added insight into Mazda's new sports car. For Autoblog, I'm Greg Migliore. Autoblog Minute is a short-form video news series reporting on all things automotive. Each segment offers a quick and clear picture of what's happening in the automotive industry from the perspective of Autoblog's expert editorial staff, auto executives, and industry professionals. Tesla Volkswagen Crossover Diesel Vehicles Electric Autoblog Minute Videos Original Video vw diesel scandal