By John Coyle

Deputy Editor

Straight-up, this has to be the most disturbing car commercial I’ve ever seen. The opening shots show a forlorn driver pulling into an empty parking garage, then running a hose from the tailpipe of his Audi A5 TDI into the passenger compartment. After that, he leans back, closes his eyes and waits to die.  You’ll have to watch to see how the story ends, but I’m blown away that a manufacturer would put its stamp on an ad this dark. And I don’t know if folks across the Pond will ever see it on the telly, but I can’t imagine it being broadcast in the States. Wow.

By John Coyle

Deputy Editor

When Chris Bangle was busy wrecking the rear ends of everything in BMW’s stable, there were plenty of terms I associated with the company, and none of them were as kind as “cute.”  But this ad for the new 5 Series Gran Turismo is just that, and I got a real kick out of it. Of course, I don’t like it as much as the “You Know You’re Not the First” spot they did a little while back…

By John Coyle

Deputy Editor

My Dad grew up Irish in Italian-dominated South Philly, and he used to joke that his hyper-expressive Italian buddies wouldn’t be able to talk with their hands cuffed, because they seemed to need 15 distinct gestures to say anything. Anyway, provided there aren’t any weapons in the vicinity, I don’t think there are many things funnier than a pissed off Italian. So I loved this clip of an R8 rolling through Ferrari’s home turf.  And even though I don’t actually think Audi’s halo car looks so hot in red—Enzo’s Cavellinos have a lock on rosso—it makes sense for this spot. Enjoy.

While there have been many plugs for the new Dodge Ram pickup, nothing beats this campaign that Dodge is running at its site, clips of which you might’ve seen on TV. Head over to ramchallenge.com to check out this actually pretty clever reality-TV themed video series for yourself. The site is currently running the first episode in a series of four, which will show the new Ram competing in a variety of challenges from payload to offroad. And while it’s hard to gauge from only the first episode, what they’ve got so far is about seven minutes of absolutely decent advertainment. Watch!

There are few things more badass than fighter planes launching from the deck of a carrier. So you have to wonder what’s going to happen when you see this cute little Yaris drive onto the catapult. The results are predictable, but I got a disproportionately large kick out of this spot anyway. Enjoy.

There seems to be a big marketing push right now aimed at convincing consumers that the Honda Fit is actually cool. While the argument is dubious, the ads are pretty entertaining. This one I actually find mildly offputting, with its implications that cool 60′s cars should be "killed off" in favor of jellybeans like the Fit. But hell, like I always say, the more people the advertisers can get into tiny anonymous road pods, the more gas’ll be left for the rest of us. Enjoy the video!

When Rob, Jen and I went to have dinner with Bob Lutz, I took the opportunity to mention to Dave Barthmuss, one of GM’s Western managers, that the General should use The Clash’s cover of "Brand New Cadillac" in commercials. To be honest, I hadn’t thought too much of it, but when Rob and I caught a Mariners game with the GM folks the other night, Dave said he’d downloaded the track and forwarded my suggestion to the Cadillac division. How cool is that? Now, if Strummer and company wind up helping sell the new CTS, it’s going to take everyone at CarDomain HQ to peel me off the ceiling. What songs to you think would be perfect for car commercials?

I’ve always thought my little GTI was somewhat of a green-er car. Even with all the upgrades and power enhancements, I still pull out between 28-31mpgs, which isn’t too bad by today’s standards. However, I never considered the spin SAAB is using in their most recent TV commercial to market turbocharged engines: recycling your exhaust. That’s right, I’m greener than most cars because I recycle my exhaust and turn the spent gasses into more power for my little four-banger.

Of course, we’ll ignore the fact that since I enjoy boost, I probably burn more fuel when the turbo starts to spool, since the best way to get lots of boost is to romp on the long pedal. Oh well. It’s a good commercial and a fun marketing spin.

Yup, it sure looks like a rear view camera would come in handy in this situation. You know what else would come in handy? A steam cleaner. Yuck.

At around this time every NASCAR season, I go through a bit of withdrawal when the weekly Sprint Cup race broadcast switches over from Fox to some other network. It’s not that I really have any great love for Fox, but I do enjoy their NASCAR setup, and the announcers are the best. I love the cutaway car demos they do, I love that they actually give some airtime to the pit reporters. I love DW’s affable Southern charm and explosive mannerisms, and I even get a kick out of Jeff Hammond’s slightly unsettling bionic gaze. The easy rapport and conversational chemistry of this former driver/crew chief duo is unbeatable. What I’m not a fan of is TNT’s generic broadcast bots, who look like they’d be more at home narrating stock market activity on msnbc or something. Even with the addition to their team of sleepy and semi-retired driver Kyle Petty, who’s had a lot of experience watching racing from the back of the pack, they manage to miss all the important stuff during the race and carry on with the most completely insipid and generic banter. More…

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