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Honda, Hyundai and Kia get best word-of-mouth recommendations in US

Forget advertising, incentives and, yes, even our excellently crafted vehicle reviews, sometimes the best way for automakers to sell cars is still good ol' fashioned word of mouth. In an attempt to measure this "word of mouth" power, The Boston Consulting Group, a management consulting firm, has created a new study called the Brand Advocacy Index (BAI). The index takes a look at how various industries perform from person to person. Those industries include automotive, smartphones, grocery, mobile telecommunications and banking.
The study polled more than 32,000 individuals across Europe and in the US to come up with the top 55 brands in these various industries. On the automotive side of things, the top brands in the US were Honda, Hyundai and Kia, all tied at 63 percent. On a global scale, Volkswagen and Toyota scored the highest with a 65-percent BAI rating (both in France). The average BAI for auto industry players tallied 50 percent.
As for companies in other industries, Apple's iPhone was the index's top-rated smartphone, Trader Joe's was the highest recommended grocery store, Virgin was sat atop the mobile telecom industry and USAA was the top retail bank. Scroll down for the full press release on the new study.

LeBron James ad claims $10M fan bet proving he drives K900

As one of the nation's most famous and top paid professional athletes, LeBron James' Kia K900 sponsorship has always left us suspicious to its sincerity. The basketball player could buy any other vehicle in the world but claimed to be a fan of Kia's rear-wheel drive sedan even before he signed up as the brand's pitchman. While no weirder than many other NBA auto ads, the idea is still hard to believe. The company now wants to challenge the cynics with a three-commercial campaign called The Truth that stars King James responding to actual tweets about him driving the K900. The first commercial titled Ten Mil (above) starts with James checking Twitter and finding a skeptic that bets $10 million that the player doesn't drive the K900 to games. Since that's not the case, James confirms that a wager on social media is a binding contract and hops in the Kia with an armored car following him to go pick up the cash. However, the spot misses the mark slightly because we still only have James' word that he really takes the Kia to games Once the spots start airing, you can bet Cleveland fans start keeping an eye on how the player arrives to Quicken Loans Arena. It better be in the K900 for this campaign to work. LEBRON JAMES TELLS "THE TRUTH" ABOUT DRIVING HIS KIA K900 LUXURY SEDAN 11-Time NBA All-Star Responds To Real Tweets in New Ad Campaign First of three spots from "The Truth" campaign will begin airing on TV tonight and can be viewed at Kia.com and YouTube.com/Kia Multiplatform campaign will run through the remainder of basketball season and includes television, digital and social media elements IRVINE, Calif., December 3, 2015 – Last year, when LeBron James Tweeted "Rolling around in my K900. Love this car!!" and later stated he was a K900 driver before becoming Kia Motors' luxury ambassador, naysayers took to social media to question the validity of his claims. Now, with sales of Kia's rear-drive luxury sedan up considerably over 2014 levels, the 11-time NBA All-Star and avid car collector is tackling that skepticism head-on to prove the K900 is in fact "Fit For A King" in a new ad campaign from Kia Motors America (KMA).

Renault Scenic EV takes first place as (European) Car of the Year

The automobile awards season may not be over, but two of the more prestigious annual races came closer to a climax this week. One might need a scorecard to keep track. We’re focused here on two events: the World Car of 2024, now reduced to three finalists in six categories. Then thereÂ’s the Car of the Year, known in some quarters as the European Car of the Year. Except that the car doesnÂ’t have to be European to win, only sold there. Got that? Winners out of the way first: At the Geneva Motor Show on Monday, the Renault Scenic E-Tech all-electric has been voted Car of the Year 2024. The Scenic is a fairly compact, somewhat stylish SUV for Europe only, and is the seventh vehicle from the French brand to win the award. It sells in the United Kingdom for about $47,500. The other six finalists that had made the first cut of voting in November were the BMW 5 Series, BYD Seal, Kia EV9, Peugeot E-3008/3008, Toyota C-HR, and Volvo EX30. The trophy winner was chosen by a jury of 59 motoring journalists from 22 countries. Scenic came in first place with 329 points. The Seal was the first Chinese-made car to make this awardÂ’s shortlist; it finished sixth out of seven, just up from the Toyota. One judge explained his decision to grant the Seal zero votes. Writing in Top Gear, Paul Horrell wrote this entertaining critique: “It looks good and is well specified, so makes a strong market entry. The advanced electric system and cobalt-free battery are commendable too, and it's enjoyable enough to drive quickly. That's undermined by an agitated ride over bumps, and the logic of screens and switches is pretty eccentric.” Recapping the World Car of the Year 2024 update, the sponsors shared the stage at Geneva on Monday with the Europeans as well, although they revealed only the top three finalists in six categories. For the ultimate prize, they are the Kia EV9, the Volvo EX30 and the BYD Seal. The winners will be announced March 27 at the New York International Auto Show. Here's more on the World Car finalists. By the Numbers Geneva Motor Show New York Auto Show BMW Kia Toyota Volvo Peugeot Renault Green Automakers Best Cars