The Chevy Camaro hit America’s streets in 1967 and has been getting the nation’s hearts racing ever since, appearing in a ton of films and television shows as the ultimate in cool and, of course, being forever inked onto the musical landscape in the Dead Milkmen’s famed “Bitchin’ Camaro.”

Perhaps a little better known than the Dead Milkmen’s ode to the car’s coolness, though, is the Hot Wheels version of the car. When the first 16 Hot Wheels cars hit the streets (and family rooms) of America back in 1968, a tiny Camaro was one of the mix (and is now one of its most collected).

Last year, the folks at Chevy decided to pay tribute to Hot Wheels and made a life-size version of the car to show off at the Specialty Equipment Market Association auto show in Vegas. In the first few hours the show was open, the car attracted heavy crowds and Chevy knew it had a hit, USA Today reports.Continue reading...

For a series of Batman movies that takes itself so seriously, it's a surprise to see it right there so prominent as one of only five menu items on the official The Dark Knight Rises website: "Imported From Gotham City."

The Dark Knight Rises has a number of other official partners. There is Nokia (remember them?) and No Fear (remember them?) and Mountain Dew, which features at the core of its tie-in "Sad Batman." But none of these brands even get a mention on the film's official website, let alone being featured on the site navigation.

It seems that the heavyweight "Imported from Detroit" campaign, which debuted with Eminem at the 2011 Super Bowl and was reborn with Clint Eastwood at the 2012 Super Bowl, is now so ingrained in the American psyche that it's worth lampooning. But the first rule of auto product placement is "be serious." Be so, so serious.Continue reading...

Are you a tennis fan? Then we don't have to tell you to watch the French Open. Are you a hardcore tennis fan? Then you might consider not only watching the French Open but getting behind the wheel of a French Open special edition Peugeot.

The tie-up between the venerable French brands to create the time-limited Peugeot 207 CC and 308 CC Roland Garros editions makes sense, and celebrates one of the most important tennis tournaments in the sport of tennis. Luxury (and less luxurious) lifestyle brands have a longstanding relationship with automakers, with varying degrees of success (and excess).Continue reading...

Ford is pursuing the Millennial generation these days like the rest of the global auto industry. But so far the carmakers' love largely has gone unrequited by a car-reluctant cohort.

Now, Ford hopes that a new Mustang can keep wooing Generation Y the way that its new Ford Fiesta did when it debuted a couple of years ago. Ford design chief J Mays has been telling folks for a while that the 2014 Mustang will comprise perhaps the nameplate's sharpest departure ever from the "pony car" that first excited the baby boomers a half-century ago under the guidance of then-Ford executive Lee Iacocca.

The company will have to be cautious. In the 1970s, after mistakenly believing that the appeal of the original, muscular, blockish Mustang design had run its course with the car market, Ford introduced a vastly diluted design and called it Mustang II.Continue reading...

The New York International Auto Show has always been a crucial commercial platform for car dealers and buyers in the New York Tri-State area. But more and more, it is joining the big global auto exhibitions — Detroit, Geneva, Frankfurt, Los Angeles, Tokyo, Shanghai and Chicago — as a place for car brands to make news of worldwide import to the industry as well as to butter up the local market.

That makes sense, given that New York is the global media and financial capital.

With the recent pickup in U.S. auto sales awaiting confirmation with March sales results being reported Tuesday, and more optimism ever in the air with the spring selling season, here are some of what auto brands are serving up at NYIAS:Continue reading...

"This agreement with China will make it easier than ever before for U.S. studios and independent filmmakers to reach the fast-growing Chinese audience, supporting thousands of American jobs in and around the film industry."

That's U.S. Vice President Joe Biden's summary of a groundbreaking new deal between the two nations that will relax the controls on China's movie market. The agreement came at the end of leader-in-waiting Xi Jinping's visit to the US, an image-polishing visit for China at a time when worker conditions and Apple dominated U.S. headlines.

The agreement included a deal with the Dreamworks Animation studio for a filmmaking joint-venture based in Shanghai. But it's also good news for one of the few industries America still excels at, while easing access to China's billion-strong audience for the product placement industry.Continue reading...

Product placement may make a big leap soon if the reboot of the 1981 classic Cannonball Run gets the green light.

New York magazine's website reports that GM is deep "in discussions about backing an update of The Cannonball Run in a deal that would be much larger than your average product placement." Reportedly looking for an "equity stake," GM could go deep into its pockets in a gamble to pack the film with its models, and might even give the "new Corvette the lead."

There are several reasons this might be a disaster — so it's a good thing GM isn't getting involved.Continue reading...

Aloha Petroleum redefines brand.

Apple sees its biggest product launch ever with one million pre-orders in 24 hours for iPhone 4S.

Arista and Jive iconic music labels close, bumping Britney Spears and other artists to RCA.

BankUnited repositions brand.

Chevrolet turns 100, amps up green cred, plans new Camaro.

Chrysler whittles vehicle plan.

Conde Nast to increase branded content under new entertainment head.

Discovery banks on Rosie O'Donnell to save Oprah Winfrey's OWN network.Continue reading...