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...

Ok, now we know Dodge is messing with us. After the jump, another recent spotting of a classic Challenger product placement. The proud papa of the current re-imagined retro-styled Challenger model, the iconic muscle car and its later day version have been turning up in numerous movies and TV shows everywhere we look.Continue reading...

Just a few weeks ago we were lamenting how the Chevelle was receiving a lot of onscreen muscle car roles, including feature placements in the recent films The Other Guys and Faster. We noted that these roles might better go to classic models that have recently seen re-releases, such as the Camaro or the Challenger.

Well, along comes the new trailer for the latest DC Comics hero to get the live-action feature film treatment, The Green Lantern. We reached out to Chrysler to learn more about the most recent of a spate of placements for the Challenger.Continue reading...

After just two episodes, the zombie action (not a contradiction in terms!) US TV drama The Walking Dead on the Mad Men-buffed AMC channel was picked up for another season.

With any luck, the series renewal might give Dodge another 13 whole episodes for a product placement as spectacular as its second episode, titled "Guts."Continue reading...

On November 24, the movie Faster will hit screens in North America. The film is an unremarkable revenge fink starring wrestler-turned-action stalwart Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson. What is remarkable about the film is the product placement and the huge opportunity missed by one of Detroit's Big 3.

Recently, auto lots have seen a return of model badges not seen in decades. Capitalizing on the affinity for classic stylings, Ford, Chevrolet and Dodge have released newly envisioned versions of old stalwart muscle cars including the Mustang, Camaro and Charger and Challenger. It's a segment that has seen huge sales gains too, with nostalgia driving up sales by over 7 percent.

Of the 1960s muscle cars to get the retro revival treatment, Chevrolet's Chevelle SS is not one. Yet, the Chevelle is being wasted in film roles that call for a "muscle car," roles that would better serve the marketing needs of reborn muscle car brands.Continue reading...