Above: In anticipation of Chinese New Year, one enterprising company is selling "Defend Diaoyu Islands" fireworks. (Japan and China continue to disagree over the territory.)

This week: KFC's hipster hip-gyrating shrimp... electric cars are Saab's last hope... lux brands recruit Mandarin speakers... badminton star Lin Dan... Apple, "Oh! Susana"... SABMiller's cold snap... how to say Ferrari, Hennessy, Goldman Sachs, and Rolex in Chinese... the soaring cost of a Shanghai license plate... and more.Continue reading...

Despite being passed around to a few different owners over its lifespan, 64-year-old Saab has been around long enough to build up a strong brand. It went bankrupt back in 2010, but now is expected to be turning out a new breed of cars in the next few years thanks to the new ownership of Electric Vehicle Sweden (NEVS), a partnership between China's National Modern Energy Holdings and Japan's Sun Investment.

NEVS will be turning Saab into an electric car, which likely won’t be on the market for a few years. But when it does, something will be gone from Saab that's survived all the other changes: the griffin on its logo.

The mythical creature that has the body and tail of a lion and the head and wings of an eagle will still be found on Saab trucks and planes, which are not owned by NEVS and will remain with their current manufacturers. For now, a griffin-less logo will represent the company.Continue reading...

AOL sells patents to Microsoft.

AT&T spends big to support launch of Numia smartphone by Nokia as it staves off a walkout by its workers.

Augusta National leaves unsettled the question of membership of IBM CEO Virginia Rometty; Bubba Watson wins its Masters tournament in dramatic fashion.

Avon names new CEO from Johnson & Johnson.

CDC says anti-smoking ads prompt lots more "quit attempts."

Cotton launches new look.

Google plots web-domain buying spree.

Great Wolf Resorts sees sweetened offer to buy company.

Kia keeps brand humming in non-launch year. Continue reading...

Released last week, The Revenge of the Electric Car "presents the recent resurgence of electric vehicles as seen through the eyes of four pioneers of the EV revolution." The film focuses on General Motors, Nissan, and Tesla Motors as all three "race each other to create the first, best, and most publicly accepted electric cars for the new car market."

But is the film an endeavor in academics, as the electric car market for which these brands are racing is crumbling.Continue reading...

Nissan has only sold about 16,600 Leafs, the manufacturer’s electric-car offering, since they came on the market in December 2010, according to the Associated Press. But that doesn’t mean that the company is going to make fewer of the autos.

With the Leaf just voted Europe's EV of the Year, the AP reports that Nissan “is aiming to be the world's No. 1 in green cars, targeting cumulative sales of 1.5 million zero-emission vehicles with alliance partner Renault SA of France.”Continue reading...

We’re told absence makes the heart grow fonder. But if you’re one of the 10,000 to 12,000 Americans who’s ordered an all-electric Nissan Leaf, the continued absence of your vehicle may be leading you to experience and express other emotions. As in: "@$#%$^%^&**(*&/!"

Nissan is encountering a growing problem fulfilling Leaf orders in the United States and elsewhere even though the EV is an extremely low-volume vehicle. The biggest culprit is setbacks in the supply and production network from the March 11 earthquake and tsunami in Japan.

In fact, a Nissan executive told reporters this week that the company no longer can count on beginning U.S. production of Leaf at Nissan’s Tennessee manufacturing complex before the end of 2012 as originally anticipated — further disappointing buyers.Continue reading...

Nissan's humorous new advertising campaign for its Leaf all-electric vehicle, called “Gas Powered Everything,” breaks this week. The TV commercials depict an absurd world where the evolution of energy for devices we use has stopped at gasoline power. That includes nearly everything that we’re used to running on electric power, from alarm clocks to dentists’ drills.

Point made: Electric power is superior and certainly suitable for automobiles because, gee whiz, gasoline power isn’t suitable for everyday appliances. Ha ha.

As amusing and well executed as these ads might be, they raise the question: Is Nissan really going to drive home the right message with the new 60-second ad and 15-second teasers that promotes GasPoweredEverything.com — which redirects to its Facebook page?Continue reading...

Ford Fiesta and Chevy Cruze help fuel Detroit's comeback. 

Hangover 2, despite lousy reviews, is on track to be most lucrative comedy ever.  

Heineken extends UEFA Champions League sponsorship.  

Oscar Mayer, Ball Park hotdog wars heat up.

Hulu plans to add commercials.

Lockheed Martin falls prey to cyberattack.Continue reading...