BMW is investing 3 billion euros in EVs and marketing. 

AP execs outraged over government probe of phone records.

Sony is targeted for breakup by American investor.

Airbus aims to steal limelight from Boeing at upcoming Paris Air Show.

Amazon workers go on strike in Germany.

BNP Paribas eyes mobile and online banking.

Citibank says "no fees" means "never."

Coach approached Tory Burch about a deal.

Coca-Cola faces claim that Coke top-secret recipe has been found.Continue reading...

Coca-Cola posts lower net and unveils U.S.-bottler deal.

JCPenney buys time with credit line.

Twitter seeks deals with NBC and Viacom for high-quality video content.

A&W plans to move upscale and test fast-casual concept.

Amazon targets older consumers with new store.

Apple dominates in best-paid executives as board retains Jobs deputies.

BMW will debut EV brand Zinoro in China in early 2014.Continue reading...

It's a rough start when your new China spokesman is banned from China—but it appears Cadillac is going ahead with a new deal to make Brad Pitt its face in the world's fastest growing auto market.

Though with sales plunging in China and Audi and BMW eating its lunch, the brand needs to do something. It's too bad that even Brad Pitt won't likely be able to sell the Chinese an angry car they don't want. 

Cadillac's new $3 million dollar endorsement with Pitt (Bradillac?) may add some perspective to Pitt's recent, less than smooth entry to Chinese social media. In January, Pitt joined microblogging platform Weibo and posted "Yep, it is the truth. I am coming…"

The news was forwarded tens of thousands of times by those wondering if China's ban on the actor—following his film "Seven Years in Tibet"—had been lifted. Just a few weeks later, Pitt's account disappeared. It's unclear if the actor himself deleted it or if Weibo shut it down, something the platform is wont to do. Continue reading...

MINI has continued its remarkable U.S. sales surge through the first half, this week reporting a 15-percent gain in June for June over a year earlier and an 8-percent gain over 2011 for the year to date. Both were record results for the BMW-owned tiny-car brand. "It's a wonderful time to be MINI," Jim McDowell, MINI USA VP, stated.

Indeed, America's leading little-car brand has continued to pile up sales gains even as competition in its segment has intensified with the arrival of the Fiat 500 and, now, variations; Scion's new iQ; and a new effort by Mercedes-Benz to finally turn its Smart brand around in the U.S.

For its next act, as McDowell noted, MINI is about to launch "the greatest rally in our fabled history" — MINI Takes the States. Beginning on the Fourth of July — hence the tagline "Go Forth. Go West. Go Mini" — following a PR kick-off Tuesday on NBC's Today Show, thousands of MINI owners and enthusiasts are expected to take part in MINI's cross-country rally, or part of it, covering a total of 16 states and 13 cities.Continue reading...

Japanese clothing brand Uniqlo just tried something a little different on Pinterest: a social marketing/branded content campaign, the "Uniqlo Dry Mesh Project," that aimed to cut through ‘scrolling slumber’ with a simultaneous pinning event (some might say hacking) that animate the images in real time to catch users' attention on the social scrapbooking site.

A series of branded mosaics were posted simultaneously on Pinterest across multiple categories (such as "Geek"). As users scroll through their favorites they encounter the giant blocks of images that coalesce into a larger, branded mosaic that appeared to animate on scrolling down. Images of Dry Mesh T-shirts — which are designed to keep the wearer dry by wicking away sweat — created the mosaics. The result was certainly a visually arresting animation for an otherwise visually boring, mono-colored product.Continue reading...

A&P prepares to emerge from bankruptcy.

ABC plans to screen new TV show in theaters.

Amazon backs Hollywood film-streaming format.

Apple's Tim Cook is America's highest-paid CEO.

Daimler still trying to fix Smart brand.

Fiat will begin to emphasize product marketing over brand in U.S.

Ford cites Thai flood impact on bottom line, while U.S. car-buyers are lukewarm to hybrids.

Fox Sports settles legal dispute with Los Angeles Dodgers.

Friendly Ice Cream exits Chapter 11.Continue reading...

Anheuser-Busch InBev tries a tea-lemonade "light alcohol" drink for Michelob.

Ann Taylor woos younger women by featuring stylish students.

Avon replacing Andrea Jung as CEO.

Best Buy finds that deep discounts sacked profits.

Canadian Tire buys house in Toronto just for webisodes.

China plans to impose duties on U.S.-imported cars, ratcheting up trade tiff.

Chrysler picks up sales and financial momentum while parent Fiat treads cautiously.

CNN rehires Christiane Amanpour, who will continue to contribute to ABC News.Continue reading...

Well, 59 cars are better than none. That was the net gain in sales for Smart USA's ForTwo model in September, when it released its first national US TV commercial, over September 2010. That's right, Smart sold just 469 vehicles in the United States last month, about on par with its monthly sales total for all of the first half of the year, and hardly better than a year ago.

But give Smart credit. Mercedes-Benz just took over U.S.-market administration of its brand over the summer from Penske, and installed a new marketing team, and really has only taken the first halting steps toward building brand awareness for Smart, with that initial TV spot, called "Unbig. Uncar," above.Continue reading...