For Mercedes-Benz, it is the best of brands, it is the worst of brands.

The German luxury marque has had an extraordinarily up-and-down week, at the vortex of two extreme instances of brand impression-making that would unnerve even the staunchest of CMOs.

First, the Good Mercedes-Benz. The company helped create, not a $6 Million Man, but at least a $57,000 Teenager by paying for the prosthetic arm of a British teenager — who, in exchange, allowed Mercedes to slap its logo on the prosthetic. Matthew James was born without a left arm and recently approached the company to use its vaunted German engineering to outfit him with one that would replace his existing prosthesis. Mercedes-Benz presumably was happy to oblige and even managed to stick a little Mercedes badge by his wrist.Continue reading...

Angry Birds maker and others look at Google gaming potential as Google hopes to keep growing like a startup, CFO says.

Berkshire Hathaway increases stake in Wells Fargo.

Ford wins out in new U.S. vehicle-satisfaction survey.

Honda faces difficult month as shortages persist.

HTC files trade complaint over Apple technology in iPads and iPhones.

News Corp. editors said to know of hacking in 2007.Continue reading...

As Dow closes down 634 points, the S&P downgrade of U.S. probed by Congress.

AIG sues Bank of America and its subsidiaries, Merrill Lynch and Countrywide.

BlackBerry cringes at association with U.K. riots, as violence continues to escalate.

Spotify reportedly has 1.4 million U.S. users, and now valued at $1.1 billion.

BMW leads global luxury auto brand sales through July, followed by Audi.

CenturyLink brand launches in former Qwest markets.Continue reading...

Accenture drives social business adoption through gamification.

Amazon battles U.S. states over taxes.

Bally expands to India.

Banco Popular expands rebranding to Popular Inc.

Canada sees online ad revenue exceed print for the first time.

Cargill recalls 36 million pounds of turkey products.

CNN finds host Piers Morgan coming under parliamentary pressure and accusations by Heather Mills over hacking.

Coca-Cola joins brands testing cloud-based in-text social advertising.

comScore acquires analytics firm AdXpose.

Dunkin' Donuts rolls out Keurig single-serve cups, with Starbucks to follow.Continue reading...

Chrysler’s new “Imported from Detroit” positioning may not be directly responsible for helping the automaker move cars off the lot, but it's certainly creating some memorable audio branding.

Through July, Chrysler has sold nearly 40,000 of the new 200 model sedan that was featured in the epochal Eminem Super Bowl commercial, in a segment where it sold only 24,000 cars the year before. Yet the latest version of the larger 300 sedan, fresh as of March, only moved 6% more units in July than the old version did a year ago, and Chrysler relies on the same basic positioning for its 300 advertising campaign. 

Yet there’s no doubt that the Chrysler brand has benefited from its willingness to embrace Motown again as a place of authenticity where you really can build fine automobiles.Continue reading...

AT&T challenges ESPN on 3DTV claims.

Audi signs on as Emmys sponsor.

Budweiser rebrands its can.

Burger King, Wendy's, Subway, Taco Bell, Carl's Jr. lead US fast food brands expanding in Russia.

Coca-Cola tests "FaceLook" facial recognition Facebook app in Israel.

Dunkin' Brands quarterly profits slip.

Facebook marketing director (and sister-of-Mark) Randi Zuckerberg quits to launch a start-up.

Google accuses Apple, Oracle and Microsoft of "patent bullying."Continue reading...

With financial markets seeming to have moved beyond the debate, the federal debt bill gets House passage, including an emotional appearance by Gabrielle Giffords, and awaits Senate action today, as economic effects are gauged and Washington, D.C., begins to examine the deal in post-mortems.

Apple releases iCloud pricing and developer specs.

BMW outshines Audi as 5 Series sales boost profits.

Cracker Barrel promotes Sandra Cohen to CEO.

Ford and Volkswagen build online loyalty in the U.K.

GM pilots OnStar feature that helps keep better track of teen drivers.Continue reading...

U.S. House is expected to pass debt ceiling bill tonight, with the Senate set to vote Tuesday.

Amazon launches AmazonLocal daily deals in Groupon's hometown of Chicago; launches MyHabit app to compete with Gilt Groupe; beefs up streaming offering to compete with Hulu by adding Universal titles; and looks to expand Kindle library.

Apple iPhone 5 now rumored for October; Apple TV lets users buy TV shows with streaming update; and Apple blocks Samsung tablet release in Australia.

Twitter confirms "significant" ($800M?) funding round led by Russia's DST Global; adds Dutch and Indonesian local sites; and opens NYC office.

Adobe bows to Apple and builds Flash alternative.

Airbnb looks to defuse user security concerns by offering $50,000 guarantee to homeowners.

Allstate to shut banking unit, posts $620M in losses on tornado claims.Continue reading...