That's what the seller of this '65 Chrysler Newport did, and now- for reasons we don't understand- he's trying to sell this gorgeous machine on eBay. If you've already got a Plymouth Belvedere painted to look like a pack of Belvedere cigarettes, then you owe it to your blackened lungs to add this Mopar to your stable. This tip comes courtesy of JC Whitless, who asked the seller "How many dead prostitutes will fit in the trunk? I need to know if it will hold more than five, as my daily commute route has changed due to carpooling" and got the helpful, if confusingly punctuated, response: "AT LEAST 10 ,,PEOPLE." There ya go!
[eBay Motors]

10. Jeep Stroller

Though parents haven't been buying Chrysler vehicles as quickly as the company may like, they love those Jeep-branded strollers. With a reputation for toughness, the baby-moving business isn't a huge stretch for the brand. If they could get as many families into Jeep Commanders as they could into Jeep Commander Strollers the company might be in better shape. [JeepWorld]

9. Renault F1 Backgammon Set

In addition to branding special-edition cars, like the Renaultsport 197 Clio, the Renault F1 team has spread into the fast-paced world of table gaming. Made of real Formula One materials like carbon fiber, sterling silver and F1-style glass laminate, the Renault backgammon set is quite fetching. Even more impressive than the board's careful design is the set's $27,000 price.

8. Hummer Drinking Glasses

When we think about the current plight of the Hummer brand, we suddenly think we want a stiff drink. That's why we're glad HUMMER offers officially licensed drinking glasses, large enough for a few ice cubes and a few ounces of Wild Turkey. And while drinking alcohol and driving cars are two hobbies we think should be kept separate, Hummer offers them on their special branding website along with Hummer golf balls and Hummer spare-tire covers. At just $21.95, it's just the fraction of a cost of a fill-up. [Hummer Stuff]

7. Ducati Flash Drive

Why is there a Ducati Flash Drive? Because Harley doesn't think their buyers know how to use a computer. In addition to looking a lot like a Ducati bike, the flash drive achieves a 20MB read/write speed, making it the fastest consumer drive offered by SanDisk. Oh, and there's a special lanyard!

6. Mini Cooper Luggage

Automaker-branded luggage isn't unique because associating your brand with all forms of travel is an easy connection. But we have to give extra credit to Mini for their branded luggage, which is not only small but also features more than just a "Mini" emblem. The lining of the bags are in the style of a Union Jack flag, and the rolling wheels look like Mini wheels. A Cooper-esque laptop bag is also smart branding given that every other Mini owner also has a MacBook.

5. Porsche Gaming Gear

The Porsche gaming wheel is sure to capture the hearts and minds of those aspiring for a supercar when they move out of the room over their parent's garage. The shifter looks great and it's a lot closer to being auto-related than most useless Porsche-branded products.

4. Asus Lamborghini Smartphone

Any automaker can brand a phone, but props to Lamborghini for branding one killer smartphone. Quad-band GSM? Check. Tri-band WCDMA? Check. GPRS and Edge? Check. Real GPS? Check. Most Lamborghini owners won't know what any of that means, but Lamborghini has successfully positioned itself as a brand always at the extreme.

3. Bugatti Cologne

If you're willing to spend $1.3 million on a supercar, should it be that much of a stretch to spend about $2,750 on a cologne? If you can't afford a Bugatti, at the very least you can smell like one. Delivered with a special holder in a carbon fiber briefcase, the Bugatti cologne is audacious in way that only such an exclusive automaker could pull off. [YouTube]

2. Ferrari Segway

There's a risk to lending your name to a different form of transportation, but when you're Ferrari and said product is a gyroscopically controlled Ferrari Segway scooter you have a perfect gift for the Ferrari owner who can afford anything. While the Ferrari Segway doesn't go any faster and still costs $12,000, it's got that great red paint job and says to other Segway users that you're willing to go the extra mile to prove you've got money to burn.

1. NASCAR Brand Meat Snacks

If you asked the average NASCAR fan what they loved most they'd probably say "stock car racing." If you asked them the thing they loved second most was, it would probably be prepackaged meat products. Whether it's a hot dog or a burger, NASCAR meat is the ultimate non-automotive auto tie-in. And, to cap off the unparalleled achievement of finally bridging the gap between pork products and oval track racing, the marketing geniuses behind this grabbed the slogan "Taste The Excitement." It's just so...beautiful. [Taste The Excitement]

After sifting through enough PR speak to confuse even the most trained blogger, I discovered that the glasses are titanium, and that is about it. Sure, the press release may say that the "discreetly flowing design creates an interesting counterpoint to the masculine basic shape," but what the hell does that mean, really? These are pretty snazzy sunglasses, period.

The New Sunglasses Collection from Porsche Design

Bietigheim-Bissingen/Munich. Porsche Design presents a new sunglasses collection, which is distinguished by its striking shapes and sporty lines. With its sporty, simple lines, model P'8454 has an especially dynamic effect. In the process, the discretely flowing design creates an interesting counterpoint to the masculine basic shape. Made of high-tech plastic and with high-quality titanium
hinges, these sunglasses provide ideal protection for the eyes with their sporty curved front. By using these two materials, the sunglasses are very comfortable to wear, and the model can be used with correction lenses as well.

The nose-piece and lugs of model P'8456 are convincing due to the three- dimensional look resulting from the frontal titanium elements placed in the lenses. The sunglasses have a particularly high-quality effect due to the screw-free fastening of the lenses.

The two sunglasses models P'8457 and P'8458, which are both made of titanium, have a sporty and modern appearance. The reduced design of the sides means individual styling. They are attached in two pieces and taper down to a one-piece end piece. While model P'8457 has a continuous nose-piece, model P'8458 has a slightly displaced and hence more decorative nose-piece.

Porsche Design is a global luxury men's brand and is determined by engineered products. Professor Ferdinand Alexander Porsche established the Porsche Design brand in 1972, whose products are attracting consumers with their technical innovation and represent functionality and timelessness in its purest form. Porsche Design products are sold in own retail and franchise stores, shop-in-
shops, up-market department stores and exclusive specialist stores.

Toyota sues porn Web site over use of Lexus name [Freep]

Related:
The Critical Intersection Of Porn And Cars: LexusCash.com [internal]

Adult Site Threatened with Lawsuit by Toyota Motors [AVN Online via Fleshbot]

Related:
Lexus' Online Marketing Strategy [internal]

Okay, far be it from us to be anti-woman. We like chicky things. We listen to wussy-in-touch-with-our feelings punk from the mid-'80s/mid '90s. We like to go shopping with our female friends and play Queer-Eyed Straight Guy fashion-consultant. We're thoroughly of that Gen-X conflicted-boy mindset. But this article just really got our goat somehow. Typical quote from Ford's Anne Stevens: "Your vehicle should bring emotions of pleasure. You should expect fun from your vehicle experience. You should have feelings of security; feelings of confidence. You should have feelings that this is me." Okay, Anne, so why are the only cars you've built that seem to appeal to this demo are the V6 Mustang and the Explorer? And how does Dave feel about this? Just askin'.

A woman's style, personality are now expressed in cars [The Detroit News]

Related:
Mercury to Promote Milan with Random Acts of Surprise [Internal]

What does it say about a car brand when even "Jeopardy!" contestants can't place it? It says it's a non-entity (whoops, that should probably have been more jokey and metaphorical). As The Detroit News reports, contestants on a recent airing of the game show couldn't name the carmaker known for the "Aztek" and "Grand Prix." The guesses? Toyota, Mercury and Buick. That's pretty surprising, even to us cynics. Of course, if the question asked which carmaker built the Phoenix or 6000, well then...

Related:
The Buzz that Kills: Pontiac Worries About Solstice s Success [internal]

Man, did we ever see this coming. While brand erosion's been a problem for American automakers since the 1970s, their latest bout with employee pricing caused all three of the Big Two-and-a-Half to take a hit in the cred department, according to a survey by badly-branded brand researcher Branddimensions. The issues at hand? Perception that the vehicles being offered at a discount weren't of the quality of non-discounted vehicles from foreign lands.

Or maybe, once they were hired, they became suspicious of their fellow employees, felt they were doing the lion's share of the work, and then were summarily laid off with the rest of the schmoes, despite their obvious intrinsic value to the corporation. Genuinely enraged, they've now vowed never again to buy another vehicle from said company again now that they've seen how it's run from the inside. That's just a theory, though.

DCX's Chrysler division fared the best of the three, which isn't surprising, given that the LX cars have been a huge hit and they weren't trying to unload end-of-cycle SUVs in the midst of a gas crunch. Plus, although we're worried that it's reached the saturation point, "Hemi" has a buzz with the general public that "small block" and "modular V8" just can't match.

Branding Backfire [Forbes]

Related:
The Hemi Hits the Million Mark [Internal]