Automotive News Canada - November 2019 - v2 - 26

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26
11.19

* N O V E M B E R 2 019

LETTING LOOSE A BIT ON THE WONDERFUL WORLD OF AUTOMOTIVE

Apple drops emoji of a Jeep that isn't a Jeep
FCA hails the end of the
'imposter' for the latest
iOS update from the
computer giant

JEEP, WHICH FIERCELY PROTECTS
its trademarked name, is celebrating the
elimination of an emoji that it says falsely represented its rugged vehicles.
Until Apple's most recent iOS update,
iPhone users typing the word "Jeep" in a
text would see an auto-populated emoji of
a boxy blue car.
That did not sit well with the brand,
which referred to the emoji as an
"imposter Jeep." But with the Apple
update, the connection between "Jeep"

Jeep has launched a tongue-in-cheek
campaign to celebrate Apple's latest
iOS update, which removes 'Jeep' from
its emoji search. P H O T O : J E E P

and the emoji has been removed; it still
appears when generic phrases such
as "SUV," "car" and "automobile" are
typed.
Jeep is now seizing on the victory with
a lighthearted social-media campaign by
Huge Detroit called "#ThisIsNotJeep."

On its Twitter and Instagram channels,
the brand is imagining the frustration of
Jeep enthusiasts when the pesky rogue
emoji appeared.
Jeep apparently did not formally lobby
Apple to be de-linked from the emoji.
"The Jeep brand is opposed to this
emoji being connected with its name and
we're happy the association has been
removed from the latest iOS update,"
Olivier Francois, chief marketing officer
of Fiat Chrysler Automobiles, said in a
statement.
"We're good-naturedly celebrating its
demise with our owners and fans through
this social-media campaign, while firmly
making it known that any SUV that does
not carry the Jeep brand name cannot
pass itself off as one of our vehicles."
- ANC

SAY
SAYWHAT?

Breathtakingly
stupid.

APMA President Flavio Volpe
in a story on automotivenews.ca
describing U.S. President Donald
Trump's idea that the
United States
should be able
to unilaterally
administer the
production rules
for automakers.

Mysterious fob

Lexus treads
into fashion
Customers can wear
the brand they drive

SHOES. THEY'RE FOR YOUR
feet and your vehicle's brakes,
so it only makes sense that
Canadians can now buy footwear from a luxury automaker, right?
Lexus Canada in October
unveiled the exclusive limited-edition sneaker collaboration with renowned
Canadian menswear designer
Christopher Bates.
The automaker says the
men's and women's shoes were
inspired by the Lexus UX compact utility vehicle. For $290
plus tax, customers can order
the footwear through the Lexus
Boutique at dealerships across
the country.
The shoes borrow the Lexus
"Circuit Red" colour, perforated upholstery materials
and signature black and white
colouring from the Lexus F
Sport models. Other design
inspiration includes the use of
the side profile and signature
Lexus spindle grille and a racing stripe down the centre of
the shoe's tongue.
Bates is fresh off being
named the Canadian Arts
and Fashion Awards (CAFAs)
Menswear Designer of the
Year. He redesigned the
Air Canada uniforms and
announced other brand collaborations with Harry Rosen and
MTV. - ANC

'dead zone'
Experts probe phenomenon where
vehicles won't start and alarms
go off for no apparent reason
THE TOWN OF AMHERSTBURG, ONT., SOUTH OF
Windsor, is home to a Bermuda Triangle of sorts when it
comes to motorized vehicles.
According to the Windsor Star newspaper, at a parking lot near a strip mall there is a "dead zone" for key fobs
and keyless ignitions. And at the same time, car alarms
will sound for no real reason, and are not easy to turn off.
The mysterious phenomenon has led people - who
don't know that key fobs actually hide a hard-copy key -

10%

THIS NUMBER

LUXURY TAX

The additional federal
tariff that would be added
to new vehicles priced
above $100,000, if the
Liberal government sticks
to its election platform
and implements the tax.
That means the buyer
of a $150,000 vehicle in
B.C., where a 20 per cent
provincial luxury tax already
exists as well as the GST,
would have to pay $52,500
in tax (35 per cent).

to climb through windows to enter their vehicles. Others
panic when they can't stop their vehicle's, well, panic
alarm. And some have pressed their key fob to the pushstart button (for the shortest possible signal distance) to
start their vehicle.
Amherstburg Coun. Don McArthur told the Star the
problem has to do with radio frequencies causing interference.
McArthur said people in the area should consider
whether they've done something differently recently that
involves a radio frequency.
"There's probably an innocent explanation," he told
the publication. "The sooner you can find it the better."
Federal officials have launched an investigation,
he said. - ANC

Unifor campaign was great, but ...
GM still plans
to stop building
vehicles at Oshawa
Assembly

THE COMMUNICATIONS
team of Unifor has been honoured for its work on the
#SaveOshawaGM campaign.
It took home Canada Silver
Leaf Awards in two categories at the International
Association of Business
Communicators annual conference in late October.
Unifor National President
Jerry Dias, as well as Natalie
Clancy, Unifor's director of

communications, Kathleen
O'Keefe, Unifor National
Representative, and Scott
Doherty, the executive assistant to the national president, won for best media relations along with strategic consultant Kathleen Monk and
Navigator, an agency hired to
assist with the campaign. The
team also won for best digi-

tal-channel campaign.
According to the union,
more than 21 million
Canadians saw or heard the
campaign's ads in print, on
radio or online an average of
three times. In Detroit, where
the union took out full-page
ads in major daily newspapers, 500,000 people saw or
heard the campaign's ads an
average of four times.
General Motors will cease
vehicle assembly in Oshawa
at the end of the year, putting
about 2,300 people out of work,
however the automaker will
build a test track there and
keep about 300 people working
at a stamping operation in the
factory. - ANC

http://www.automotivenews.ca

Automotive News Canada - November 2019 - v2

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