Automakers Turn to Blogs To Communicate and Promote

Washington DC August 23, 2007; The AIADA newsletter reported that when Al Gore III was arrested last month after being stopped for speeding in his Prius, one of the blogs buzzing about the topic came from an unexpected source: Toyota Motor Corp.

The occasion offered the normally buttoned-down Japanese automaker an unprecedented opportunity to plug its best-selling hybrid. "For those who thought buying a Prius meant giving up a chance to hit the open road and let it all hang out, it seems Al Gore III has proven you wrong," company official Bruce Ertmann wrote in the Toyota web log, or blog.

According to the Detroit News, automakers are taking to company blogs to put their spin on news stories or reviews, tout their products, and tweak the boastful claims of their competitors.

"It's car talk that's very inexpensive," said Michael Bernacchi, a professor of marketing at the University of Detroit Mercy. Toyota's blog has been busy promoting the Tundra and the carmaker's green vehicles.