Monkey SEMA, monkey do

November 13, 2005 - By John LeBlanc

Four-out-of-five plastic surgeons agree: You should drive a Jag Canadians are just seeing the print ads now, but Jaguar launched a new global ad campaign in October. "The ‘Gorgeous’ campaign perfectly captures our trademarks of style, power, luxury and performance", commented Jaguar Cars' Managing Director Bibiana Boerio. The campaign will be progressively rolled-out worldwide, with advertising in television, print and electronic media, depending on market. The first executions of the new campaign are appearing in Europe and North America, the largest markets for Jaguar.

Arrr Billy, have you ever seen 20 inch dubs on a Passat before? Despite decades of customized Bugs, Volkswagen made its inaugural appearance at the Specialty Equipment Market Association (SEMA) show, held in Las Vegas, Nevada, last week. A trifecta of factory-tuned R-GT branded vehicles included: a 535-hp, 300 km/h "M5 killer" Passat; a 500-hp tricked out Touareg; and—potentially the tastiest morsel of the trio—a Jetta based on the new Golf R32 platform. All three represent the type of North American products that according to VW “better suit the U.S. market”.

It’s 11 o’clock, do you know where your car is? If you own a 1995 Honda Civic, 1989 Toyota Camry, or 1991 Honda Accord, according to the National Insurance Crime Board in the U.S., your car is one of the top three of the top 10 stolen vehicles in 2004. With Japanese and pickups dominating the list, here are the others: 1994 Dodge Caravan; 1994 Chevrolet full-size pickups; 1997 Ford F-150, 2003 Dodge Ram; 1990 Acura Integra; 1988 Toyota pickup; and the 1991 Nissan Sentra.

When you’re hot, you’re hot Looking to return to the glory days of the early ‘90s, rumours have Mazda showing a concept for a third sportscar to complement the RX-8 and MX-5 at the Detroit show in January. Aimed at North American buyers, the two-seater suggests a production model looking like a smaller RX-8 with a touch of MX-3. Just don’t expect a rotary engine when the car goes on sale in 2008. Automotive News states a third crossover, to be dubbed the CX-9, will be based on a stretched version of the Mazda6, to join the Tribute and the new-in-‘06 CX-7 (which itself will share its platform with the Ford Edge and Lincoln Navigator). "If the CX-7 is considered a compact crossover, then the CX-9 would be considered a medium-sized crossover," said Mazda Motor CEO Hisakazu Imaki.

Gee, I guess that Internet thing wasn’t a fad after all With history repeating itself again; Chevrolet and Chrysler are scrambling to get some competition into the showroom to battle the wildly successful Ford Mustang. It’s no secret that Chrysler is readying a Dodge Challenger concept for the Detroit show, but now Inside Line is reporting that Chevrolet plans to take the wraps off a concept Camaro at Detroit as well. Apparently, several body styles are planned for Chevrolet and Pontiac on a new rear-drive platform such as a sport sedan, a sporty coupe and a convertible.

- John LeBlanc, Publisher, www.straight-six.com

© National Post 2005. This article originally appeared in The National Post's Driving.