Best in Shanghai Auto Show: Hebei Zhongxing's "Libyan Model" pickup truck, as used by rebels flic.kr/p/eczWLZ

— Pete Sweeney (@petesweeneypro) April 22, 2013

The Shanghai Auto Show is well on its way, with exciting announcements and reveals rolling in, but already it's hard to imagine any attendee out-crazying China's Hebei Zhongxing Automobile Co. Ltd or "ZX Auto."

For starters, the automaker presented a "Libyan Model" of its Grand Tiger truck, complete with rear heavy weapons mount, Arabic stenciling and an accompanying photo gallery showing the model in action against Muammar Gaddafi. That was just the beginning.

A Taiwan-mainland joint venture, ZX Auto has manufactured SUVs and light trucks for the last decade, largely aiming its 100,00-plus-a-year output at the export market. While the brand has sought entry to developed nations, ZX's customers have largely been developing economies in South America, Africa and the Middle East. In 2011, several thousand ZX trucks found their way into the hands of the Libyan rebels who outfitted them with all manners of combat equipment from rocket launchers to heavy machine guns.Continue reading...

Volvo owners always knew they were different from other consumers. Now, the brand is launching a new, integrated advertising campaign in the US that explicitly appeals to the non-materialistic, minimalist ethos which differentiates Volvo aficionados from buyers of other luxury and near-luxury brands.

In the process, Volvo brand stewards hope to finally begin turning around the sales of a franchise whose US results peaked a decade ago, when the company was owned by Ford, and have kept on sliding over the last few years as Ford lost interest and then, in 2010, sold Volvo to Geely, a large Chinese automaker, for $1.5 billion.

Volvo owners' "interpretation of luxury is different but very real," Tassos Panas, vice president of marketing and product planning for Volvo of North America, told brandchannel. "They're more into life's experiences, and more into a Scandinavian simple design [of vehicles] versus a lot of clutter. They are very much luxury customers and love luxury products, but they don't feel a need to impress others."Continue reading...

Boeing faces looming strike vote following Dreamliner tumult.

GE seeks inventions via social campaign.

Burberry lauded for London Fashion Week digital experience.

Amazon acts on controversy over German TV show about its workers.

Audi blocks use of GQ3 vehicle name by Qoros of China.

BP faces next bout of Gulf spill liability.

Cracker Barrel can't shake off activist shareholder.

Danone cuts 900 jobs in Europe.

Ferrari plans to price new supercar starting at 1 million euros.Continue reading...

China is the second latest economy in the world, every significant brand's future is impacted by its growth (or collapse!); but who's got the time?! Enjoy these China bites that will make you look like a keen China branding observer. Today's round-up: Lenovo ousts HP, Diageo becomes Diabaijiu, auto downshift, Looper's China product placement, mocking the iPhone 5 and more.Continue reading...

Does anyone remember Linsanity? The media melee last spring engulfed NBA fans in NYC and beyond when an unknown player and Harvard grad of Taiwanese parents rocketed to stardom with the New York Knicks. The term "Linsanity" came to describe the Jeremy Lin phenomenon. Brands, sensing an opportunity to tap into the China market via the NBA's new Asian sensation, rushed to cash in on Lin. One of those brands was Volvo. 

Volvo? Yes, Volvo. Now, Lin's first Volvo commercial for the China market has finally been released. While Volvo is trying to appeal to well-heeled Chinese consumers about their aspirations versus the status quo, it's less than Linspiring.Continue reading...

Arnold Palmer re-brands for a generation who never knew the golfing legend.

Audiovox rebrands to Voxx International.

BlackBerry-maker RIM warns about profit outlook.

BMW and Mercedes-Benz race to the wire for 2011 luxury-sales crown in U.S.

Boeing takes its Dreamliner on a "world tour."

Chick-fil-A spat with t-shirt maker hits the New York Times.

Corona brings beach experience to London.Continue reading...

After more than two years of epic travails, of ups and downs worthy of a journey over Scandinavian mountain peaks, Saab may finally have a future again.

Chinese firms Pang Da Automobile Trade Co. and Zhejiang Youngman Lotus Automobile Co. agreed to buy Saab on Friday for 142 million euros (almost US$200M), just hours before a Swedish court was set to rule on attempts to move the company toward liquidation.

The two Chinese companies had been extending financial lifelines to Saab for a while. Recently, Saab CEO Victor Muller also got some help from an American firm, North Street capital, as the Dutch entrepreneur and owner of Spyker cars continued to grope for a long-term solution to Saab's financial nightmare. Suppliers began cutting off credit to Saab in March, and its main factory in Trollhatten, Sweden, hasn't produced a car since spring.Continue reading...

Netflix abruptly abandons plans to rent DVDs and kills Qwikster brand before it launches.

Disney CEO Bob Iger announces he will step down in 2015.

American Apparel finds new fans in Europe.

Apple iPhone pre-sale orders sell out, while overall iPhone sales may not be so rosy.

Chrysler plans to pare minivan offerings as part of brand rationalization and product-portfolio streamlining  as the company winds up talks with UAW.

Conde Nast to develop video and online content.Continue reading...