auto posts

The AOL Autos team met with 50 students yesterday at the College for Creative Studies in Detroit to kick off the Technology of the Year Award Design Challenge (http://autos.aol.com/award). CCS was selected as the exclusive partner by AOL Autos VP and General Manager, Chris Eschenburg. These students are tasked with creating the physical award that will be presented to the winner at the 2013 Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas.

This award will represent both the technology and automotive nature of the competition and should represent quality and expertise in auto technology, placing it easily into a position highly respected and referenced alongside other awards in the automotive field.

The students at CCS are made up of experts in several trades: pottery, glass blowing, fabrics, metals, woodworking and more. The AOL Autos team will be revisiting the students on March 15^th to review initial designs, and then the real fun begins. Students will then be provided the supplies and tools they need to make the pieces come to life.

The students have participated in similar design competitions, including the 2009 Chrysler Supplier Pentastar Award, Ford's Model T Design Competition and the 2012 Auto Flow theme creative. We are anxious to see what impressive pieces they come up with!

The @AOLAutos Team Recruits Students to Design New Award aol.it/xvPU0T

- AOL PR (@AOLPR) February 17, 2012

We're continuing to wrap up 2011 by taking a look at the big trends that affected marketers and advertisers this year. The AOL Advertising Blog explores what was big in 2011 for consumers and advertisers in different industries.


2011 was certainly an eventful year for the Finance industry. There was fee frenzy, record volatility on Wall Street and a movement to 'Occupy' anything and everything. Before we turn the page to 2012, here's a quick look at the most important sub-category trends that we saw in Finance this year including brokers, banks, insurance, credit cards and taxes. To learn more about these trends click here.

In 2011, shoppers got social, used multiple channels, and sought out a good deal. Brands listened to shoppers and responded with some innovative marketing efforts! Find out why online coupon usage was up and view the other stats supporting these trends.

In 2011 we also saw the Auto industry back on the road to recovery with most expecting the Seasonally Adjusted Annual Rate (SAAR) to be between 12.5M-12.8M units, well above the low of 9.32M in February 2009. Production issues due to Japan's earthquake and continued economic uncertainty have no doubt impacted the industry, making this year's projections even more remarkable. Find out why consumers looked to mobile, video and social solutions when choosing a car here.

In 2011, consumers embraced wireless as never before. According to the CTIA, there are now more wireless subscriber connections than there are people in the United States. At the same time, more and more consumers are migrating to smartphones – with Nielsen reporting that smartphones now represent 44% of the market. Learn more about the wireless revolution here.