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.August 13, 2003
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This Week:

• H2RV - Ford Hydrogen Hybrid Research Vehicle

• Scion Solutions Attracts Young Customers in First Two Months of Vehicle Sales

• Porsche(R) 911(R) Celebrates its 40th Anniversary With Commemorative Model

• Great praise in the American media for the Touareg

• Motors In Wheel Give GM 'Jump' On Advanced Technology Vehicles

• BMW Group Still on Growth Course With New Models

• Nissan Breaks Stereotypes with Launch of 2004 Quest Advertising 

• American Honda Recognizes Top Suppliers for 2003

• Valeo to announce contracts and technical innovations of "Domains" technology strategy at IAA 2003

• TRW Automotive Introduces New Smart Airbag and Tire Pressure Monitoring Systems

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Nissan Breaks Stereotypes with Launch of 2004 Quest Advertising 

350Z Roadster and Sentra Get New Campaigns 

Nissan Quest
 

NEW YORK - It's not your mother's minivan. As it launches advertising for the all-new 2004 Quest today, Nissan North America, Inc., (NNA) is breaking from the traditional "family mobile" ad formula, and instead reversing the long-held stereotypes about minivans and their drivers. In addition to the distinctive Quest ads, Nissan is introducing new campaigns for the all-new 350Z Roadster and the 2004 Sentra. The campaigns all break today on network and network cable. "We needed a bold and new approach to the fairly boring and predictable minivan category," said Kim McCullough, senior manager, Nissan Marketing. "We feel this new work is a more natural fit when talking to confident, fun-loving and intelligent women across the country. We built the Quest for them and want to make sure our messages connect with them emotionally."

QUEST ADVERTISING

Today's debut of the Quest ads will feature three spots titled "Girls night out," "Moms have changed - Features" and "Moms have changed - Loading." Advertising has been created by Nissan's agency, TBWA\Chiat\Day, based in Playa del Ray, California.

The spot "Girls night out" showcases the Quest as an innovative and stylish minivan that a group of female friends take out for a night on the town while their husbands stay home and watch the kids. The spot "Moms have changed - Features" demonstrates that the Quest is a different kind of minivan set in an untypical minivan situation - a woman driving to an exercise class. It also showcases the Quest's unique Skyview Roof, innovative center console, automated sliding-side and rear-lift doors and its second and third-row foldaway seats.

Lastly, the spot "Moms have changed - Loading" shows the features of the Quest for moms who lead rich and full lives by showing various moms loading different items (e.g., a surfboard, golf clubs, a guitar and saddles) important to them into the Quest. Nissan will launch one more Quest spot in October.

350Z ROADSTER ADVERTISING

In addition to the launch of the new Quest advertising, Nissan will introduce a new work for the highly anticipated Z Roadster, which arrives in dealerships this month. The two commercials for the Z Roadster, "Slice of Heaven" and "Hell/Heaven," will use a series of black-and-white images to capture the thrill, speed and energy of owning a Z Roadster, building on the creative used to launch the 2003 350Z.

In "Slice," after a montage of high-performance images under a dark and ominous sky, the Z Roadster comes to a stop, the sky opens up, a beam of light pierces the clouds and highlights the car, when the words "A little slice of heaven" appear on the screen.

The "Hell/Heaven" spot again shows a number of images showing the car muscling through turns and ripping around corners, when on the screen appears "Goes like Hell." That's followed by more handling and performance images, with a closing line of "Feels like Heaven," and a final wide shot of the Z Roadster under a beautiful, big sky.

SENTRA ADVERTISING

Photos: Nissan

Positioning Sentra as "bringing fun to any journey," Nissan will begin airing new spots for its popular compact sedan. With two new commercials debuting today, Nissan is looking to inject a new sense of fun and youthfulness around the Sentra.

The new spots are titled "Water Fight" and "Sprinter." The "Water Fight" ad, celebrating summer-time fun, depicts four young men in their 20s getting out of their Sentra for a water balloon fight, then driving off. "Sprinter" shows another set of friends on a road trip in their Sentra. While one passenger "takes a break" behind a tree, the other three friends take off in the Sentra, leaving the fourth friend to give chase. Both spots are designed to communicate that the Sentra is a fun and youthful car that offers casual fun with a practical foundation.

"These new Nissan products continue to demonstrate our passion for design, performance, and innovation. They're clearly designed and engineered to provide a distinctive, emotional driving experience," said Steve Wilhite, vice president, Nissan Marketing.

"The Quest challenges minivan convention with breakthrough styling, versatility, functionality and performance, while the Z Roadster is an open-air extension of the heart and soul of the Nissan brand.

Nissan's brand resurgence will continue to be fueled by numerous new products that will continue to launch this year and next. The first of those products, launched in mid August, 2002, was the new-generation Z - a car that redefines the affordable sports car market much like the first Z did when it arrived on U.S. shores in 1969. Quick to follow in December, Nissan launched the all-new Murano, a crossover SUV that blends high performance with exceptional versatility. Most recently, in March of this year, Nissan introduced the 6th generation of its Maxima, a true 4-door sports car that combines unmatched performance from the award-winning VQ engine with expressive sports styling and bold design innovations. These introductions will be followed in 2003 by Nissan's first-ever full-size truck and sport-utility vehicle, the Titan and Pathfinder Armada, respectively.

(August 11, 2003)