Tips for Effectively Advertising Your Used Car

"It Pays to Advertise" may have been a farce on Broadway, but it's no joke where selling your used car is concerned. You'll want to stage your advertisement just right to put the vehicle in the best possible light if you want a quick sale. Follow the link below and consider our tips for placing an effective ad, such as using plenty of photos from all different angles, highlighting the attributes you've most enjoyed and being specific in your descriptions.

Placing an Effective Ad

Mercedes-Benz Lets You Light Up Your Hood Ornament

Mercedes-Benz's new dealer-installed illuminated logo option kind of looks like the glowing arc reactor in Iron Man's chest — though anyone who's seen the blockbuster films knows Tony Stark's luxury brand of choice is Audi. Still, it's not Robert Downey Jr. who stars in Mercedes-Benz's new commercial, but the automaker's three-pointed star itself, now illuminated with LED and light-tube technology to further punctuate the point, just in case the standard iconic logo wasn’t enough for luxury shoppers.

The video ad, posted to YouTube on Wednesday, features a photographic retrospective of Mercedes models through the decades that have borne the three-pointed star; it's accompanied by a sweeping orchestral score. The ad tempts viewers with the taglines, "Mercedes-Benz has offered the star for years … now we even make it shine," and "Discover the Illuminated Star."

Sorry, Spocks; Mercedes-Benz CLS550 Handles Golf Clubs Just Fine

By now you, and 1.8 million other people, have seen the humorous Audi S7 commercial on YouTube featuring past and present "Star Trek" Spock actors Leonard Nimoy and Zachary Quinto.

It's a great ad that cleverly shows the rivalry between automakers. But we've got a problem with the depiction of poor Leonard Nimoy not being able to fit his clubs in the CLS' trunk.

Why?

Well, because we fit a set of clubs in there just fine. Actually, it was two sets and an overnight bag.

Have You Seen Cars.com's Latest Drama-Deficient Commercials?

If you watched Super Bowl XLVII last month — as more than 108 million people did — you likely caught Cars.com's ad in which a couple seeking a bit of drama in their car-buying experience inadvertently find themselves in possession of a wolf pup much to the toothy chagrin of its protective mother.

That was just the first in a series of unfortunate events for characters in Cars.com's similarly humorous follow-up spots advertising its "All Drive. No Drama." campaign. Each of the three new TV ads finds drama-coveting characters getting what they asked for: a mother and father being overly honest with their daughter in the face of sibling rivalry; a rebellious corporate employee refusing to be a yes-man in a board meeting; and a husband and wife making a (literally) pregnant pause in their conversation with a car salesman.

Check out all three spots below.

How The Automakers Scored in Super Bowl XLVII

Wondering which of the automakers that advertised in Super Bowl XLVII got the biggest bang from their buck, whether it was from social buzz (people tweeting or posting on Facebook) or through driving consumers to Cars.com to search for their cars and trucks?

Well, we've got answers for you. The winner on the buzz front was Ram, whose "Farmer" ad featuring the voice of the late radio great Paul Harvey drew lots of accolades. As for driving consumer action, Toyota took home the trophy. Check out our infographic below for all the details. Click on it for a larger version.

Grading Super Bowl XLVII's Car Commercials

Every year it's easy to say that the Super Bowl commercials aired between plays often get more attention than the action on the field. As in previous years, we grade the commercials that automakers have spent millions of dollars on to woo car shoppers. Check out our scores and the full videos below, and if you haven't seen it already, Cars.com had a spot in the big game, too.

Watch Cars.com's Super Bowl XLVll Commercial

In our latest Super Bowl commercial, Cars.com shows there's "No Drama" when using our website for online car shopping. If you missed the ad, you can watch it on your computer, smartphone, tablet, mini-tablet — what have you.

This is the first spot in a new campaign that shines a spotlight on Cars.com's approach to drama-free car shopping online no matter which device you've got handy.

Check out the commercial below.

Super Bowl Ad Announces Price of 2014 Mercedes-Benz CLA-Class

According to a Mercedes-Benz ad running Sunday during Super Bowl XLVII, you won't have to make a deal with the devil to own a luxury vehicle and enjoy all of the "seductive" side effects that come with it. The 2014 Mercedes-Benz CLA-Class — the automaker's first front-wheel-drive compact sedan — will start at $29,900 when it hits dealerships in September (no word yet on the destination charge), according to the TV spot. The CLA-Class starts higher than many competitors, including the 2013 Audi A3 ($28,165), 2013 Acura ILX ($26,795) and 2013 Buick Verano ($23,965). All competitor prices include destination.

Honda Previews New Civic TV Spot Ahead of Rose Bowl

Honda has given fans of its Civic compact a sneak preview of the new advertising coming with the redesigned 2013 model, slated to debut next week during the Rose Bowl game on Jan. 1.

2013 Honda Civic Photo Gallery

The minute-long YouTube spot, entitled "Things Can Always be Better" shows a host of innovative technologies and products, culminating with the new Civic hybrid, sedan and two-door "Si" — interestingly not calling it the Civic coupe. We've embedded the full spot below.

Daily News Briefs: July 30, 2012

The rodents return: Kia will launch another iteration of its well-received hamster ads, which have appeared in everything from urban centers to robot wars, to shill the popular Soul hatchback. Automotive News cited Korean executives last week saying the automaker will issue a redesigned Soul next year, though it's unclear whether the U.S. will immediately get it. The hamsters will be back, Automotive News reports, but originally, they weren't a sure thing. Marketing chief Michael Sprague told the newspaper that other potential concepts for the ad campaign included boars with backpacks. It's hard to see us grunting much approval, so we're glad Kia went with the furry guys.

In other news: