XM Satellite Radio and auto-enthusiast magazine publisher Primedia are kicking off the "Coolest Car Challenge" starting today at XMCoolestCar.com.

This contest puts 64 cars, ranging from the Ferrari 612 to the Toyota Prius, head-to-head in a tournament-style bracket. Contestants are asked to pick the best of the bunch (and all the cars available, of course, are XM equipped). The 'challenge' is to have your selections match up with the selections by the Editors at Primedia.

Primedia publishes some of the top auto-enthusiast magazines like Motor Trend, Automobile, Sport Compact Car, Hot Rod, etc.

Match the Primedia selections, pick for pick, and you could win $10,000 towards the purchase of an XM Coolest Car (winner will be announced on October 30th).

Along with sponsoring the contest, XM is buying about eight pages total in Motor Trend and Automobile, spread out from the September through November issues. It’s the first print buy in those titles in more than a year.

I think the concept of associating the XM brand with "cool cars" is a good one, but the execution on the website could be a little better. The copy is too self-loving (from both XM's and Primedia's side) and comes across as contrived. So you're reminded that this is all advertising, and it loses the fun of the concept. Tone it down a bit, and you're golden.

Criticism aside, auto-enthusiasts are definitely the right target market to go after though. Satellite radio needs to be associated with other "must have" features in the vehicle, and the best way to do this is to convert the influentials into believers.

[MediaWeek]