Bill Pierre Ford

Ford Motor Co. has made progress with its “Drive one” advertising campaign since its launch 18 months ago by persuading some U.S. shoppers—sometimes at the expense of its bailed-out competitors—to buy its vehicles based on improvements in quality, fuel economy and safety.

But Ford officials admit they have made fewer gains persuading would-be buyers that they will feel clever and savvy if they drive off in a Ford—the kind of emotional purchase-triggers that could outweigh the more rational ones.

Starting Monday, Ford is launching a new chapter of its “Drive one” campaign, featuring 15-second spots using real customers talking about the “cool” features of their new Fords. It comes as the car maker plans to boost its fourth-quarter ad budget 10% from a year ago.

“It’s all about what real customers are saying,” said Matt VanDyke, Ford’s director of marketing communications. Ford will air 30 to 40 spots over the next 26 weeks that have a grainy, home-video feel. Mr. VanDyke said they are meant to showcase owners’ testimonials as “believable, honest and authentic.”

“Drive one” has given Ford a consistent theme after years of changing slogans as often as once a year. But the company still needs to find ways to lure import buyers.

At the same time, Ford’s competitors are boosting their ad presence, convinced that the last three months of the year could mark the beginning of a recovery in the car industry.

Slammed by declining sales and disappearing profits, Toyota Motor Co. is preparing a $1 billion marketing effort to prime the U.S. market in the quarter. The world’s largest auto maker needs to turn around its North American business after acknowledging it expects to report a loss in its current fiscal year, which would be its second annual deficit in a row.

The $1 billion plan is 30% to 40% more than Toyota typically spends in the quarter.

Ford’s recent challenge has been to entice buyers to reconsider the brand, a problem Toyota doesn’t face. But as the industry suffered its worst slump in a quarter century and General Motors Co. and Chrysler Group LLC reorganized in bankruptcy aided by government cash, Ford’s message over the past year has also been tailored to remind Americans the car company shunned a bailout.

In a variety of venues from public speeches to Internet postings, Ford began to preach the message that “Ford is different”—a not-too-subtle jab at its cross-town competitors.

But Jim Farley, Ford’s global marketing chief, insisted at the Frankfurt motor show last month that the company’s “Drive one” slogan remains paramount.

Recently, the Dearborn, Mich., auto maker has provided Ford cars and trucks to school fund raisers, hoping to multiply the power of the test-drive experience to several hundred people at each event.

This fall’s lighthearted TV campaign centers on Ford owners who gush about a particular feature—from in-car ambient lighting offered in different hues to keyless entry devices—that makes them fans. The tag line at the end emphasizes the point.

In one, the line is “Ford Flex, wear skinny jeans in one” to highlight one owner who didn’t have to keep bulky keys in his tight pockets.

“They weren’t told that there was a commercial,” said Toby Barlow, chief creative officer at Team Detroit, Ford’s joint venture with WPP’s Detroit-based ad agencies, adding that those appearing granted permission after the filming.

According to Ford’s research, consumers often dismissed Ford vehicles out of hand. But numbers from the second quarter show favorable opinion of the Ford brand has increased by 17% from its low point last year.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has opened an investigation into whether there is a dangerous rust problem with the frames on about 218,000 Toyota Tundra pickups from the 2000-1 model years.

The agency said the investigation was prompted by five complaints from consumers who say brake lines were broken as the result of a rust problem with the frame. There were also 15 complaints that “the under body mounted spare tire separated from the rear cross member.”

Steve McNally of York, Me., said he had to sell his 2000 Tundra because the rust was so bad it couldn’t pass the state safety inspection. In a complaint filed on the Web site of the Center for Auto Safety, he said he was driving on Interstate 95 when “without warning, the back end of the truck suddenly lifted up off the pavement while traveling at 65 m.p.h. When I regained control of the vehicle, I looked into the rear-view mirror to see a tire bouncing erratically across several lanes of northbound traffic. Cars were braking and swerving to avoid a collision.”

The investigation is a preliminary evaluation. If the investigators find additional reason for concern the issue would be upgraded to an engineering analysis and could lead to a recall. If no reason for a safety concern is found, it would be ended without further action.

Meanwhile, a review of complaints at the N.H.T.S.A. Web site found no evidence of a problem with rusting frames for some Tundra competitors, the 2000-1 Ford F-150, Chevrolet Silverado 1500 and Dodge Ram 1500.

This could be Toyota’s second major problem with frames. Last year, the automaker announced it would handle a rusting frame problem on about 813,000 1995-2000 Tacomas by extending the warranty to 15 years and unlimited mileage. The automaker said it would buy back rusted-out Tacomas for 1.5 times the suggested retail price for a vehicle in excellent condition as calculated by Kelley Blue Book.

• After a query from N.H.T.S.A., Audi is expanding an earlier recall. It is recalling about 10,200 of its 2006-10 A3 quattro and 2008-10 TT quattro and TT Roadster quattro. The problem is that a fuel-tank ventilation valve may not stay closed during “dynamic driving maneuvers.” This could result in “vehicle jerking” or in the worse case a fuel leak and fire, the automaker said.

Last March, Volkswagen said it would recall about 5,000 R32s for the same problem. Then, records show, late in July N.H.T.S.A. asked the automaker why vehicles sold by Audi with similar systems were not being recalled. In a response, Audi said it then conducted tests and determined “that in rare circumstances” some Audis could also have the problem, so it would recall the additional vehicles.

• The agency has opened an investigation into whether there is a defect with front seat belts on almost 23,500 2004 Saab 9-3s. Investigators said they have had five complaints of seat-belt retractors breaking. “The common scenario involves the driver hearing a noise and the belt suddenly losing tension,” the agency said. In May 2004, Saab recalled about 25,000 of its 2003 9-3s to replace the front seat belts for a similar problem. Only a portion of the 2004 models were recalled.

• Triumph Motorcycles is recalling about 2,800 of its 2005-9 Sprint ST 1050. The company told the agency that some motorcycles may have “a fracture of the rear suspension drag link assembly located at the rear of the machine beneath the single rear suspension unit.”