The controversial Jeep deer hunting ad gets another mention, DaimlerChrysler is testing a hybrid Liberty, and an interesting read about DaimlerChrysler's near-term future.

We've got a bunch of tidbits on a few topics that we've covered in the past few months, but that have reappeared in the mainstream press over the past few days.

To begin with, remember the controversial Jeep deer hunting ad that we mentioned back in January? (registered users can click here and here to see the articles) A couple of days ago, Chrysler Group president and chief executive Dieter Zetsche was speaking in front of a marketing organization and Yahoo! News reported on the event:

Zetsche cited some recent Chrysler television ads that have stirred public ire.

One of them, for the Jeep Grand Cherokee, shows a man driving through the woods with two deer strapped to the vehicle. Hunters marvel at his luck.

The driver then moves into a no-hunting zone and releases the two live deer.

Zetsche said the ad was pulled after hunters protested. But he said the automaker won praise from animal rights groups.

In another ad, for the Chrysler Concorde, a daughter learns that she and her sister were named for the places in which they were conceived. Her sister's name — Concorde. Zetsche said the ad was altered for some markets after people complained about the content.

"As a result of our recent experiences, we have become perhaps even more sensitive to controversial issues," Zetsche said.

But he said those examples shouldn't deter aggressive, creative marketing.

It looks like we'll be seeing more controversial ads from DaimlerChrysler in the future!

In another article we posted in January, we let you know that DaimlerChrysler was looking into a gasoline-electric hybrid Jeep Liberty. DaimlerChrysler recently posted a press release that mentioned this vehicle:

The Chrysler Group is testing other hybrid-powered vehicles -- Chrysler Sebring, Dodge Durango, and Jeep Liberty -- to determine the technical and marketing feasibility of bringing them to market. The Liberty, Sebring and Durango hybrid-electric vehicles feature a Through-The-Road system that utilizes a rear-mounted electric motor to provide additional power to the rear wheels, allowing for a smaller gasoline engine to power the front wheels. This system results in a 20-30% improvement in fuel efficiency, without loss of performance, and the benefit of all-wheel drive.

Finally, The New York Times recently published an interested read about the near-term future of DaimlerChrysler. This well-written article covers everything from Kirk Kerkorian's (at one time, Chrysler's largest shareholder) lawsuit again Daimler for what "contending that it misrepresented the combination as a 'merger of equals' when it was really a takeover" to some vehicles that will be released in the next year that the company is betting with bring some much needed market share back to the company. Check out the entire article on Yahoo! News or on The New York Times Web site.