• by Karl Greenberg , August 13, 2009

Toyota and Ford have moved into marketing spaces that were held, until recently, by General Motors. Toyota today became the Official Vehicle of the Indianapolis Colts for the 2009-10 football season.

The marketing space opened up when founding partner and 25-year sponsor GM's Chevrolet division departed the stadium after the automaker went into bankruptcy protection. James Allen Insurance Brokers, a new Colts sponsor, signed a three-year deal. Toyota's deal is reportedly for five years.

General Motors' financial problems also ended its relationship with the National Hot Rod Association (NHRA). Ford last week inked a multi-year deal to take over as "official car and truck of the NHRA." The drag-racing organization said changes include making all official vehicles Fords. Ford cars and trucks will also serve as support vehicles for NHRA trackside.

Ford has been a sponsor of teams like John Force Racing, and last year had Ford Blue Box crash sensors on race cars and safety initiatives. Brian Wolfe, director, Ford North America Motorsports, said the national deal allows broader opportunities. "We see this as a very good business proposition in terms of being able to actively reach out at-track and online to the NHRA fan base in ways that we haven't been able to do in recent years," he said in a release. There will also be NHRA programs at Ford dealerships and NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series events.

Toyota's deal with the Colts aligns with the company's production footprint. The company has had production facilities in the Hoosier state since the mid 1990s. The Torrance, Calif., automaker says it will begin building its Highlander at the Gibson County plant this year. The plant now assembles the Toyota Sienna minivan and Sequoia large SUV. At the company's Lafayette, Indiana plant, Toyota makes the Camry sedan.

Mike Rocco, general manager of Toyota's Chicago region, said the sponsorship is an opportunity to promote both Toyota cars and trucks and Toyota's economic contributions to the state from manufacturing operations.

In other sports, Toyota shares marketing space with Kia around the NBA. The former inked a multi-year deal with the league in 2005, while Kia became official automotive sponsor last year.