Using a "SWAT-style" vehicle, Jolt Soda is visiting 125 high-traffic locations in San Bernardino, Ventura, Los Angeles and Orange counties in California, distributing 150,000 full-sized samples of Jolt soda over an eight-week campaign. Jolt Patrol brand ambassadors will also pass out 2,200 retro-style Jolt branded T-shirts and branded decals. Jolt launched in 1985 as an alternative to coffee, using the slogan, "Twice the Caffeine." Last year, it transitioned itself from an added-value soft drink to an energy drink, adding taurine, guarana, ginseng and B vitamins to the formula. . Jolt has also signed on as sponsor of the Greater …

In reporting that its profit has dropped even as revenues increased, Harley-Davidson says it will trim production as a cost-cutting measure. The adjusted production rates will lead to layoffs of 370 unionized employees and 360 other workers. The cuts should limit discounts being offered on the bikes, aiding margins. In years past, small production runs often led dedicated consumers to purchase Harley cruisers for prices well above the manufacturer's suggested retail price, says Robert W. Baird analyst Craig R. Kennison. "By cutting production, Harley reduces the level of dealer inventory, helping the brand regain its scarcity value," Kennison points …

In a move to simplify its organization and create a more focused sales and marketing strategy, General Motors says it will have four sales channels instead of eight, each headed by a general manager. Saturn and Chevrolet will have their own channels. There will be a channel for the premium brands and one for Buick, Pontiac and GMC. As part of the shuffle, former Nissan North America sales and marketing chief Mark McNabb will run the premium Cadillac, Hummer and Saab brands. Having a large number of brands has forced GM to hang on to overlapping or slow-selling products, …

In time for Mother's Day, Hallmark is releasing a line of recordable cards that allow the sender to save a 10-second message on a computer chip embedded in the card, followed by a 15-second snippet of music. The cards will sell for $5.99 each. As part of the release, Hallmark is focusing on mothers deployed overseas with the military. It plans to travel to five U.S. military bases to allow the children of military personnel to record greeting cards, which Hallmark will then mail overseas for Mother's Day and Father's Day. Once the senders are satisfied with the …

Two Mr. Clean Performance Car Wash outlets built on the iconic brand of the grinning, bald, muscled genie have performed so well that Procter & Gamble plans to open several more in coming months. Mr. Clean is 50 years old this year. Both existing Mr. Clean Car Washes mix high-tech car cleaning with the latest in customer convenience. Waiting areas have wireless Internet, flat-screen TVs and a coffee bar serving P&G's Millstone brand. The National Retail Federation earlier this year gave the Mr. Clean Car Wash a national award for its design and approach. A convenience store offers …

Coca-Cola found itself on the hot seat at its annual shareholder meeting in Wilmington, Del., Wednesday as protesters chanted and waved picket signs and engaged CEO E. Neville Isdell in a rare public dialogue about China's human rights record in Tibet. Coke is of the most prominent sponsors of the Beijing Olympics. "Will you tell the [International Olympic Committee] to stop taking the Olympic torch relay into Tibet, because Tibet belongs to Tibetans?" asked one protester. Isdell--who had just described first-quarter results that rose on the strength of international sales in countries like China--stood firm. The torch relay "has …

Modifying old drugs and finding new uses for them has accounted for 27% of GlaxoSmithKline PLC's sales growth over the last seven years. The drug giant usually rolls out the modified drugs just as the originals lose patent protection and face generic competition. For example, Glaxo says the U.S. Food and Drug Administration on Wednesday approved Treximet, a drug for migraines that combines Glaxo's older drug Imitrex with an over-the-counter painkiller. Imitrex is expected to face generic competition this year. Other product-line extensions Glaxo hopes to start selling in 2008 are Lamictal XR for epilepsy and Requip XL for …