The attorneys general from 22 states have signed an $11 million settlement with a national flower delivery service and social networking site to resolve allegations that the two companies misled consumers into buying subscription services they didn't want. Florists' Transworld Delivery, Inc., its subsidiary FTD.com and online social networking company Classmates, Inc., allegedly violated state consumer protection laws by allowing third-party marketers to charge online customers who failed to expressly opt-out of a membership program.

General Motors' president Dan Ammann said the company has no plans to merge with Fiat Chrysler. Marchionne had reportedly emailed GM CEO Mary Barra with a pitch about the virtues of merging on economies of scale. Amman said GM sells about 10 million vehicles a year so it does not have a scale problem. "We are focused on executing our plan. I believe we have opportunities within GM," he said.

Sixt, the German car rental company, has appointed Grey London to drive brand awareness with its first major U.K. advertising campaign. The campaign will aim to increase awareness of the family-owned car rental company, and dramatize its brand promise, "Drive first class, pay economy."

Arby's is out-doing its 13-hour, Guinness World Record-breaking ad showing brisket being smoked, proof that Arby's really does smoke the meat in its Smokehouse Brisket LTO sandwich. The company is going to create an even longer commercial with even more smoked meat, this time in collectible DVD form: Arby's will hand out 500 six-DVD box sets featuring its original brisket commercial - plus an extra eight hours.

Chicago Transit Authority will launch a "courtesy campaign"' aimed at getting people to act civil and save. Thirteen humorous messages addressing various behaviors unbecoming a CTA rider will start appearing on unsold advertising space aboard buses and trains and at rail stations, officials said Tuesday. One says "Your maid doesn't work here. Please don't leave your crap behind. ..."'

Iconic fast casual chain Frisch's (founded before there was something called "fast casual") has been acquired by NRD Partners for $175 million. The buyer is a new private-equity fund focused on franchises; it will acquire the home of the "Big Boy" burger for $34 a share, or $175 million, the company said Friday. Frisch's CEO Craig Maier and VP marketing Karen Maier will retire, but remain franchisees of the Cincinnati-based company. (Full disclosure: eons ago this writer waited tables at Frisch's.)

After a slowish April, new car sales for May are exceeding expectations thus far this despite the slow tempo of economic growth in the U.S. "The industry continues to outperform prior-year levels with respect to retail sales and transaction prices," said John Humphrey, senior vice president of the global automotive practice at J.D. Power.

YouTube is launching a new advertising format, TrueView for Shopping, which links to the technology that powers Google Shopping (YouTube is a Google unit). It allows brands to showcase product details and images within video ads and includes the ability to click to purchase. Neal Mohan, VP of brand advertising at Google said it's the right move because YouTubers are "truly engaged, which from a marketer perspective is the perfect time to reach the consumer."

A sponsor of Marvel's latest Avengers movie, Samsung is out with Iron Man limited edition Galaxy S6 Edge phone with matching red-and-gold color theme. The 64GB device includes an "arc reactor" wireless charger plus a clear cover. The bad news is that Samsung is only releasing the phone in South Korea on May 27th, followed by China and Hong Kong in June. Mr. Stark's flying suits are spoken for.

Honda, long focused on sedans and coupes like the Accord and Civic, is steadily shifting emphasis from passenger cars to sport- and crossover-utility vehicles. Already, truck models make up 49% of total U.S. production, noted John Mendel, Honda's top U.S. executive, "And we could flex that even further," he said. The company's Alabama plant will have capacity to produce at least 120,000 Pilot crossovers annually, once the ramp-up of the new model is completed.