EPISODE TWELVE

CAR WARS

In the suite, the candidates discussed who would be fired and everyone had a different prediction. But the speculation came to an end when the front door opened and Alex and Chris walked in. The two recounted their boardroom meeting, including the multiple times Trump had labeled them all "losers." Chris said Trump added a few more descriptions for him, including "disaster" and "train wreck." In an interview, Chris said it was time for him to redeem himself: "I need to be Project Manager and not only win, but kick their ass." Kendra also felt it was time to be noticed: "I think it's time to step it up and show Mr. Trump what I'm really capable of ."

The next day, with the NY Stock Exchange as the backdrop, Trump met with the candidates. For the first order of business, Trump declared Net Worth a "total mess," but gave Alex and Chris the chance to steal a member from Magna. Alex said the team would bring Bren over, making the groups even at three candidates a piece. Next, Trump introduced three executives from the Pontiac division of General Motors and laid out the task. Each team would create a marketing brochure for GM's newest car, the Pontiac Solstice, which one of the executives described as "a sexy, two-seat roadster." To help create their product, each team would have access to models, photographers, design studios and printing facilities. The team that created the most compelling brochure, as judged by the Pontiac executives, would win. The loser would return to the boardroom where another candidate would be fired. Carolyn and George would watch to see who was a driving force and who runs out of gas. Finally, Trump revealed that whoever becomes his apprentice would also get a brand-new Solstice fresh off the assembly line as a bonus!

Kendra wasted no time and in the cab ride back to the suite, she pitched herself as Project Manager. Kendra listed her qualifications and said that she had designed and printed four press kits, much like what the team had to do for the Solstice. Craig and Tana said they'd support Kendra as Project Manager, but it turned out that their support was only lukewarm. In fact, in an interview, Kendra said that every time she presented an idea, her two teammates shot it down. Kendra said that she knew she'd be battling Craig and Tana for the rest of the task. In their own cab ride, Alex, Chris and Bren bonded as the new and improved Net Worth. The three laughed heartily as they realized they had three men on their team while Magna was made up of two women and one man. They felt they had a tremendous advantage as an all-male team because the task centered on a car.

At Magna's brainstorming session, Kendra said that they should appeal to the emotional side of the customer because she felt that a sleek roadster like the Solstice was an emotional purchase. Kendra wrote down words to guide the team: "Fun," "Youthful," "Spirited," "Gorgeous," and "Sexy." But Craig worried that Kendra simply wanted to pair a few pictures of the car with a few words and call it a day. Craig said that Kendra just doesn't get it most of the time. At their photo studio, the team had professional photographers and a crew ready to start shooting the car. Kendra told Craig to stay at the studio to make sure the team got the indoor shots they wanted. But Craig felt that Kendra was overriding all of his ideas before she left. In an interview, he said that if Kendra wanted to control the photo shoot, she should just stay at the studio. Kendra and Tana finally did leave Craig at the studio and took to the streets for their outdoor photo shoot. On top of overseeing the photography, the two women asked passersby to describe the emotions that the car evoked. "Young", "Sexy" and "Free" topped the list. Kendra said that almost all of the emotions had something to do with desire, so desire should be the focus of their brochure.

Net Worth arrived at their photo studio and all three guys were truly impressed with the vehicle. Bren said that the Solstice was like a beautiful woman: "…you just couldn't take your eyes off of it." Chris, the team's Project Manager, put Bren in charge of the text and Bren told Alex and Chris to get plenty of interior shots of the car; he especially wanted the unique logo in the center of the vehicle's dash. Then Bren left to research the Solstice and start writing. Chris put Alex in charge of the studio photo shoot while Chris oversaw the outdoor photography. Chris had total confidence in Alex, but that all changed when Chris returned that evening. When Chris asked if Alex had gotten certain shots, including the logo shot that Bren had asked for, Alex said no, he just didn't have the time. Chris said that he was surprised and disappointed that Alex had "screwed up" and "dropped the ball" by missing so many of the shots Chris had wanted.

Later that night, Alex and Chris met up with Bren, who was writing the brochure. As the group reviewed their photographs, even Alex was disappointed to see that he'd only gotten one shot of the car's interior. Then Bren asked about the shot of the logo he had asked for. But Alex said he didn't have it and admitted it was his "bad." In an interview, Bren was not happy. He said that the shot of the unique logo mounted on the dash would have made the perfect brochure cover. Finally, Chris selected an out of focus shot of the car as their first image inside the brochure. The group pulled an all-nighter, but Bren and Chris were left to wrap up as Alex fell asleep toward the end of the long push.

Like Net Worth, Magna was also working late into the night - and like Net Worth, they had some problems. Kendra had the team gathered around to discuss which photographs they might use in their brochure, but Craig felt it was a waste of time for everyone to be looking at the photos. He said it would be more efficient if he started to work on the text for the brochure. So, in spite of what Kendra, the Project Manager, had said, Craig got up and left to research the car. When Kendra and Tana finished and joined Craig, he complained that he was frustrated that the team didn't have a theme for their project. But Kendra, equally frustrated, said that she had presented a theme at the beginning of the task and it hadn't changed: the brochure would be an emotional appeal to the customer and would center on desire. Kendra said she felt alone in the process - and she didn't know how right she was. At just after 3:30am, Tana and Craig told Kendra that they didn't do well being up late at night, so the two left and returned to the suite even though the project wasn't finished. Kendra said that if she had to stay up all night by herself to pull out a win, that's what she would do. In fact, Kendra worked past 8:00am while Tana and Craig slept soundly in their warm beds.

The next day, Net Worth showed George their final product, which had just been printed that morning. Everyone on the team was excited -- on the outside. Alex revealed his true feelings in an interview and said that he felt that the text Bren had written was boring and not at all persuasive. Magna also saw their completed brochure for the first time. The unique round design was accented by an image of the car's honeycomb grill on the cover. Tana held the brochure as she gushed about how good it was. Craig said he knew the team could do it. In an interview, Kendra said that she too was thrilled with the result, but felt she had done the project by herself.

Finally, with the brochures printed, it was judgment time. Magna walked into the Pontiac offices to present their new brochure to the three company executives. But before Kendra, the Project Manager, could say a word, Tana launched into a speech. In an interview, Kendra said she couldn't believe it. Kendra felt Tana was creating the false impression that Tana had done all of the work. In her mind, Kendra said she was yelling, "Shut up!" Finally, Kendra jumped in and wrestled control away from Tana. Kendra explained the elements of the team's new brochure, including its unique circular shape and its areas for a CD or DVD and a business card. Kendra added that the team had conducted research that made them focus on the emotion of desire.

Next, it was Net Worth's turn and the team did not get off to a good start. Chris, Alex and Bren entered and set up a few pictures from their studio photo shoot, including one of two blonde models sitting on top of the car. A Pontiac exec tried to hide his reaction, but he clearly was not thrilled with what he saw. Next, Chris opened the presentation and mispronounced the name of the car before correcting himself. In an interview, Alex said that Chris feels uncomfortable as a speaker and just makes up words while he talks. Then, the team presented their brochure - a traditional rectangular shaped booklet with just the name of the car and the familiar Pontiac logo on the plain cover. And when an executive opened the brochure, the first image he saw was the blurred photo that Chris had liked. The executive said he didn't understand why the team decided to use that photo.

After The Donald made his entrance, the Pontiac execs rendered their verdict. They said that Net Worth had delivered a lot of information but no emotion. Magna, on the other hand, had presented exactly what Pontiac was looking for. The team had delivered emotion and done so in a creative way. In fact, the execs said they liked the brochure so much, they planned on using it themselves! An executive called Magna the "slam dunk winner," which was appropriate since the team's reward was a trip to Madison Square Garden to meet with Isiah Thomas and several of the New York Knicks!

At The Garden, Craig, Kendra and Tana, dressed appropriately in Knicks uniforms, got a private session with Knicks players and Isiah Thomas. But first, Isiah challenged The Donald, dressed appropriately in a suit, to step up to the free throw line. Not only did The Donald sink the basket - it was nothing but net. Then, the candidates tried to run some Knick's practice drills to work as a team. But while their basketball skills left a bit to be desired, the three seemed to have a great time playing on the historic court.