Dealers: Page 130

It’s a great event, but a bad day to sell cars

It's a dealer's dream or is it? It's the Woodward Avenue Dream Cruise, an annual hot rod and classic car event that attracts between 1 million and 3 million people practically to the doorstep of 11 dealerships in suburban Detroit. Owners of the old cars drive them up and down the 16-mile stretch of the region's historic main drag from Ferndale to Pontiac. It starts at 8 Mile Road, now infamous thanks

Oct. 1, 2002

Daewoo’s woes include disgruntled dealers and parts shortages

Legal holdups and disgruntled dealers are causing problems for Daewoo customers in the U.S., says Ben Rainwater, vice president-parts and service at beleaguered Daewoo Motor America Inc. Problems started after the South Korean auto maker's U.S. arm declared bankruptcy May 16. General Motors Corp. is acquiring certain units of Daewoo Motor Co. Ltd, such as overseas factories. But GM is uninterested

By KATHERINE ZACHARY • Oct. 1, 2002

Explore the Trendline➔

Artificial Intelligence

Automakers and dealers alike are increasingly seeing the use case for AI within their operations. Explore some use cases in this trendline.

By WardsAuto staff

Whatever happened to used-car leasing?

After new-car leasing exploded in the 1990s, many people predicted used-vehicle leasing would be the next big bang. It hasn't been a dud. But nor has it met those great expectations. Now some experts wonder if it ever will. I'm not sure it's going to take off like new-car leasing did, says William Jensen, senior vice president and manager of automotive services for Bank One. There are lots of reasons

By Steve Finlay • Sept. 1, 2002

Revenues Up Sharply

Top-volume dealership consolidators' finance and insurance revenues and sales per unit grew significantly in the second quarter. Three of the top six are closing in on F&I sales averaging $1,000 per vehicle. It shows F&I's strength as a profit center, particularly when it helps counteract lower revenues from soft vehicle sales. Regaining the group's lead in per-unit sales by a $5 margin, Lithia Motors

By Mac Gordon • Sept. 1, 2002

You can’t sell it if you can’t tell it

Tim Deese is one of the more colorful characters in the used-car industry an arena filled with many vibrant folks. The former franchised dealer uses his story-telling gifts to, well, tell stories. And to offer homespun philosophy. And to sell cars. And, in more recent times, to show how to sell used cars. Every pre-owned car has a story, says Deese in a Southern accent from Columbus, GA. But if you

By Steve Finlay • Sept. 1, 2002

Action at the Auto Auction

Darryl Noble has seen many changes in the 22 years he has been attending Manheim's Nashville Auto Auction. He laughs when he remembers his first time there. It was so smoky from everyone smoking, you couldn't breathe, he says. And the facilities were very small I think only four lanes. And it was hot and dirty. No more. Manheim just rebuilt the Nashville auction. It's now a modern, airy, user-friendly

By Cliff Banks • Sept. 1, 2002

Dealers get comfortable with online car auctions

Franchised dealers are getting comfortable buying used vehicles at online auctions. Franchised dealers embrace the Internet a lot more than independent dealers do, says Robert Rauschenberg, managing director for Auction Broadcasting Co. Online auctions are expanding, but cyberspace bidding and selling are in their infancy. Internet auctions are a bit dicey because it's early in the game, Hal Logan,

By Steve Finlay • Aug. 1, 2002

IS YOUR PARTS DEPT. OUT IN LEFT FIELD?

AN OLD BASEBALL CREDO SAYS THAT FOR A TEAM to win pennants it must be strong up the middle. It must have a savvy catcher, a hard-hitting outfield, and especially a talented keystone combination. That's a second baseman and shortstop who anticipate each other's moves and turn rally-ending double plays. The keystone combination in any new car dealership is its parts manager and service manager, and

By Nat Shulman • July 1, 2002

WHO’S THE VICTIM IN THIS NEW SCAM?

AFTER WRITING ABOUT ODOMETER ROLLBACK scams in this space a couple of months ago, I've learned that leasing has evidently spawned a new rollback scheme. Shady characters at some dealerships are perpetuating it. On behalf of customers! A colleague's friend, shopping for a leased car at a local dealership, voiced concerns to the salesman about paying end-of-lease financial penalties if she returned

By Steve Finlay • July 1, 2002

Mitsubishi Isuzu JV in Thailand

Mitsubishi Motors Corp. and Isuzu Motors Ltd. create a joint venture in Thailand to produce Isuzu pickups. Isuzu Operations Thailand Co., represents a 2 billion ($16.1 million) investment, with Mitsubishi putting up 80% of the money. Production of 250,000 pickups annually by 2006 is expected, vs. the 147,000 Isuzu pickups currently produced in Thailand. Isuzu is moving pickup production to Thailand

July 1, 2002

Elder opens new $7.5 million dealership in Tampa, Florida

Elder Automotive Group, Jaguar's largest-volume retailer, opens Aston Martin Jaguar of Tampa, FL, a new $7.5 million dealership with a park-like setting and a Caribbean atmosphere. The 38,000-sq.-ft. facility is on nearly nine acres. The showroom is 13,700 sq. ft. and features airy 24-foot-high ceilings, computerized laser patterns projected across mesh screens and a 250-gallon aquarium. Irma Elder

July 1, 2002

Dealers ask: Who’s going to buy this stuff?

Next-generation keyless entry systems on future vehicles will add convenience and cost. Not fumbling for car keys in the dark sounds great. Paying $1,000 to avoid that might spook some consumers, according to dealers. It depends though. Passive keyless entry may be a harder sell for more established customers. But Generation X and Y might shell out that kind of money for such high-tech automotive

By Steve Smith • July 1, 2002

Get the customer to do the talking

Some car sales people think they're doing well if they are talking a lot to the customer. But it's more effective to let the customer do the talking, says David Walsh, a former car salesman and current vice president of MarketWise, an automotive remarketing firm. Too many sales staffers verbally vomit on customers, says Walsh. Instead, he says, Make it conversational. Exchange information. Get the

By Steve Finlay • June 1, 2002

Call in the wizards

You're a big dealer with a lot of inventory. A hailstorm rips through town and damages 5,000 of your vehicles. What do you do? Ricart Automotive in Columbus, OH called in St. Louis-based Dent Wizard. For approximately three weeks Dent Wizard technicians have been repairing the damaged cars at Ricart using a process called Paintless Dent Removal (PDR). Dent Wizard developed the process years ago, and

By Cliff Banks • June 1, 2002

SERVICE WRITERS ARE UNDERRATED

THE SERVICE WRITER IS ONE OF THE MOST UNDERrated positions in the dealership. It's also a job that requires great communications skills, but not enough dealerships foster that. This sensitive job, if mishandled, can create serious problems for everyone in the store. Conversely, well-trained and competent service writers contribute greatly to the dealership's bottom line and customer relations efforts.

June 1, 2002

Aon names 3 execs at new company

Aon Corp. names three executives to positions at Combined Specialty Corp., a new spin-off underwriting operation. They are: Deems Davis, chief information officer. He was COO for Goodshark Enterprises, a technology start-up firm. Bobby Jann, chief administrative officer. He's held posts in marketing and training. Rob Mancuso, corporate communications officer. He's held VP positions at Aon.

May 1, 2002

TITLE FRAUD HURTS HONEST DEALERS

CONGRESS PASSED THE ANTI-CAR THEFT OF 1992 to counter what is perceived as the No. 1 property crime in the U.S.: car theft. Currently, The American Association of Motor Vehicle Administrators (AAMVA) works with the Justice Department under a cooperative agreement. The benefits of this alliance deter trafficking in stolen vehicles by eliminating the ability of thieves to obtain titles by retitling

By Nat Shulman • May 1, 2002

Northwood U. honors 14 dealers

Northwood University recognizes 14 dealers for their contributions to education. We have been recognizing outstanding dealers for 30 years, and there has never been a time when their contributions have meant more to their communities than they do today, says David Fry, president of the Midland, MI college with a dealership curriculum. Honorees are: Jack D. Carroll, Lynnwood (WS) Dodge. David M. Conant,

May 1, 2002

Another round of lease residual losses

About four million vehicles come off lease this year, sparking yet another round of big residual losses. No one is predicting it will be the last go-around of residuals gone bad. But the leasing industry has reformed its ways, trying to avoid the additional pain of large-scale losses from rosy residual forecasts that turn out too high. Most vehicles coming off lease are 1998-99 models with actual

By Steve Finlay • May 1, 2002

Creating a Scion

They snowboard! They carry around stuff they call They download MP3s and go to the X Games and have spikey blue hair and piercings! Meet the youth of today, Generation Y or at least how they come across to today's marketing executives. The reality, of course, is that this generation the largest to come of age since the Baby Boomers is far more complex. And that is what is so vexing for auto insiders.

By KATHERINE ZACHARY • May 1, 2002

F&I FOCUS

When you think you've seen it all in this business that's the time to pack it in. I've worked in automotive retailing practically my whole adult life. I wouldn't want it any other way. The changes over the past 20 years have been astounding. When I asked for a job as a dealership sales person, they didn't want to hire me. I was a and they thought women weren't going to make it selling cars. Maintaining

By WITH REBECCA CHERNEK • May 1, 2002

The idea began at dinner five years ago

To see the 2002 Ward's e-Dealer 100 list, click here. Requires Adobe Acrobat Reader For free download, click here. It began at dinner five years ago, according to Mirza Thomas, Internet services director for the Jim Koons Automotive Companies. Thomas, then a dealership group trainer, owner Jim Koons and vice president Jim O'Connell were dining and developing an Internet strategy. "We were very specific

By Cliff Banks • April 1, 2002

Body shop training offered at a fraction of the cost

Like many dealership body shop managers, Ronnie Brush sees technical training for his staff as a big line item in his budget. Many insurance companies' direct repair programs require participating shops to maintain the I-CAR Gold Class Professional designation. That means a high percentage of employees must complete courses offered by I-CAR, the industry's leading technical training organization.

By John Yoswick • April 1, 2002

3rd-party referral firms send dealers the most Internet leads

To see the 2002 Ward's e-Dealer 100, click here. Requires Adobe Acrobat Reader For free download, click here. Third-party online lead referral services still send the most Internet leads to the nation's top e-dealership operations, according to the 2nd annual Ward's e-Dealer 100. But dealer opinion of those third parties seems mixed. Some dealers shun them. Others use them begrudgingly but plan to

By Cliff Banks • April 1, 2002

Hispanic dealers form association

Hispanic auto dealers formed a national Hispanic automobile dealers association to deal with pressing issues affecting them. Some of the nation's leading Hispanic organizations gathered for the first time at the NADA 2002 convention to demonstrate their support for Hispanic auto dealers who are concerned about inequalities, lack of capital, entry and growth in the auto industry. At a private meeting,

March 1, 2002