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Courtesy of WardsAuto
CRM Works, When It Is Used
LAS VEGAS The head of an 88-store dealership group regularly checks to see if his sales people make follow-up phone calls to prospects, not just send them emails. One day, while checking his electronic activities log, he noticed one store's Internet department was skipping the calls. He phoned the manager and identified himself. At first thinking it was a prank call, the manager said, Yeah, right.
By Steve Finlay • Jan. 1, 2011 -
Courtesy of WardsAuto
Used Cars Are Commodities?
People in our field can make money in spite of ourselves. We are the truest entrepreneurs on this planet. But some of the things we do amaze me. Take used cars, for example. Some of us look at a lot full of used cars and see just a lot full of used cars rather than different vehicles to meet a variety of consumer wants and needs. If every other industry had that closed-minded opinion of their product,
By Tim Deese • Jan. 1, 2011 -
Courtesy of WardsAuto
Get Internet Facts Straight
With all of the information available on the Internet, many dealers find it difficult to know exactly from where they're getting their Internet leads, and more importantly, their Internet deliveries. We recently received a call from a dealer who wanted us to review his Internet sales process. He was getting some conflicting information about how well he was doing with Internet leads. His general sales
By Al Amersdorfer • Jan. 1, 2011 -
Courtesy of WardsAuto
Global Auto Sales on Track for 75 Million Units in 2010
Gains in recent months suggest a new, albeit less dynamic sales surge in worldwide vehicle sales.
By John Sousanis • Dec. 29, 2010 -
Courtesy of WardsAuto
‘Conflict Mineral’ Strategy Emerging
The Automotive Industry Action Group is working to identify materials to ensure they don’t come from nefarious sources.
By Byron Pope • Dec. 27, 2010 -
Courtesy of WardsAuto
Polish Ag Machinery Maker to Sell Chinese Pickups
The Polish-assembled Grand Tiger is slated to go on sale in January, and distributor Pol-Mot Warfama expects to find a significant number of customers among farmers.
By Peter Homola • Dec. 10, 2010 -
Courtesy of WardsAuto
Manually Shifting Gears Becoming Lost Art
Editor's note: This story is part of the WardsAuto digital archive, which may include content that was first published in print, or in different web layouts.They don’t make manual transmissions like they used to. Oh, they make them better than ever. But they sure don’t make as many. Not in the U...
By Steve Finlay 2 • Dec. 2, 2010 -
Courtesy of WardsAuto
Message to Minivan-Haters: Get Over Yourselves
Editor's note: This story is part of the WardsAuto digital archive, which may include content that was first published in print, or in different web layouts. OK, minivan-haters, take a good look in the mirror. What's your problem? Can you honestly tell yourself there is a more versatile vehicl...
Dec. 2, 2010 -
Courtesy of WardsAuto
Production to Grow 12% in 2011
It may seem odd to characterize North America's projected production increase of nearly 40% this year as but the term fits. Auto makers are on track to build roughly 12 million light vehicles this year, compared with 2009's decades-low 8.56 million, while utilizing only 65% of their capacity in the U.S., Canada and Mexico, Ward's data indicates. Last year's 49% utilization rate largely was a reaction
By John Sousanis • Dec. 1, 2010 -
Courtesy of WardsAuto
Auto Dealership CRM Systems Work, When Used
“It has to come from the top, you can’t expect sales people to roll it out,” VanTuyl’s Cassie Broemmer says of systematic customer-contact efforts.
By Steve Finlay • Nov. 30, 2010 -
Courtesy of WardsAuto
GMDAT’s Arcamone Promises Auto Maker to Turn Profit This Year
Although domestic sales are down for many of its models, income from exports and profits from overseas subsidiaries and joint ventures are contributing to the Korean auto maker’s balance sheet.
By Vince Courtenay • Nov. 29, 2010 -
Courtesy of WardsAuto
Dispute With Distributor Continues to Keep Mahindra Out of U.S.
Global Vehicles CEO John Perez says efforts to contact Mahindra to work out the dispute have been ignored, meaning the distributor’s fate may have to be settled in federal court.
By Byron Pope • Nov. 24, 2010 -
Courtesy of WardsAuto
Would-Be Newspaper Owner Becomes Top Auto Dealer
Jerry Seiner started out selling classified ads to car dealers. By age 25, he was a display-ad salesman for the Wall Street Journal whose clients included the Detroit Three auto makers.
By Steve Finlay • Nov. 23, 2010 -
Courtesy of WardsAuto
North American LV Production to Grow 12% in 2011
This year’s low capacity utilization is a result of strategic discipline, as auto makers allow demand to dictate their build rate, rather than use output to push the market upward.
By John Sousanis • Nov. 22, 2010 -
Courtesy of WardsAuto
Automotive R&D Spending Down Last Year, Study Shows
The auto industry accounted for nearly one-third of the total $18 billion contraction in research and development spending among all industries in 2009.
By Byron Pope • Nov. 9, 2010 -
Courtesy of WardsAuto
Galpin Connects With Customizing Crowd
“Cars are the most beloved inanimate object,” says Beau Boeckmann. “Lots of people like to express themselves through the cars they drive.”
By Steve Finlay • Nov. 4, 2010 -
Courtesy of WardsAuto
China Success Clouded by Labor Strikes, Overcapacity
You would think in a market where industry passenger-car sales surged 37% in the year's first nine months, there would not be much bad news. But as the literal bull in the China shop, the world's largest vehicle market cannot seem to get out of its own way. While federal tax cuts and subsidies are spurring China's auto makers to new sales and production records, the central government expects consumer
By Barbara McClellan • Nov. 1, 2010 -
Courtesy of WardsAuto
Fulfill 5 Basic Expectations
Who pays our salary? I often wonder when I hear stories from clients about their experiences at dealerships and also from sales professionals attending our APB University. I typically tell them this story. A pilot had a regular route from New York City to Toronto. One day, a few passengers asked if they'd be able to see Niagara Falls on the trip. The pilot said they flew over it but it might be hard
By Richard F. Libin • Nov. 1, 2010 -
Courtesy of WardsAuto
No-Nonsense Dealers in Works
I've been writing for years about the distinctive personality of dealers and their inimitable relationships with the manufacturers that they serve. The many ways car manufacturers express an inner belief that they might do better without a franchise network always catches my attention. In the same way, I find the willingness of so many dealers to lose money on the sales of new cars, equally fascinating.
By Peter Brandow • Nov. 1, 2010 -
Courtesy of WardsAuto
It’s Budget-Making Time
While the recession is technically over, the main economic drivers (i.e. employment and GDP), are still major concerns. I don't need to remind any one of the impact this recession has had on the auto industry. The bright spots for dealers are the steps you took to not only survive this downturn, but to grow by increasing the efficiency of and gross in your organizations. We still have a long way to
By Tony Noland • Nov. 1, 2010 -
Courtesy of WardsAuto
Lender-Dealer Sit-Down Meetings New to Industry
“It takes more effort to put a deal together,” says Alex Sarafian, a risk director at Ally Financial.
By Steve Finlay • Oct. 28, 2010 -
Courtesy of WardsAuto
Chevy Volt Rises Above Sound, Fury of Introduction
Instead of waiting to bank on cost and efficiency gains with the second-generation Volt, the auto maker will look to take out cost every year.
By James M. Amend • Oct. 27, 2010 -
Courtesy of WardsAuto
Texas Dealership Wins Innovation Award
In separate contests, five dealership and six vendor representatives presented their innovations to a panel of judges at the Driving Sales Executive Summit.
By Steve Finlay • Oct. 22, 2010 -
Courtesy of WardsAuto
Global Bounce Back: Auto Industry in Flux
Even as auto makers migrate to lower-cost regions to cut cost and court growing economies, fear and loathing still stalk the international industry, with sales momentum gained in the year’s first six months now stalling.
By Barbara McClellan • Oct. 20, 2010 -
Courtesy of WardsAuto
2010 Year in Review: Asia
Highlights of the year’s major events in the Asian auto industry.
By Christie Schweinsberg • Oct. 20, 2010
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