Operations: Page 220

Perception vs. Reality

Domestic auto makers must erase existing perceptions that their vehicles are of lesser quality than those made by foreign competitors, says Chris Denove, chief researcher for J.D. Power and Associates. Such lingering perceptions allows Japanese and German brands to command higher prices. Customer satisfaction is meaningless if it doesn't inspire customers to pay more for vehicles and even become advocates

By Herb Shuldiner • April 1, 2006

7 Reasons Staffers Fail

All too often, dealerships employ frustrated sales people who seem to fail more often than succeed. While there are hundreds of reasons for this (personality, lack of training, product, etc.), the responsibility lies with both the salesperson and management. To improve their success rate, sales people should consider these seven common reasons for failure and take action to ensure they get back on

By Richard Libin • April 1, 2006

Explore the Trendline➔

Automotive Manufacturing

Production strategies are changing rapidly as tariffs and shifts in consumer buying patterns affect the industry.

By WardsAuto staff

All Over the Map

It might be no surprise that nearly half (48) of the leading Internet dealers are from California, Texas and Florida. Those three states generate the most car sales. So with volume alone, dealers there have an inherent advantage. Still, not all of the dealerships in a strong market are able to increase sales using the Internet. A Southern California dealer claims that one of his Internet sales people

By Cliff Banks • April 1, 2006

Investigator Becomes F&I Compliance Director

A former investigator for the Florida Attorney General's Office is now a director of compliance for Reynolds and Reynolds, a dealership technology provider. Terry O'Loughlin will monitor and ensure the accuracy of Reynolds' documents used by dealerships, including loan and lease applications, sales contracts and Bureau of Motor Vehicle documents. In Florida, O'Loughlin, an attorney, investigated and

April 1, 2006

Protest Unlikely

Despite the prevalent benefit package tinkering going on in Detroit, don't expect a protest movement that has workers leaving their employers en masse, experts say. I'm sure there are people who will find jobs and probably take off, but they will be the exception, says Mark Olson, a Boston-based principal with human resources consultant Towers Perrin. When you look at what the top drivers are for

April 1, 2006

Auto Tech Manners 101

I had the privilege of being a franchised dealer for 22 years in a medium-sized market in Indiana. You and I have shared many common successes and more than our share of mutual issues or problems. Perhaps the greatest dealer issue I confronted was employees' respect for the customer. A hard part of our job is instilling the importance of being professional and focused on customer satisfaction. Everyone

By LARRY CUMMINGS • April 1, 2006

Best Performers Do This

I recently gave an inventory-management presentation for the American International Automobile Dealers Assn. Not wanting to air just opinions on best-management practices, I researched this subject in-depth. The first issue to think about is the global manufacturing capacity vs. the global market's ability to absorb this capacity. Worldwide, according to a PricewaterhouseCoopers study, is an estimated

By Tony Noland • April 1, 2006

We’re No.2!

Materials experts saw it coming for years, but the Aluminum Assn. presented new research recently that confirms the lightweight metal has displaced iron as the second most intensively used material in vehicle production worldwide. The study, commissioned by the Aluminum Assn., finds an average 280 lbs. (127 kg) of aluminum per vehicle produced in the world's three major markets: North America, the

By Tom Murphy • April 1, 2006

His Pets Had No Say In New Customer-Loyalty Program

Michael Gorun was ready for the life of leisure after selling CarSmart.com, an online car-buying service he started in the 1990s. I thought I was done at that point, he says. But after 18 months of working in the yard and talking to the pets, I started to look around. It led to him founding MediaTrac, a California firm offering card-carrying customer-loyalty programs that let dealers gauge their success

By Steve Finlay • April 1, 2006

Dealerships Use Internet for Subprime

Of the 8,992 vehicles the Earnhardt Auto Centers sold online in 2005, 2,333 were out of the special-finance department, dubbed Mr. Ed. With those numbers the Earnhardt group placed four dealerships on this year's Ward's e-Dealer 100 ranking. We think we may be the biggest in the country, Kevin Murphy, special finance director for the Arizona-based dealer group, says of his operation. One reason for

By Cliff Banks • April 1, 2006

USCAR Names New Executive Director

The appointment of Donald Walkowicz is the executive’s third, non-consecutive term in the position.

By Ward's Staff • March 31, 2006

Cross Lander to File Complaint

The filing against Romania stems from claims that the auto maker’s interests in its Aro assembly plant have been compromised by various parties.

By Ward's Staff • March 31, 2006

GMAC Sells Majority Stake in Commercial Holdings Unit

The 78% acquisition by three investment firms provides GMAC with more than $1.5 billion in cash.

By Ward's Staff • March 23, 2006

DC’s Terrell Leaving Auto Industry

Karenann Terrell managed the auto maker’s information technology assets in North America.

By Ward's Staff • March 21, 2006

Aluminum Claims No.2 Ranking

DETROIT – Materials experts saw it coming for years, but the Aluminum Assn. presented new research this week that confirms the lightweight metal has displaced iron as the second most intensively used material in vehicle production worldwide. The study, commissioned by the Aluminum Assn., finds an average 280 lbs. (127 kg) of aluminum per vehicle produced in the world’s three major markets: North America,

By Tom Murphy • March 10, 2006

Franchised Used-Car Sales Do Better

ORLANDO, FL Franchised dealers are selling more used vehicles than before and for more money per transaction, reversing a trend in which pre-owned prices had softened because of heavy incentives on new cars in recent years. New-car dealers sold 3% more used vehicles 16.4 million units in 2005 compared with 2004, according to Manheim Auctions' 2006 Used Car Market Report. That includes units sold from

By Steve Finlay • March 1, 2006

Private Lives of Dealers

Only six dealer groups have gone since the mid-1990s, when H. Wayne Huizenga pioneered the trend with what became AutoNation Inc. Why so few? There are some 22,000 franchised dealerships in the U.S. Only 884 have been by publicly owned corporations. That leaves about 21,000 which have stayed in private hands, including 94 groups on the Ward's Mega 100. On the New York Stock Exchange and the NASDAQ

By Mac Gordon • March 1, 2006

Use the Personal Approach

The line between prime and non-prime lending is getting blurred. So says Rich Zellner, director of strategic initiatives and long-range planning for WFS Financial, an automotive lending firm. It used to be: This person is bankrupt and belongs in special finance, and this person has great credit, he says. It is less clear in today's world, when people who aren't reckless financially can still take

By Steve Finlay • March 1, 2006

Ward’s AutoInfoBank Walk-Through

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. SCREEN 1: UPDATE SCREEN Ward’s AutoInfoBank is the data reporting tool that lets you tailor your own reports from Ward’s database. Us...

Feb. 16, 2006

Economist: SUV Sales Will Hold Ground

It will be more of the same in 2006, say economists for the U.S. Big Three auto makers and that includes the market for fullsize SUVs, predicts one. Van Jolissaint, corporate economist for DaimlerChrysler Corp., tells the Society of Automotive Analysts the market for traditional SUVs and trucks will grow as a percentage of total sales. Jolissaint's forecast is based on an oil price of about $55 per

Feb. 1, 2006

WardsAuto

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.The vast subscriber-only section of WardsAuto.com is designed for QUICK and EASY navigation through the latest news, analysis and industry s...

Jan. 24, 2006

Premium About

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.About WardsAuto.com For and about the auto industry WardsAuto has industry data, news and analysis for the worldwide providers of cars and t...

Jan. 24, 2006

WARD’S Automotive Yearbook

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. DOWNLOAD A BROCHURE WITH FULL DESCRIPTION ON CONTENTSGet Ward’s Automotive Yearbook content – along with virtually all the information Ward...

Jan. 19, 2006

ASC Deciding on Niche Plant

DETROIT – Too many concept cars have come and gone from the North American International Auto Show over the years without ever going into production. American Specialty Cars Inc. is endeavoring to halt this trend by providing an outlet for low-volume niche vehicles that auto makers would love to produce but cannot establish the proper business case to do so. “It’s time to stop the madness,” Paul Wilbur,

By Tom Murphy • Jan. 8, 2006

So long Top Gun, Hello Luxury

Saab Cars is reviving its aviation heritage in its latest television commercials, with images of the 9-3 Aero speeding as a formation of fighter jets zooms overhead, so I grabbed a flight jacket and my aviator glasses and climbed into the cockpit. First, the 9-3 Aero with its 2.8L turbocharged DOHC V-6 is more like an upscale Gulfstream G550 executive jet than one of the fighters depicted in the commercials.

By Cliff Banks • Jan. 4, 2006