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Filed under: Car Buying , Etc. , Government/Legal If you believe the Johnston family, owners of Wildcat Mitsubishi in Tucson and Ideal Automotive in Sierra Vista, Arizona, they have a little communication and paperwork problem. If you believe the soldiers at the Army base in Fort Huachuca, the Better Business Bureau, the Arizona Department of Financial Institutions, the Arizona Transportation Department, the police department, and at least one civilian customer, the Johnstons have a much larger number of far more serious problems. The Army base has banned personnel from patronizing the dealerships, alleging its soldiers have been abused. Soldier James Tuman traded in an SUV and a motorcycle and got financing from Ideal Automotive to buy a used car. When he tried to return the car because of mechanical issues, the Johnston's wouldn't give him his money back, instead saying he could buy another car on the lot. When he threatened to complain, they said they'd declare the car repossessed...
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Filed under: Car Buying , Japan , Marketing/Advertising , Toyota , Lifestyle Kids in the U.S. want computers in their cars, but kids in Japan want computers instead of cars. Add that craziness to Japan's dwindling population and popular mass-transit options and you'll understand why the Japanese car market dropped to just 5.3 million vehicles, a 27-year low. Toyota, Japan's sales leader in America, is not immune to the sales downturn , accounting for 2.26 million of those new car sales. In order to catch the attention of younger potential car-buyers, Toyota has taken drastic measures: opening its own mall, complete with 220 stores, restaurants and... car dealerships? Not only are there a number of dealerships integrated into the mall, but there are Toyota's littered throughout the walkways. In addition to showcasing its latest new vehicles, Toyota is also showing off its high-tech robots, some of which, oddly enough, play musical instruments. [Source: AP via Motor Authority...
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Filed under: Car Buying , Marketing/Advertising , Cadillac , GM , HUMMER , Saab Among the many ills plaguing automakers, and General Motors in particular, is an excessive amount of dealers selling their wares through competing outlets. GM has decided to rectify the matter by combining its top three "luxury" marques - Cadillac, HUMMER and Saab - into megastores that aim to provide consumers with a variety of choice without watering down each brand's distinct niche. The plan involves consolidating the 1,400 Cadillac dealerships with the 238 Saab and 170 HUMMER outlets to form a one-stop shop for all things at the high-end of the General's spectrum. There have already been a few cases where GM has helped larger dealers buyout Mom and Pop operations that weren't willing to expand or were looking to get out of the retail game entirely. While the move has the potential to make it easier for consumers to get everything they want under one roof, the amount of capital GM might...
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Filed under: Car Buying , Toyota , Earnings/Financials Toyota has so far resisted expanding its dealer body in the wake of the Japanese automaker's unprecedented climb up the sales charts. In eight years, Toyota has gone from having 15 million of its vehicles on the road to 22 million today. So far dealers have been able to keep up with the torrid sales pace, but at the service end, dealerships are busting at the seams. In an attempt to alleviate some of that pressure for landlocked dealers, Toyota has piloted off-site service centers and oil change centers. The early results show that the nine dealers in the pilot received significantly more customer pay (non-warranty) repairs than the average Toyota dealership, which translates into more money for the dealer. For Toyota owners near dealers with satellite shops, this means your car or truck will be fixed in a more timely fashion, and 15,000-mile checkups won't land you on a three-week waiting list. We totally understand why Toyota...
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Filed under: Car Buying , Etc. , GM GM may have just half the market share it had 30 years ago, but the Detroit-based automaker still seems to have as many dealers as McDonald's has drive-thrus. The General has slashed more than 2,000 dealerships over the past 12 years, but the company will accelerate closings in order to right-size its sales outlets. GM closed 260 stores in 2007 and another 23 in January of this year, but according to Automotive News , the automaker still has a sizable 6,753 member dealer body. That number seems even higher when considering that US number two automaker Toyota makes do with only 1,445 retail locations. Sales VP Mark LeNeve told Automotive News that GM has a lot of work ahead regarding dealer closings, and that the General will speed its efforts. While fewer dealers will likely mean that you'll have to drive a few miles further to get that Chevy or Cadillac you want, the remaining stores will make more money. (Or that's the general idea, at least...
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Filed under: Car Buying , Ford , Lincoln , Mercury , Earnings/Financials Ford Motor company has bumped the prices of its domestic vehicles by an average of $198 fleet-wide, bringing the overall model year increase to $502 per car, truck, van, and utility vehicle. The only vehicles not effected by the latest increase are the Lincoln Town Car, the E-Series vans, and the soon to be defunct Lincoln Mark LT. While half a grand sounds like a lot of money, it only represents a 1.8-percent increase over last year's overall costs, which is a full percentage point less than the average inflation in the past year. While nobody likes to see prices go up, it's hard to fault Ford for attempting to keep up with the financial times. The big question is whether customers will be willing to pay for the hike in a soft car market, or if Ford will need to put more cash on the hood to move metal. [Source: Automotive News - Sub. Req.] Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments
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Filed under: Car Buying , Buick , Chevrolet , GM , GMC , HUMMER , Pontiac , Saab , Earnings/Financials Yesterday we wrote about GM's intent to shrink its 14,118-strong dealer network , with one idea to combine Pontiac, Buick, and GMC dealers into larger, more modern flagship outlets. Turns out that was only part of the plan: according to Automotive News , "General Motors is preparing to make public a plan to encourage the creation of superstores in major metro areas that would carry every GM brand." These superstores, which would be called GM Collections, are being evaluated for major metropolitan markets where the real estate itself is more valuable than the dealer franchise. For dealers interested in such an outlet, GM's idea is to move service and parts centers off-site to make room for all of the brands. Some dealers think that's a turn-off for consumers, others report good results. In LA, this has been standard practice for a while, with some service departments...
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