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Operating & Maintaining Electric Vehicles 15 years experience with EVs gives Zap! much valuable insight and knowledge. Operating & Maintaining Electric Vehicles GARY STARR Co-Founder and Chairman Emeritus for Zap! EV Fleets & Energy Storage DAVE WALLS Director for Navigant Consulting Price Used Vehicles Accurately & Automatically STU ZALUD Director of Dealer Services, NADA Used Car Guide
Industry News in the Last 24   August 03, 2009   U.S. House OKs $2B for Clunkers The U.S. House moved quickly to put an additional $2 billion into the CARS program, realizing huge success. The Senate may not act as promptly, cautioning too much money has already been advanced for the auto industry. Detroit News, August 1, 2009   The Smell of Fear and Burning Oil: Clunker Rebates Bring Out Hopeful Even with the controversy arising over the weekend as to its longevity, the CARS program is bringing out buyers in need of better, safer transportation but who hesitated for financial reasons for personal and national. Optimism is spreading! Wall Street Journal, August 1, 2009   Inside Autos: Vehicle Demand Lifts Ford Shares Better than hoped for results for Ford as the "Cash for Clunkers" program gets underway in a big way! Ford shares took a nice jump on Friday as buyers flocked into the showrooms to trade in their gas-guzzlers at a $4,500 savings. Ford shares rose 10 percent on the week. Detroit Free Press, August 2, 2009 Sponsored by:   WHAT'S SIGNIFICANT THIS WEEK IN THE NEWS   The Transit Connect: Ford's Euro Answer to an American Small-Business Problem Small businesses are struggle in poor economy so buying new vehicles to lower operating costs could be difficult.  Government "cash for clunkers" program could provide help when delivery/service vehicles are upgraded to Ford's new Transit Connect.   Cylinder Count Ain't What it Used to Be We have been down this road before - luxury cars powered by 4-cylinder engines. This time automakers are touting new technologies to provide the power luxury buyers' demand. Changes in fuel-economy requirements have affected consumer attitudes.   Mileage is Seen as the Top Reason for a Car’s Depreciation High mileage is the number one cause of perceived depreciation, followed by damage and failure to maintain vehicles.  Retailer CarMax offers the information and also offers free appraisals and buys vehicles without making a sale. Sponsored by: Sponsored by:	Use Downtime Wisely to Keep Business Solid Going Forward Challenging times have meant slow business for many dealerships this year. Dealers facing some downtime in the sales area should use it wisely to ensure they are prepared for better times ahead. Here are three ways to get your “house in order” so you can grow your business when the market turns around. Focus on: 1. Lender Relationships: All lenders are looking to protect their assets and capital. Knowing a lender’s program and criteria will help you understand what types of loans they’re looking for. Make a point to meet with your lenders on a monthly basis and go over your portfolio analysis. Show them that you are continually focused on making sure the relationship produces a profitable portfolio. If you’re looking for new lending sources, have you considered your local community banks or credit unions? As lenders diversify their portfolios, they might be taking a closer look at the auto finance market. 2. Compliance: Unfortunately, some dealers are knowingly operating in the gray or red area. If you’re going to stay in the car business, you need to adopt risk tools and do business the right way. Lenders are concerned about credit and regulatory compliance risks. Dealers must send their lenders good, clean business. That means you need to stay current on industry requirements, use compliant loan documents and consider technology that can catch inaccuracies and potential misrepresentations. 3. Sales Training: Keep your team focused! Idle time is not your friend, but the enemy to success and significance. All sales people need to consistently grow and hone their skills while making sure they remain focused on providing value to your customers. Use downtime for training and research so everyone on your team knows the product you sell, the market you serve and the customers’ needs. You are only rewarded for the problems you solve for people. Commit to be the #1 problem solver for your customers. There are time and monetary costs associated with taking these steps, but they are minimal when compared to the costs of not taking them. Fines for non-compliance—not to mention potential reputation damage with lenders and customers—are steep. Lee Domingue is CEO of Indirect Lending at Wolters Kluwer Financial Services. To learn more, please visit www.WoltersKluwerFS.com or www.AppOne.net. Lean Processing is Big News in Service Departments Today For those who may not be aware, "lean processing" applies to cutting the fat out of the process, whether it be manufacturing, sales or service within the auto industry. With the industry facing tremendous challenges, just to stay alive, everyone is interested in cutting costs (or fat). So there is much being written about the history and the process of going "lean." Where did the term come from? How to apply waste-cutting steps to your operations? Are there methodologies that will help you keep your dealership, and especially your service department, in the red? Click here or click on the image for a history of the "Story of Lean" And then click here for some interesting insight and sources for putting the process to work in your shop. SmartAuction and Experian Automotive Team Up SmartAuction (administered by GMAC) teams with Experian Automotive to screen their entire online inventory (10,000 cars daily) using Experian Automotive’s AutoCheck vehicle history services.  Gives wholesale buyers even greater peace of mind when purchasing from the industry’s leading upstream remarketing website. Daily reports cover frame damage, flood damage, fire damage, mileage reporting and branded title information. When disclosure discrepancy is found SmartAuction notifies the seller who has the opportunity to properly disclose findings or remove the vehicle from the site. For more information call 877.273.5572 or go to www.SmartAuction.biz. eXtéresAUTO Technology Gives Dealers Control of Online Customer Reviews As 3 out of 4 car shoppers read online dealer reviews and 1 in 5 change their dealership selection based on something negative they read, consumer reviews have massive traction. So when consumers type your dealership’s name on Google, they’re one click away from reviews that can cost you big business! Taking action has been difficult -- until now. Search Asset Management (SAM™) from eXtéresAUTO is the FIRST technology to let you take control of your online reputation, using tools to respond to negative reviews and generate hundreds of positive ones. For more info email Kim Orr, VP eXtéresAUTO or visit www.exteresauto.com. MPi World Class Inspection Program™ Enters Canada MPi World Class Inspection™ (WCI), successful in the U.S., has now expanded into Canada. A proven vital addition to many service departments in the current economy, U.S. auto dealers using customized electronic dealership generating solution, EDGE™ are increasing profits, efficiencies and customer loyalty with quick, precise vehicle inspections. System integrates with most dealership DMS software. WCI pricing is based on dealership size and number of users. Dealership can receive a no-cost price quote and business case.  For more info: 1.800.997.1674 ext 6 or visit www.mpifix.com. Cash for Clunkers Rules and Procedures from the NHTSA – the Final Rule Now that the program is officially underway, the Department of Transportation has issued a set rules pertaining to the “Requirements and Procedures for Consumer Assistance to Recycle and Save Act of 2009”. Included in this document, which is printed in its entirety here, dealers can obtain information on certification and can also print the form needed for the actual purchaser certification agreement by the consumer. It also includes the all-important “engine disablement” procedures. Click here or click on the image to read and print this important legal document.
CIMA Systems Enters New Marketing Partnership CIMA Systems and Sandi Jerome Computer Consulting (SJCC) enter marketing partnership that provides favorable pricing of CIMA products to the dealership clients of SJCC and its new dealer management system, DealerStar. CIMA Systems is the leading provider of multi-channel marketing communications technologies to the auto industry. SJCC is a leading consultancy on automotive business management, internal controls and computer utilization. DealerStar is an open system DMS and integrates seamlessly with CIMA Systems for seamless customer communications. For more information visit www.CIMAsystems.net. MediaTrac Selects SEcureData Solution   MediaTrac, LLC, a leading marketing technology company providing customized media tracking programs to auto dealers, has selected SEcureData hosted and managed by StoneEagle to provide accurate, comprehensive and timely data from their clients’ dealership management systems (DMS). Provides with data necessary to deliver effective customer loyalty programs. Building meaningful customer relationships while providing some form of member equity leads to long-term success. MediaTrac expects to reach the 6 million member plateau by year-end. For more information visit www.media-trac.com. Russell Grant Named eXtéresAUTO National Sales Director eXtéresAUTO, the only complete SEO and "search asset management" advertising solution for the auto industry, has appointed Russell Grant to newly created position of National Sales Director. Grant, with 16 years of experience in dealership sales and training, will spearhead the expansion and training of a national sales force and the ongoing, innovative SEO and SAM™ solutions. Dealers using eXtéresAUTO’s SEO currently achieve an average 72% first-page placement at the major search engines, leading to 25%-75% more calls every month. For more info visit www.eXteresAuto.com.
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