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| Video News & Views
PEOPLE & IDEAS TO WATCH | How Customers Choose Dealerships | | More data keeps emerging about what dealerships need to do to appeal to - and retain - customers. |
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| Table of Contents |
June 17, 2010 |
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Video News You Need
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Video News for Now: The Automotive Digest editorial and video team is always out filming timely video interviews with the leaders in the dealership and automotive industries. You can find these videos each day in Dealer Digest Daily and AutomotiveDigest.com - and each week in this publication (Dealer Management Weekly), Fleet Management Weekly, and Automotive Digest Weekly - Green Edition. ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Used Vehicle Reports You Need: Keep up with what's going on in the used vehicle market with two industry-leading used vehicle reports in each issue of Dealer Management Weekly - from companies like NADA Used Car Guide, Kelley Blue Book, OPENLANE, Manheim, ADESA, CentralDispatch and more. You can also find a full repository of these reports in the Studies & Reports section of AutomotiveDigest.com.
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Chip Perry
AutoTrader.com
President and CEO
Great Tools Sell New Vehicles
AutoTrader.com has created a whole series of easy-to-use tools that enable dealers to merchandise their new vehicle inventory and specials, just like they do with used vehicles.
- [Read More] |
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Mike Cooperman
J.D. Power and Associates
Senior Director of Marketing
Social Media Monitoring 2.0
Highly honed scientific algorithms make for social media monitoring tools than can help dealers keep tabs on the conversations they need to track.
- [Read More] |
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Ron Sompels
Crowe Horwath
Partner
Managing Personnel Risks
Due to personnel cuts, many dealerships cut their internal audit departments - which increases risk. But there are still ways to make sure that key controls are operating effectively.
- [Read More] |
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Stats and Smart Charts
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2010 Sales Forecast By Performance Parts And Accessories Manufacturers
[Click to enlarge graphic]
 Significance of the Data
- 14% of manufacturers expect total industry sales to be up more than 10% for 2010, and 29% expect total industry sales to be up between 3% and 9%
- 71% of appearance product manufacturers expect industry sales to be up between 3% and 9% in 2010
- More than one third see an increase in number of knockoffs of their products
- 1 in 4 see increase in number of competitor's products, and 1 in 5 have increased numbers of competitors
Source: Fast Lane Research - June 2010
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Industry Conferences
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Dallas, TX June 29, 2010
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Houston, TX June 30, 2010
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Chicago, IL July 22-24, 2010
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Traverse City, MI August 2-5, 2010
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Monterey, CA August 15, 2010
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New York, NY September 7-10, 2010
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Tom Kontos
ADESA Analytical Services
EVP, Customer Strategies & Analytics
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May 2010 Kontos Kommentary
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Wholesale used vehicle prices continued to stabilize at high levels in May; Falling modestly from all-time high in April; Registering 3rd month in row at an average above $10,500; May be a looming peak in used vehicle price growth.
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Joe Steinberger
CentralDispatch
VP of Product and Business Development
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CentralDispatch Used Car Shipping Report
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Vehicle shipments increased between April and May 2010; Up dramatically since May 2009; Shipping levels for dealers are now at highest level of12-month period ending in May; Increase in shipments from May 2009 to May 2010 was 50.3%.
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Previous All-Time Highs:
$10,400 registered in July and August 2001 before wholesale prices crashed on 9/11.
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Last Month Higher than Previous Month:
6.4% increase from April to May puts shipments slightly higher than March 2010.
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Current Whole Price Levels:
Translated into used retail prices that approach or exceed 60% of new vehicle price.
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Price of Shipping a Vehicle:
Increased 2.9% from April to May to their highest level of past 12 months.
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Tight Supply Situation:
Fundamental driver to high wholesale prices may be with us for quite some time.
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Upward Trend in Shipping Costs:
Increased during past 3 months in conjunction with increases in cost of fuel.
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Some "Moving Parts" May Mitigate Supply Declines:
Sales of new vehicles into rental fleets up over 250K units through May versus last year.
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Costs Compared to Year Ago:
Shipping costs are up 0.2% compared to May 2009.
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Wholesale Prices in May Averaged $10,524:
Down 0.8% from April and up 5.5% versus prior year.
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May Dealer Vehicle Shipments:
Up by 6.4% from April with total volume of nearly 36K vehicles in May.
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Fullsize SUVs:
Up 2.3%, and had highest month-over-month average price increase.
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Shipping Volumes Up Across Major Regions:
South to Midwest saw the largest increase in volume.
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Other Wholesale Segments:
Many other vehicle model class segments showed flat to modestly declining prices.
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Some States Saw Declines:
Shipments from Florida to Texas grew by 18% after growing 16% last month.
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People Going Places
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Rick Gibbs
Dealer.com
President
Dealer.com has named Rick Gibbs as its new President. Gibbs co-founded the company in 1998 and has since held the position of CTO, shaping and directing Dealer.com's technological vision, while spearheading its emergence as the global leader in online marketing solutions for the automotive industry. As President, Gibbs will help guide the company as it significantly increases employee headcount and accelerates product development and delivery volume over the years ahead.
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Jeanette Slepian
Compli
Compli has appointed Jeanette Slepian as Chief Operating Officer. In her new role, Slepian will be responsible for directing the company's technology and content strategy, coordinating business and employee needs and developing strong partnerships with industry influencers. Slepian brings to Compli over 30 years of sales, marketing, strategic business development and executive management experience in a diversity of industries. For the past 15 years she has worked with technology companies focused on business-to-business and business-to-consumer applications.
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| The Next Big Thing |
Truck Sales Bounce Back, Sign of Economic Improvement
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When consumers are out there buying pickups, you know the financial health of the economy is in a better place. Automaker see an 11 percent gain through May. The 1.1 million 2009 sales were the lowest in 18 years.
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Mercury Brand Elimination Brings Back Memories in Canada
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Ford's recent announcement to eliminate Mercury brand brings back memories from 1999 when the automaker killed Mercury in Canada. Over 100 Canadian dealers filed a class-action lawsuit which Ford settled for $48 million. Learning from that experience, Ford says it is providing a "fair and reasonable" compensation package for its dealers and intends to expand the Lincoln lineup to make up for lost volume.
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| Internet Sales & Marketing |
What's In A Name? GM Retreats on Chevy Snafu
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A seemingly innocent memo to GM marketing associates has caused a stir after the New York Times printed excerpts of it. The memo encouraged GM employees not to use the nickname "Chevy" in place of the full name, "Chevrolet." The term Chevy has been commonplace in the American vernacular and used in the automaker's own advertising for decades. The objective of the initiative, however, was to standardize the brand's global image.
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Website Tabs Best Vehicle Choices for Budget Shoppers
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Cars.com editors picks 10 used vehicles that can be purchased for around $10,000 that they consider great buys. Included are compacts, sedans and minivans. Seven are imports while Ford landed three spots.
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| The Green Dealership |
Consumers Study Electric Car Data to Alleviate Range Anxiety
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As several much-anticipated plug-in hybrid and pure electric cars make their way to market in the next couple of years, buyers will be studying available data to make their decisions. Concerns will include driving range between charges, charging time, and how driving conditions and style will affect the outcome.
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Smart Fortwo Car Clubs Meet in Kansas City, Anticipate Electric Version
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Daimler's tiny Smart Fortwo has been getting a lot of attention since entering the road in 2008. Car clubs just met in Kansas City to share experiences and check out the upcoming electric version, which is expected to sell for about $20,000, compared to the base price of nearly $12,000 for the gas-powered version.
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| F&I Administration |
Congressional Regulation of F&I Departments May Be Unavoidable
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Auto dealers are struggling to avoid being regulated by the new Consumer Financial Protection Agency. NADA argues that dealers are not banks. Critics claim that exempting dealers gives them an advantage over small banks and credit unions. In addition, unscrupulous dealers are taking advantage of young soldiers. Congress seems intent on casting its regulatory net as wide as possible.
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GM Creates Venture Capital Subsidiary
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General Motors Co. may be owned mostly by the government, but that isn't stopping the company from acting like venture capitalists. GM announced today it is creating a new subsidiary to "help the company identify and develop innovative technologies in the automotive/transportation sector." General Motors Ventures LLC will be headed by former GM global vice president of product planning Jon J. Lauckner, who will report to vice chairman of corporate strategy and new business development, Stephen J. Girsky.
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| Used Vehicle Sales and Remarketing |
Used Prices Maintaining Momentum
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Autotrader.com says prices of used vehicles, including certified unit, continued to gain ground in May. Asking prices of models most viewed climbed in year-over-year comparison. The Ford F-150 is the most popular model on the site, and its price was up 12%. The fastest climber was the Jeep Wrangler with a price leap of 17.5%.
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Mercury Used Values Expected to Hold Steady
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As Ford moves to wind down the Mercury brand, dealers and Mercury owners are concerned about the effect on residual values. Analysts are comparing this wind down to that of Plymouth a decade ago. In the case of Plymouth, there was no significant drop off in used car values. Consumers did not perceive that there was a premium factored into the brand. Apparently the same holds true for Mercury, confirming Ford's decision.
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| Aftermarket Trends & Issues |
Steering Rod Recall Next Hurdle for Toyota
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Records of warranty work and customer complaints in a California lawsuit show Toyota delayed reporting safety issues relating to a defect in steering control for more than a decade before recalling nearly one million trucks in the U.S. for the problem.
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Technician Incentive, Customer Offer Boost Service Sales
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Dealers are continually working to boost sales and profit in the parts and service end of their business. The goal is to cover total dealership overhead with back-end profits. This can be very allusive and unattainable by most dealers. My Auto Import Center in Muskegon, Michigan, has developed a plan to achieve this goal.
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