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| Video News & Views
PEOPLE & IDEAS TO WATCH | The Customer is Back | | Customers have returned to dealerships, but they've changed. Now they're more empowered, not to mention cautious and value-conscious... |
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| Table of Contents |
July 21, 2010 |
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Don't Put Your Financing at Risk
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Are You Unknowingly Putting Your Dealership's Financing at Risk? (A Crowe Horwath LLP workshop presented at the NAMAD Annual Convention, July 23, 2010. From 9:15 to 10:30 at the Sheraton Chicago Hotel & Towers.) In today's economy, having a sound relationship with a financial institution is more important than ever as lenders assess risk and manage their portfolios to comply with increased regulatory scrutiny. Dealerships need to be aware of key factors that can affect their relationships with lenders in these difficult times. For more information on the NAMAD workshop please visit www.namad.org. ----------------------------------------------------------------------- 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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Gary Marcotte
AutoNation
Senior VP of Marketing
The Customer is Back
Customers have returned to dealerships, but they've changed. Now they're more empowered, not to mention cautious and value-conscious...
- [Read More] |
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Chris Cawston
SCI Consulting
Director
Retail Sales Changing for Dealers & Customers
One expert thinks there will be huge changes in the next year when it comes to how dealers handle customers.
- [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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Stats and Smart Charts
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J.D. Power Initial Quality Scores - 2005 Vs. 2010
[Click to enlarge graphic]
 Significance of the Data
- Comparison of JD Power's Initial Quality Score (IQS) results from 2005 versus recently released 2010 results highlights quality parity
- More than 50% of brands included in 2010 survey have scores between 111 and 130, compared to only 40% in the 2005 survey
- When outliers removed, overall distribution for 2005 was much more dispersed than it is for 2010
- Also bears noting that for 2010 there is global representation by brands with scores below 110
- As Ford, Lincoln, Volvo, and Hyundai co-mingle w/ mainstays Porsche, Acura, Lexus, and Honda
Source: NADA Used Car Industry Update - July 2010
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Industry Conferences
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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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Detroit, MI October 12-15, 2010
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Las Vegas, NV November 2-5, 2010
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Tom Kontos
ADESA Analytical Services
EVP, Customer Strategies & Analytics
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June 2010 Kontos Kommentary
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Used vehicles financed in April had average retail price 61.7% of average new vehicle financed that month; Put used vehicle retail prices above 60% threshold level that causes many shoppers to opt for new vehicle rather than used.
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Joe Steinberger
CentralDispatch
VP of Product and Business Development
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Used Car Shipping Report
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Vehicle shipments decreased dramatically between May and June 2010, but were up since June 2009; 15.5% drop from May to June puts shipments at similar level as February 2010; Drop reverses increases from February through May.
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Used Vehicle Demand Weakening:
Wholesale prices could be expected to moderate from their peak in May.
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Year-Over-Year Shipment Increase:
Increase in shipments from June 2009 to June 2010 was 27.7%.
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June Wholesale Prices:
Average wholesale prices fell by over $250 per unit.
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Vehicles Shipping Price:
Dropped 1.1% from May to June, but at 2nd highest level of past 12 months.
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Tight Supplies of Used Vehicles:
Wholesale prices should be relatively high at auction and online in months ahead.
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Year-Over-Year Shipping Cost:
Shipping prices are up 0.4% since June 2009.
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Wholesale Used Vehicle Prices in June:
Averaged $10,278 - down 2.6% from May and up 1.4% versus prior year.
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June Dealer Vehicle Shipments:
Down by 15.5% from May with total volume of just over 30K vehicles in June.
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Fullsize and Luxury SUVs:
Only segments that showed month-over-month increases.
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Shipping Volumes Down:
Across all major regions of country, Southwest to Northeast saw largest decrease.
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Midsize Cars and Minivans:
Particularly important to fleet remarketers, saw significant price declines in June.
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Number of Shipments in Larger States:
Saw decrease, shipments from Georgia to Florida saw largest drop.
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Auction Industry Inventory Levels:
30 days compared to 35 days last June - tight supply and high auction throughput.
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Number of Shipments Per Dealer:
Down 15.8% between May and June to lowest level of last 12 months.
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People Going Places
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Edie Hirtenstein
MobileTrac, LLC
Director of Data Development
MobileTrac, LLC, provider of instaVIN (instaVIN.com) vehicle history services and pioneer of the first SMS mobile accident history reporting service has employed the services of Edie Hirtenstein as Director of Data Development. Ms. Hirtenstein was most recently the Senior Product Manager for the AutoCheck® brand, Experian Automotive Group's vehicle history reporting service. Ms. Hirtenstein led the data and feature development initiatives for AutoCheck and is one of the named inventors of the "AutoCheck Score" feature, which has helped drive AutoCheck existing dealer client usage and attract major new customers. Ms. Hirtenstein also worked on a number of other important product and data enhancement initiatives during her more than seven-year tenure at AutoCheck.
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Gerard DeVito
Eaton Corporation
Director - Engineering, Hybrid Power Systems Division
Diversified industrial manufacturer Eaton Corporation today announced that Gerard DeVito has been named Director - Engineering, for the Vehicle Group's Hybrid Power Systems Division. In this new role, DeVito will be responsible for directing all aspects of Eaton's Hybrid global engineering initiatives including design, development and leading worldwide engineering activities. DeVito joined Eaton in 1986 and has held positions of increasing responsibility within the engineering, product planning, and sales and marketing organizations. Most recently, he was Director - Global Engineering Centers of Excellence, for the Vehicle Group.
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| The Next Big Thing |
Toyota Won't Report Unintended Acceleration Findings Until Government Does
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While the company has completed its own investigation into unintended acceleration problems, Toyota will not reveal any results until the U.S. government completes its investigations (by several agencies) of more than 2,000 complaints.
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If You Build It, They'll Sell It
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It's been looked at as one of America's dream muscle cars for the better part of 50 years, but until now if you wanted to buy a Chevrolet Corvette, you had to trust the engineers at General Motors to put the horsepower under the hood. Now, as a new marketing ploy, if not a nod to DIY enthusiasts everywhere, that's all changing.
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| Internet Sales & Marketing |
Online Video Ads Are the Place to Be
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The online video advertising market is poised for rapid growth over the next few years, according to eMarketer. The research firm estimates online video advertising spending will grow more than 48 percent this year, reaching $1.5 billion. By 2014, it predicts the video ad market will top $5.5 billion.
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Corvette Returns to TV with 1st Ad in 5 Years
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The first work from Goodby, Silverstein & Partners' new client, General Motors' Chevrolet, is out, and it's a testosterone-filled, 45-second TV spot for the 2011 Corvette. The ad, which aired for the first time on ESPN, marks GM's return to TV advertising for the Corvette after a five-year absence.
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| The Green Dealership |
Updated EPA Renewable Fuel Standards Below Mandate
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The EPA had set hard targets for renewable fuels, reaching an overall level of 36 billion gallons by 2022. But some fuels are barely on track to meet those goals. So the EPA now has 2011 target as 7.95% of total gasoline sales.
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Jay Leno: Chevy Volt 'Underwhelming'
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Oops! GM gave Jay Leno a Chevy Volt to test drive late last year, but when interviewed the comedian described it as an "underwhelming compact model being phased out. "If you didn't know, you might think it's a Cobalt or a Camry," he said.
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| F&I Administration |
Feds Hunting for Discriminatory Loan Practices
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The Department of Justice is actively hunting for finance organizations that violate non-discriminatory regulations. The new law about to be signed regulating financial transactions will only give regulators in the federal government more power. Wolters Kluwer Financial Services has launched a new program to help dealers and other financial institutions to steer clear of these potential problems.
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Lenders Warming To Subprime Buyers Again
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The loan approval rate for automotive customers is improving, according to an IHS Global Insight report. Even those with credit scores below 620, down to 5% approval last year, is now up to 9% approved, with 90% of top-scorers and 82% of mid-scorers approved.
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| Used Vehicle Sales and Remarketing |
Used Vehicle Prices Plateau
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For most of the year, used-vehicle prices have been on the upswing, but their rise has started to diminish. One Kelley Blue Book analyst, in particular, said this could mean that the used market has hit "a point of equilibrium." In the latest Blue Book Market Report, KBB director of vehicle valuation Juan Flores explained that lack of used inventory has been the biggest catalyst in pushing used values up. However, the robust used pricing isn't expected to stick around in every vehicle category.
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Certified Pre-Owned Vehicles Offer Alternative
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AOL Autos conducted its own analysis of certified pre-owned vehicles currently available from the 2005 through 2007 model years and came up with 10 recommendations. The listing consisted of a myriad of brands, including Saturn and Pontiac, that have been discontinued by General Motors as well as a few high-end nameplates such as Jaguar, Ferrari and Porsche.
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| Aftermarket Trends & Issues |
Ford Offering Accessories to Personalize Fiesta
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A line of custom accessories from Ford will allow owners to personalize their Fiesta. Interior and exterior modifications include illuminated gear-shift knobs and body-side tattoo. The accessories are available at Ford dealers or online.
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Advanced Driver Assistance Systems Could Soon be More Prevalent
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Advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS) have achieved little market penetration despite emphasis on safety. However, advances in radar technology, lower prices and intuitive interfaces should increase market penetration soon.
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