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Top Stories
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Dealers opposed to govt. watchdog proposal
A coalition of consumer groups wants a proposed federal watchdog agency to scrutinize the nation's 20,000 auto dealers, The Detroit News reports. The Obama administration and Democrats in Congress are working to overhaul the nation's financial regulatory system in light of the collapse of major banks last year. "We strongly urge you to ensure that all activities of auto dealers related to the financing of cars are fully included under the jurisdiction of the (proposed) Consumer Financial Protection Agency," said the letter from about 30 groups, including the Consumer Federation of America, Consumers Union, National Council of La Raza and Public Citizen, released Monday. "Consumers desperately need federal protection from ubiquitous predatory auto lending practices and multibillion-dollar auto sales frauds," they said. The National Automobile Dealers Association said last week that Obama's original bill would have "subjected auto dealers to a myriad of new regulations and fees" and would "come when thousands of new car dealers are being forced out of business." NADA said a dealer exemption proposed by Rep. Barney Frank is too narrowly drawn -- and would still subject dealer financing to regulation. The dealers group notes that auto lending is already regulated by all 50 states, the Federal Reserve Board and Federal Trade Commission. Click here for NADA's letter to Barney Frank
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Stop Chasing Shiny Objects
How to get ahead and stay ahead by changing the way you manage everything about your Internet marketing
More info on the Digital Dealer Conference
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Selection, Hiring, Orientation, and Training
Giving new hires a S.H.O.T. to be successful in the Internet department
More info on the Digital Dealer Conference
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Chrysler dealers undergo customer service training
Chrysler Group LLC dealers across the country are being schooled on the company's customer service expectations this week but won't get a glimpse of the company's new model lineup, The Associated Press reported late last week. Company spokeswoman Kathy Graham says dealers are being told in regional meetings about expectations for things like returning telephone calls, opening doors for customers and minimizing waits for service. But she says dealers will not receive details of the new model plan, which is still being developed. It is scheduled for public release Nov. 4. Graham says most dealers already do a good job of customer service. She says Chrysler previously didn't have formal standards. Meetings began in the Detroit area last week and continued in Minneapolis and five other cities on Thursday.
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Ford tops latest brand loyalty ratings from Experian Automotive
Ford Motor Co. vehicles accounted for six of the top 10 vehicles for customer brand loyalty, according to the most recent industry analyses from Experian Automotive. Ford Fusion, Ford Edge and Ford Five-Hundred owners showed the industry's highest brand loyalty, returning to buy a Ford Motor Co. vehicle 62.4 percent, 57.9 percent and 56 percent of the time, respectively, according to Experian. The Ford Freestyle (51.9 percent) was fifth, the Ford Escape (49.4 percent) was seventh, and the Ford Focus (47.57 percent) came in ninth.
[FULL STORY]
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Historic promotion is seen as a sign of GM change
The promotion of Susan Docherty to General Motors ' top U.S. sales position last week marks the first time a woman has held that position in the automaker's 101-year history, according to the company, the Detroit Free Press reports. "It's significant," said Anne Doyle, a former auto industry executive who works as leadership consultant. "It's a very important signal of some new thinking at General Motors." Docherty's promotion to vice president of U.S. sales means she will become the first and only woman on CEO Fritz Henderson's newly formed, nine-person executive committee. She replaces Mark LaNeve, who is leaving the company for a position at Allstate Corp. The challenges of her new job -- a difficult one during calm times -- will be amplified by GM's emergence from bankruptcy reorganization three months ago and the company's 36.3% U.S. sales drop so far this year. "This isn't: Wait three years, five years for a product plan to come in. This is: Deliver results now," said Gary Dilts, senior vice president of global automotive for J.D. Power and Associates.
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SW Florida car dealers replenish inventories
New cars are rolling in to General Motors and Chrysler dealerships across Southwest Florida, offering buyers more choices and boosting sales in October, Tallahassee.com reports. Heavy haulers loaded with vehicles have been arriving up to twice daily at Galeana Chrysler Dodge Jeep, general manager Leon Mudry said Monday. "I think we've gotten 40 to 50 cars in in the last week and they are still coming," Mudry said. "We don't want to be out of something a customer wants." The strong response to the government's cash for clunkers program - which ended in August - thinned inventory for dealers. Local dealers said they received their reimbursements by the end of September, but they couldn't immediately reinvest in new inventory because GM and Chrysler plants were idle in the spring and early summer. Chrysler has temporarily changed its delivery method to get cars to Southwest Florida faster. Normally, cars are transported by rail to Tampa, then taken by truck to dealers. For now, however, they are being taken by truck directly from the factory to the dealers. Cars also have been arriving almost daily at other area dealerships.
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Dollar Thrifty cuts Chrysler purchases, costs
Dollar Thrifty Automotive Group Inc said on Monday it would slash its 2010 car rental purchases from Chrysler and that its average fleet costs had stabilized at levels it hoped to maintain next year, Reuters reports. Chrysler, which had made up 76 percent of Dollar Thrifty's total U.S. fleet purchases in 2008, will now constitute about 30 percent of 2010 fleet purchases, the company said. Ford Motor Co will make up 34 percent of its purchases and General Motors Co GM.UL another 20 percent, Dollar Thrifty said. The rental car company executed a three-year deal with Ford in February. Nissan Motor Co Ltd will make up 6 percent of its fleet purchases. The rest will come from Hyundai Motor Co and Kia Motors Corp of Korea, and other automakers. The car rental group had an agreement with Chrysler that required it to buy 75 percent of its fleet from the automaker. Dollar Thrifty and Chrysler reached a new deal in August after the automaker restructuring that replaced the percentage minimum with a requirement for a fixed volume of vehicle purchases per program year.
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.jpg?i=101909113340) Read the October issue of Dealer magazine before it comes out in print. Click Here
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Ford probing whether GPS satellites can help prevent auto accidents
Your car skid into a corner, hurtling toward an embankment. Perhaps this impending accident could have been avoided if your car had been in contact about his position and velocity with satellites overhead. That's the idea behind Ford's work with Auburn University on experiments to figure out how global positioning system (GPS) satellites can “talk” to cars to prevent accidents, USAToday reports. Ford and Auburn are trying to see if GPS satellites can act as an early warning system that detects when a vehicle is about to lose control and communicate with the vehicle’s stability control systems and other safety features to prevent a rollover or other serious accident.
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UAW vote on Ford talks expected today
In an unorthodox move, the national leadership of the United Auto Workers is expected to ask local union leaders to authorize formal negotiations with Ford Motor Co. and vote to recommend approval of the results of those negotiations today, according to people familiar with the situation, The Detroit News reports. That is possible because Ford and the UAW have been holding informal talks for weeks and have agreed in principle to a package of concessions that go a long way toward meeting the company's demand for parity with its cross-town rivals. However, since UAW rules require local union leaders to authorize such negotiations, the results cannot be presented to them until that vote takes place. UAW President Ron Gettelfinger and Vice President Bob King, who heads the national Ford section, had intended to ask local representatives to approve the negotiations during their last meeting in August. However, they delayed the vote until they could provide more concrete information about what Ford was willing to offer in exchange for the concessions.
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Chrysler Group makes executive appointments
Chrysler Group LLC said Monday that it is naming several executives to head the company's brands, Dow Jones Newswire reports. Fred Diaz Jr. will serve as president and chief executive of the Dodge RAM brand, while Ralph Gilles will become president and CEO of the Dodge car brand. Olivier Francois has been named president and CEO of the Chrysler brand, and Michael Manley will continue as president and CEO of the Jeep brand. The Auburn Hills, Mich., auto maker said Peter Fong, head of the Chrysler brand, and Michael Accavitti, head of the Dodge brand, have resigned.
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It May Be the Internet, but It’s Still Advertising
Learn how to get ahead of your competitors by really understanding and utilizing the Internet as the most effective advertising media ever invented
More info on the Digital Dealer Conference
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Automotive Consumer Engagement Techniques for your Web Site and Social Media Platforms
Leverage online conversations to turn anonymous consumers into engaged shoppers
More on the Digital Dealer Conference
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Compliance Corner
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Cash reporting updated
by Gil Van Over
The cash reporting rule, like the Used Car Rule, has been around for a long time and not all dealers get it right. .jpg?i=101909113340) The consequences, though, are reported to be increasingly ominous for dealers who do not comply with the letter of the rule. Rumors have it that enforcement actions are getting stronger, more frequent and heavier.
[FULL STORY]
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In Dealer magazine
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Ed Bozarth, Ed Bozarth Companies
Dealer interview
Ed Bozarth, a car retailer for four decades who now owns six General Motors Co. stores in Kansas, Colorado and Las Vegas, has lived through many downturns. As GM emerges from the historic turmoil of recent months, Bozarth remains one of the automaker’s biggest cheerleaders. He thinks the gleaming new product in his Chevrolet (and Saturn) stores is second to none, and he can’t say enough about what he calls “the powerhouse team” that’s taken the helm at the streamlined company. We talked with Bozarth recently about how he’s managed to keep turning a profit as he watched his volume erode – and why he’s so optimistic about the days ahead. Read more
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Dave Anderson Quote of the Week
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A leader’s job description: Take the human capital you’ve been entrusted with and make it more valuable tomorrow than it is today.
-- Dave Anderson, Learn to Lead, Inc.
Order Dave's new book and get a $99 bonus! Click Here!
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