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News and Industry Features
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Ford Economist: US auto sales appear to be stabilizing
U.S. auto sales appear to be stabilizing, with fundamentals for buyers gradually improving, said Ford Motor Co. Chief Economist Ellen Hughes-Cromwick on Tuesday, Dow Jones reports. Also, trends for long-term growth in Brazil, Russia, India and China are positive, she said. Hughes-Cromwick was speaking on the so-called BRIC nations at a presentation for the nonprofit Global Interdependence Center held at the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia. Broadly, economic indicators are showing a recovery already underway, she told Dow Jones. "Some of these indicators can be bumpy from month to month," such as the dip in U.S. consumer confidence last week. Ford will see an improvement in sales in 2010, she told the audience, without providing more detail. "The economy will help support the environment" in becoming one that's better than the first half of 2009. Speaking on the "Cash for Clunkers" program, she said that 200,000 people waited for the government initiative before trading in their vehicles. Usually, about 90,000 to 100,000 units are traded in every year.
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After the Revolution: Collaborating with Customers and the Rise of Dealer 2.0
How the most advanced dealerships are using the Internet to gain market share and create a brand experience competitors can’t beat
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Web Analytics and Breakthrough Lead Generation
How to use analytics to maximize lead development
More info on the Digital Dealer Conference
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Advertising ideas for the factory folks
Advertising
by Jim Boldebook
I know that a number of factory folks read my advertising articles in Dealer Magazine as I receive frequent emails, some good, some bad, and have actually developed an E-mail relationship with some of the upper-level management over the past 10 years. Unfortunately, a few have been purged in the past few months, but maybe I’ll make a few new friends…and not-so-friends in the coming months. So to those of you who are reading, a few ideas on the marketing challenges ahead of us.
[FULL STORY]
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CBS Radio sees auto ads lifting revenues in second half...
CBS Radio sees revenue improvement in the third and fourth quarters of this year, led by a resurgence in automotive advertising, according to the division's chief executive, The Wall Street Journal reports. "We believe that the advertising climate is improving, and the numbers are pointing that way," CBS Radio CEO Dan Mason said in an interview. In the second quarter, revenue at CBS Inc.'s (CBS) radio division fell 23% to $322 million, an improvement compared with a 29% decrease in the first quarter. "And we expect to do better in the third quarter, and then better in the fourth," Mason predicted. As he indicated in a May interview, Mason said there are fewer radio commercials available in the marketplace than the past and more demand for the spots that are for sale. "Automotive has come back," he said. "We benefited from cash-for-clunkers, and we expect to benefit even more in the next round."
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...'Cash for Clunkers' equals cash for cable stations
The federal government's so-called “Cash for Clunkers” program has dramatically fueled auto sales across America, and has kicked local TV advertising into gear as well, Broadcasting and Cable reports. The initial round of the program, which replaced an estimated 250,000 gas-guzzling automobiles with fuel-efficient new rides, is being labeled a raging success by many. And few are more enthusiastic about Cash for Clunkers than local broadcasters. “Man, does this ever speak to pent-up demand,” says Television Bureau of Advertising (TVB) President Chris Rohrs. “The blood pressure cuff put on the patient has given quite a reading—it's not a dead patient at all.” The U.S. Department of Transportation's Car Allowance Rebate System (CARS), as Cash for Clunkers is formally titled, dispensed credits of $3,500 or $4,500, depending on fuel efficiency, toward new automobiles. The program had $1 billion to give out toward the new cars, and burned through the stash in about a month. A $2 billion extension of CARS won Senate approval late last week after the House approved it earlier. As virtually no one foresaw just how vigorously consumers would respond to the incentives, some station executives say the dealers were in many cases slow to get their marketing plans in place. “I'm not sure the dealers fully understood it,” says WSBT South Bend President/General Manager John Mann.
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VW to review marketing, advertising
Volkswagen of America is reviewing its choice of lead agency handling its U.S. marketing and advertising, The Detroit News reports. Volkswagen AG's U.S. subsidiary announced the review today as part of its strategy to increase its presence in the United States by setting up local production facilities and rolling out models designed for American car buyers. "Our goal of rapidly increasing our volume in a mature market requires the Volkswagen brand to evolve into a more relevant mainstream choice," said Tim Ellis, vice president for marketing at Volkswagen of America. "The Volkswagen brand needs to inspire our base of enthusiasts as well as reach out and captivate those in mainstream America. Therefore, we are re-evaluating all areas of our business, and after careful considerations have decided to take the necessary steps to ensure we have the right agency partner in place," he said. Volkswagen has not established a list of agencies that will be considered yet but has invited its current agency of record, Miami-based Crispin Porter + Bogusky, to make a pitch.
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Ford to bring back the Taurus
The Ford Taurus, once the country’s best-selling car before being overrun by Honda and Toyota, is trying to stage a comeback, the Kansas City Star reports. Ford Motor Co. is in the midst of launching the new, redesigned Taurus, which has been making its way to dealerships in the past two weeks. It marks the resurgence of a Ford brand once regarded as the domestic auto industry’s answer to the fuel-efficient and cheap Japanese imports. “It’s an unbelievable car, the kind that we should expect from Ford in terms of styling, quality, safety and pricing,” said Brad Hewlett, dealer principal at Bob Allen Ford in Overland Park. “They should’ve never done away with the Taurus name in the first place.” The future of the 2010 Taurus, which has gone upscale with luxury features and technological gadgets, may also answer the question of whether Ford Chief Executive Alan Mulally is a “car guy.” Analysts so far have given the former Boeing executive high marks for turning Ford’s financial fortunes around since joining the automaker in late 2006. Ford is the only domestic auto company to avoid a government-assisted bankruptcy reorganization plan this year.
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Edmunds.com: Sales activity from 'clunkers' fading fast
The dramatic jump in auto sales attributed to the "cash for clunkers" incentive program is fading fast, according to Edmunds.com, which said automotive purchase intent slid 31% from its peak in late July, Dow Jones reports. U.S. auto sales staged a partial recovery in July after the overwhelming demand for the government's incentive program. Declines narrowed for large auto makers General Motors Co. and Toyota Motor Corp., and Ford Motor Co. posted a small year-over-year rise in sales, its first in 20 months. Still, auto makers warned the U.S. was unlikely to sustain similar momentum to the wildly successful German auto stimulus plan. The car-shopping Web site said activity fell 15% last week from the late July peak and warned purchase intent will return to levels seen before the launch of the program. Purchase intent is seen as a leading indicator of sales to come in the following 90 days, according to Edmunds.com. "Now that there is plenty of money in the program and the most eager shoppers have already participated, the sense of urgency is gone, and the pace of intent decline is accelerating," said Edmunds.com Chief Executive Jeremy Anwyl. " Inventories are getting lean and prices are climbing, giving consumers reasons to sit back."
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In Dealer magazine
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Sales opportunities are sitting in the service bay waiting room
by Rob Lange
It’s no secret that millions of fewer new cars will be sold this year, regardless of record-setting industry incentives. What this means is you can just fight and claw for your share of walk-in and Internet traffic, or you can do what you’re already doing and look to supplement sales by getting a bit creative. Tough times call for new ideas. Instead of looking at only the front door or your CRM, where the majority of the competition is, it’s time to also look in another direction. How about the service department? We all know that most buyers are payment buyers. We also know sometimes repairs on out-of-warranty cars can get quite expensive. I’ll venture to say that there are many service customers, who when shown that they can drive a newer, more reliable vehicle in a similar payment range, would jump at the chance to do it. Read more
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ARCHIVE
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Issue 1
August 12, 2009
Vol. 2
Issue 1
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Issue 52
August 5, 2009
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Issue 52
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Issue 51
July 29, 2009
Vol. 1
Issue 51
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Issue 50
July 22, 2009
Vol. 1
Issue 50
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Issue 49
July 15, 2009
Vol. 1
Issue 49
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Issue 48
July 8, 2009
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Issue 48
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Issue 47
July 1, 2009
Vol. 1
Issue 47
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Issue 46
June 24, 2009
Vol. 1
Issue 46
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Issue 45
June 17, 2009
Vol. 1
Issue 45
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Issue 44
June 10, 2009
Vol. 1
Issue 44
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Issue 43
June 3, 2009
Vol. 1
Issue 43
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Issue 42
May 27, 2009
Vol. 1
Issue 42
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Issue 41
May 20, 2009
Vol. 1
Issue 41
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Issue 40
May 13, 2009
Vol. 1
Issue 40
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Issue 39
May 6, 2009
Vol. 1
Issue 39
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Issue 38
April 29, 2009
Vol. 1
Issue 38
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Issue 37
April 22, 2009
Vol. 1
Issue 37
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Issue 36
April 15, 2009
Vol. 1
Issue 36
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Issue 35
April 8, 2009
Vol. 1
Issue 35
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Issue 34
April 1, 2009
Vol. 1
Issue 34
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