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News and Industry Features
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GM to stop auctioning new cars on EBay
The hammer has fallen on General Motors Co.'s experiment with EBay Inc., The Los Angeles Times reports. The automaker said Tuesday that it would halt sales of new vehicles on the auction site today, just six weeks after the first new car went up for bid. Neither the automaker nor the online auctioneer would reveal sales results, but car dealers said the program accounted for very few purchases and failed to fulfill its promise of upending the way cars are bought and sold."It was not a successful program, unfortunately," said Peter Welch, president of the California New Car Dealers Assn., whose membership includes 225 General Motors dealers that participated in the EBay sales. "I'm not sure whether their motivation was to sell cars or just create buzz." GM and EBay said the program, which was limited to California, was useful in helping determine whether auctions would work on a nationwide basis. The online auctions were credited with generating 1.5 million page views and 15,000 sales leads for dealers.
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Greasing Fixed Operations by Learning the Nuts and Bolts of e-Commerce
Six key e-Commerce elements to improve and get ahead in today’s market
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Web 2.0: Solving the Mystery and Improving your Web Results
How to differentiate your dealership from the competition online
More info on the Digital Dealer Conference
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Complaints rise against video ad nets
As brands pump more dollars into Web video, complaints are being filed against video ad networks over dubious practices, AdWeek reports. Industry observers said that some networks deceptively pump up their ad impression numbers by running video units that start automatically when users visit a site -- sometimes below the fold -- making it unlikely that viewers would actually see the ads. For example, at deadline last week, video ads for brands like Snickers, Sprite, BMW and Mass Mutual were running at the very bottom of Puff.com and Qj.net. Those placements, served by the video ad network Tremor Media, were most likely not what these brands had in mind. To some, that's not just bad business. "It's fake pre-roll," said Tod Sacerdoti, CEO of ad network BrightRoll. Last Thursday, ABC was also running auto-start trailers for its new show FlashForward on numerous long-tail sites, both above and below the fold.
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Disney, GM still mum on Test Track
The question of whether General Motors will continue to sponsor one of Walt Disney World’s most popular attractions has the attention of the automaker’s chief, but there’s no sign a deal is imminent, The Orlando Sentinel reports. The future of GM’s name on Test Track at Epcot was clearly on the radar of Fritz Henderson, who stopped into town last week on a post-bankruptcy, post-bailout tour to schmooze with dealers. "Nothing to report today," he told me when I asked about the latest negotiations between the two companies. He declined to say anything further other than, "We’ve had a great relationship at Epcot for many years." A Disney spokeswoman was also vague on the topic.
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GM, Chrysler to meet with dealers over closings
General Motors and Chrysler are scheduled to meet Wednesday in the U.S. Congress with auto dealers, part of efforts to reach an agreement over the automakers' plans to close thousands of dealerships as the companies restructure following bankruptcy, Business Week reports. The talks, brokered by House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer and Sen. Richard Durbin, the Senate's No. 2 Democrat, are the first face-to-face negotiations between the automakers and dealers about plans to cut nearly 3,000 dealerships across the U.S. over the next year. GM and Chrysler say the cuts are needed to reduce costs and better align their dealership base with lower consumer demand for new vehicles. The automakers have the backing of the Obama administration, which shepherded them through bankruptcy reorganization this year and said that cutting dealers was a needed step to help them reorganize. But dealers argue the closings could lead to thousands of job cuts at a time when unemployment is at its highest level in decades. They also accuse the automakers of cutting some dealerships that were performing relatively well.
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Toyota damaged but not defeated by floor mat woes
Toyota's biggest ever U.S. recall is an image blight, dealing a blow right when the Japanese automaker had been planning a North American marketing blitz to turn around its money-losing business, The Associated Press reports. Yet the news could have been worse for Toyota Motor Corp. The problem can be fixed with relative ease by exchanging floor mats, when some recalls involve taking apart cars. Analysts said Wednesday the flaw is unlikely to exact a great toll on Toyota's already-suffering bottom line. "It's making big headlines because of the big numbers, but in terms of the company's profits, it is not likely to have a big impact," said Mamoru Katou, auto analyst with Tokai Tokyo Research. As many as 3.8 million Toyota vehicles in the United States may need to replace floor mats that are suspected of causing accelerators to get stuck, leading to crashes.
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'Rejected' dealers air their grievances on YouTube
Some terminated Chrysler and General Motors are starring in their own YouTube videos on a newly established "Rejected Dealers" channel on the user-submitted video Web site. The channel also has coverage of auto executives' appearances before Congress last fall and news clips surrounding the government bailout of Chrysler and General Motors. Watch the videos
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.jpg?i=100509112222) Read the October issue of Dealer magazine before it comes out in print. Click Here
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Sonic teams with Dealer.com on mobile dealer Web sites
Sonic Automotive, Inc., the nation's third-largest automotive retailer, Monday announced the launch of a customized mobile initiative that expands Web site reach for all 154 Sonic dealerships. The group's Web sites now automatically format dealership Web site content for the specific mobile devices shoppers use to view dealership information. Automotive shoppers now get expanded access to dealer information, including inventory and high definition vehicle videos, specially optimized for their particular hand-held devices. Working in partnership with Dealer.com, the online marketing solutions company, the initiative launched on September 1.
[FULL STORY]
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Don’t Just Manage It…Run it with Velocity
Strategies for moving the needle in today’s used car marketplace
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How Does Your Online Advertising Measure Up?
Tools and techniques that will empower you to take control of the effectiveness of your online advertising
More info on the Digital Dealer Conference
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Equity firm buys minority stake in Dealer Tire
Boston, Mass.-based private equity firm TA Associates has bought a minority stake in Dealer Tire, the country's largest wholesaler of tires to car dealerships, Modern Tire Dealer reports. Terms of the deal have not been disclosed. Headquartered in Cleveland, Ohio, Dealer Tire has established national tire supply programs with Toyota, Nissan, Volkswagen, Kia, Audi, BMW and other car manufacturers. The company manages 20 distribution centers and provides same-day or next-day delivery service nationwide. "We have closely followed Dealer Tire's rapid growth over the years," says M. Roy Burns, senior vice president at TA Associates."Due to the efforts of Dealer Tire, automobile dealers have doubled their market share of the replacement tire market over the last decade," says Michael Berk, TA Associates' managing director. "Despite the advantage of recurring customer visits, auto dealers have undersold replacement tires historically due to inventory requirements and lack of training. Dealer Tire is changing this distribution channel by equipping dealers with the tools, training and logistical support to improve sales and retention of their existing flow of service customers."
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Leasing starts to make a comeback
Now that auto leasing is starting to gain popularity again, captive finance companies are trying to get back in the market and offer leasing as another option besides an auto loan for their customers, AutoLoanDaily reports. GMAC and Chrysler Financial halted leasing last year after taking big losses from SUVs and trucks coming off lease that had declined in value. During that time, independent lease companies and other financial institutions offered leases to help fill the void in the market. According to data from CNW Research, through June of 2009, GM vehicles were leased 17.6% of the time, even though GMAC just recently started offering leases to customers on certain models. Chrysler vehicles were leased 10.2% of the time. Ford, which did not stop offering leases, leased vehicles more than 21% of the time. Historically, independents are responsible for about half of all brand leases, more so with popular and higher priced nameplates, CNW Research reports. About 25% of all new vehicle intenders prefer leasing over purchasing using a car loan.
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Digital Dealer
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The social networking gut check
by Joe Webb
 There are no bigger buzzwords in the automotive industry than social networking, social media, or social marketing. Apparently, the whole world loves being social so we the people have decided to lock ourselves behind closed doors, demand some peace and quiet, jump online, and have disconnected conversations. Even I do not utilize social networking sites as well as I should. Yes, on these sites I have befriended a countless many of you fine Digital Dealer readers – as well as our very own Mike Roscoe. A problem I have is that I personally have two communities to appease. I have the automotive realm and all of my comedy connections. If I were as smart about the medium as I claim to be, I’d have two separate accounts, but I do not. Thankfully, I have earned myself the reputation as the “comedian” in both worlds and am now often expected to give my skewed view on the industry through blogs, postings, and the like…even if it is an occasionally sarcastic comment. It is the role that I’ve carved out for myself so any potential profile visitors online that disagree with my views can let it be known or click to the next page. That is the beauty of being an individual within the social media environment. There is no need to masquerade as more than you are. However, this article is dedicated to businesses entering this social networking platform in hopes of expanding their brand awareness and putting themselves in the best light while communicating their unique marketing message. Read more
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ARCHIVE
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Issue 7
September 23, 2009
Vol. 2
Issue 7
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Issue 6
September 16, 2009
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Issue 6
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Issue 5
September 9, 2009
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Issue 4
September 2, 2009
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Issue 4
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Issue 3
August 26, 2009
Vol. 2
Issue 3
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Issue 2
August 19, 2009
Vol. 2
Issue 2
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Issue 1
August 12, 2009
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Issue 1
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Issue 52
August 5, 2009
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Issue 51
July 29, 2009
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Issue 51
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Issue 50
July 22, 2009
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Issue 49
July 15, 2009
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Issue 48
July 8, 2009
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Issue 48
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Issue 47
July 1, 2009
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Issue 46
June 24, 2009
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Issue 45
June 17, 2009
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Issue 44
June 10, 2009
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Issue 43
June 3, 2009
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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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