dealers Archives | Page 2 of 3

Report: Ford spells out new standards for Lincoln dealers

Filed under: Car Buying, Ford, Lincoln

lincoln logo

Being a Lincoln dealer in the 21st century has been anything but easy, as Ford has been looking to shed its luxury brand dealers the past couple years. Then Blue Oval recently killed off Mercury, a brand Lincoln dealers traditionally used as a feeder program. And perhaps the biggest challenge has been coaxing buyers into the showroom, as the brand’s 2010 sales total of just 85,828 units clearly illustrates.

The sledding apparently won’t get much easier for 2011 either, as Automotive News reports that Ford has added a few more regulations to be completed by October of this year. Fortunately, at least one of those standards is focused directly towards customers, as each Lincoln dealer will be required to feature owners’ privileges perks like a car wash with every service stop and a loaner for when vehicles are being worked on. Ford will also ask each Lincoln dealer to have a dedicated service manager and sales staff. That could be a tough pill to swallow for dealers who have Ford and Lincoln stores on the same site. Lincoln dealers will also be required to ditch all that old Lincoln-Mercury signage and instead feature a Lincoln-only sign featuring the four-pointed star. Lastly, all dealer lots will need to be filled with at least 30-percent certified pre-owned vehicles.

Those demands don’t sound all that unreasonable to us, but we’re betting Lincoln dealers won’t be too pleased with the prospect of spending more money without a lot of new products in the next year or so. Then there is the fact that Ford is reportedly looking to cut another 100 dealers in the top 130 markets in the year ahead. But while dealers likely won’t love these changes, there may not be much choice in the matter. Dealers who don’t comply with the new rules will reportedly receive smaller discount profit margins.

[Source: Automotive News – sub. req.]

Report: Ford spells out new standards for Lincoln dealers originally appeared on Autoblog on Mon, 07 Feb 2011 16:29:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

Continue reading “Report: Ford spells out new standards for Lincoln dealers”

Report: Two Chevy dealers offering special 700-hp Camaro models – just like Yenko and Berger [w/video]

Filed under: Aftermarket, Car Buying, Videos, Chevrolet, GM

NeSmith Chevrolet Camaro

The COPO Camaros are back (sorta) – Click above for image gallery

There was a time when dealers utilized General Motors’ Central Office Production Order to the fullest, giving us some truly terrific muscle car options. By judiciously picking hi-po OEM performance parts to augment some already formidable performers, COPO Chevrolet Camaros from the late ’60s put a few dealers on the national map, and today, we know about Berger, Nickey and, of course, Yenko. Well… the Camaro is certainly back, but where are the modern COPO versions? If you live near Albany, New York or Claxton and Jessup, Georgia then the cars are right down the street at your local dealerships.

DeNooyer Chevrolet of Albany has dipped into GM’s Performance Parts catalog and come out with an LSX454 engine. After stuffing it into a Camaro, they know have a 620-horsepower coupe prowling their lot. In Georgia, NeSmith Chevrolet also took a look into the catalog and put in an order for supercharged LS9 normally found in a Corvette ZR1. Their NeSmith Storm Camaro puts out nearly 700 horses. In other words, the COPO is back! Check out our gallery below and then hop the jump to see video clips of both cars. Thanks for the tip, Tony!

Gallery: COPO Camaros for the 21st Century

NeSmith Storm Camaro DeNooyer Camaro

[Source: The Detroit News | Image: DeNooyer Performance Division]

Continue reading Report: Two Chevy dealers offering special 700-hp Camaro models – just like Yenko and Berger [w/video]

Report: Two Chevy dealers offering special 700-hp Camaro models – just like Yenko and Berger [w/video] originally appeared on Autoblog on Fri, 31 Dec 2010 19:01:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

Continue reading “Report: Two Chevy dealers offering special 700-hp Camaro models – just like Yenko and Berger [w/video]”

Report: Facing high gas prices, dealers get cautious with big SUVs

Filed under: Car Buying, SUV, Crossover

SUV parking lot

The average gas price in the U.S. is over $3 right now, and there’s a good chance it’ll go higher before too long. What do you do in this situation if you’re a car dealer with a lot full of SUVs and big crossovers? You start being cautious.

That’s the takeaway point from an Automotive News article, with the key quote coming from a New York Ford dealer, who told the industry publication:

SUVs are still important in this area, but people are downsizing to more fuel efficient SUVs instead. We are still stocking with the idea that it may go either way. Hoping for the best, but prepared for anything.

For the moment, gas prices aren’t high enough to make people panic and try to offload their gas hogs the way we saw in 2008, but Kelley Blue Book analyst Alec Gutierrez told Automotive News that SUV sales could drop “dramatically” once gas reaches $3.50 or $4 a gallon, saying, “The days where a dealer could just go to auction and stock up on a bunch of SUVs and hold them for 40 or 60 days are over.”

The last time gas jumped up to panic levels was in 2008. That’s when Joe Crawford took the picture that illustrates this post. In the accompanying Flickr caption, he writes:

So a local (Culver City) car dealer started storing cars on the top of our parking garage. I always park on the roof, so anytime I am up there I see the cars. I have taken to think of these cars as an economic indicator. They all seem to be SUV vehicles. I wonder about why they are up there, and why there seems to be more every week. I suspect the fact that they’re stored here has something to do with the price of gas.

We suspect he’s right, and we can’t imagine there are dealers out there who want to have to go through a process like that again.

[Source: Automotive News – sub. req. | Image: Joe Crawford – C.C. 2.0]

Report: Facing high gas prices, dealers get cautious with big SUVs originally appeared on Autoblog on Thu, 30 Dec 2010 08:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments

Continue reading “Report: Facing high gas prices, dealers get cautious with big SUVs”

Report: Ford adding 100 dealers in China

Filed under: China, Plants/Manufacturing, Ford, India

Ford Fiesta

According to Ford, 70 percent of the company’s growth in the next decade will come from the Asia-Pacific region and Africa. The Blue Oval had only planned to have 310 dealerships in China at the end of 2010, but having sold nearly half a million cars this year and expecting the boom to continue, the number has jumped to 340 dealers. This is part of Ford’s larger plan to add 100 new dealerships in China, mostly in smaller cities and inland provinces where new car demand is high.

Ford is planning a new plant with its Chinese joint venture partner, Changan, and will introduce four more models into the Chinese market next year, including the 2011 Edge. Elsewhere in the Asia-Pacific market, Ford has already spent $500 million on increasing production capacity in India, where it now sells the Figo subcompact.

[Source: Automotive News – sub. req. | Image: STR/AFP/Getty]

Report: Ford adding 100 dealers in China originally appeared on Autoblog on Sat, 27 Nov 2010 11:29:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

Continue reading “Report: Ford adding 100 dealers in China”

Report: Nissan Leaf demand forces dealers to give up demo cars

Filed under: Car Buying, Plants/Manufacturing, Hatchback, Nissan, Electric

2011 Nissan Leaf

2011 Nissan Leaf – Click above for high-res image gallery

Nissan may have underestimated the demand for its all-electric 2011 Leaf. The company had originally planned to supply its dealers with two demo cars each, but with buyers essentially beating down doors to be among the first to hop behind the wheel, Nissan has decided to cut that number by half in order to free up supplies. That may mean as many as 1,000 additional Leaf EVs will be in stock when the car goes on sale in December. Nissan USA has only been given a total of 20,000 Leaf vehicles for sale on our shores in 2011, and the company hit that many reservations months ago.

Why so few? The real hang up is having enough batteries to go around. While Nissan is working closely with its supplier in Japan, the company is also building a new battery facility in Smyrna, Tennessee that should help crank out 200,000 battery packs per year when it goes online in 2012. At that point, Nissan says that it should be able to produce somewhere around 150,000 Leaf units per year.

Gallery: 2011 Nissan Leaf: First Drive

[Source: Automotive News – sub. req.]

Report: Nissan Leaf demand forces dealers to give up demo cars originally appeared on Autoblog on Fri, 19 Nov 2010 14:28:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments

Continue reading “Report: Nissan Leaf demand forces dealers to give up demo cars”

Autoblog Podcast #201 – Challenger 392, American Hyundais, Lincoln dealers, Mercedes B-Class, Green Car of the Year

Filed under: Podcasts, Etc., Cadillac, Chevrolet, Dodge, Ford, GM, Hyundai, Lincoln, Mercedes-Benz

Click above for the Autoblog Podcast in iTunes, RSS or listen now!

We’re back for Episode #201 of the Autoblog Podcast. Hosting this week are Chris Shunk, Dan Roth and Zach Bowman. Topics include the Dodge Challenger SRT8 392, Hyundai’s claim to soon be building the most American cars on the U.S. market, Lincoln’s spat with its dealers, the new Mercedes B-Cass and the Green Car of the Year nominees. The Autoblog Garage at the beginning and feedback/questions at the end provide the full experience. It’s an hour and twenty minutes this week, thanks for listening and we’ll see you soon!

Autoblog Podcast #201 – Challenger 392, American Hyundais, Lincoln dealers, Mercedes B-Class, Green Car of the Year

In the Autoblog Garage:

Ford Fiesta Hatch
Nissan Sentra

News Topics:
Lincoln fighting with its dealers

Hyundai wants to be the most American automaker in the U.S.
Green Car of the Year finalists announced
Mercedes B-Class coming to the U.S.?

Hosts:
Dan Roth, Chris Shunk, Zach Bowman
Runtime: 1:17:46

Get the podcast:
[iTunes] Subscribe to the Autoblog Podcast in iTunes
[RSS] Add the Autoblog Podcast feed to your RSS aggregator
[MP3] Download the MP3 directly

Feedback:
Email: Podcast at Autoblog dot com
Voicemail: 734-288-8POD (734-288-8763)

Review the show in iTunes and take our survey

Autoblog Podcast #201 – Challenger 392, American Hyundais, Lincoln dealers, Mercedes B-Class, Green Car of the Year originally appeared on Autoblog on Tue, 26 Oct 2010 17:19:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

Continue reading “Autoblog Podcast #201 – Challenger 392, American Hyundais, Lincoln dealers, Mercedes B-Class, Green Car of the Year”

Report: GM to offer stock to employees, retirees and dealers

Filed under: GM, Earnings/Financials

GM logo General Motors is getting ready for its Initial Public Offering, which is expected to occur later this year. Ahead of that, GM has announced that it will offer nearly 600,000 employees (current and retired) and dealers the opportunity to purchase stock at the opening IPO price.

According to The Detroit News, the minimum required investment will be $1,000, and to qualify for this program, interested parties must respond by the end of this month. Once the IPO has been announced, potential buyers will then have four business days to purchase stock at the opening price. The program is being administered by Morgan Stanley. GM has not specified maximum and minimum share limits for this program.

[Source: The Detroit News]

Report: GM to offer stock to employees, retirees and dealers originally appeared on Autoblog on Tue, 12 Oct 2010 15:58:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

Continue reading “Report: GM to offer stock to employees, retirees and dealers”

Buick dealers reportedly clamoring for more Regal models amidst strong early sales

Filed under: Car Buying, Sedan, Plants/Manufacturing, Buick, GM

2011 Buick Regal

2011 Buick Regal – Click above for high-res image gallery

The 2011 Regal is Buick’s latest attempt at reinventing its own brand image. Apparently, the plan is working even better than Buick thought it might – dealers are asking for more. In fact, in their monthly re-orders, dealers are asking for twice as many cars as General Motors can actually provide.

Currently, the Regal is built in GM’s Russelsheim, Germany plant and production has just begun on the 2.0-liter turbocharged model (read: not the higher-output GS that will arrive sometime next year). Production of North American Regals will soon be shifted to The General’s Oshawa, Ontario facility.

Buick has already sold nearly 4,000 Regals through August of 2010. The Chinese bought about 80,000 examples in 2009 and 150,000 Vauxhall/Opel versions have found homes in European driveways year-to-date in 2010. It’s clear that people around the world like this car, ourselves included, and the addition of the 2.0T should only further the car’s success. As for us, we’re eagerly anticipating the final addition to the Regal line, the GS.

Gallery: Third Drive: 2011 Buick Regal

[Source: Ward’s Auto]

Buick dealers reportedly clamoring for more Regal models amidst strong early sales originally appeared on Autoblog on Mon, 04 Oct 2010 18:32:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

Continue reading “Buick dealers reportedly clamoring for more Regal models amidst strong early sales”

Report: Lincoln plans to close 200 metro dealers, upgrade the rest

Filed under: Ford, Lincoln, Luxury

Lincoln Concept C – Click above for high-res image gallery

Now that Ford has officially announced that its Mercury division would be going the way of the Dodo, and with Blue Oval-branded models like the Taurus SHO proving that the Dearborn automaker can indeed move itself a bit upmarket, the next logical concern is addressing what will happen to Lincoln. That’s especially true given the fact that Lincoln’s 82,847 total sales in 2009 are a mere pittance compared to that of class-leading Lexus, which moved 215,957 vehicles.

One of the big problems with Lincoln is that there are just too many dealerships trying to sell a car to in-market customers. To wit, Lincoln currently boasts a whopping 1,221 stores in the States. By way of comparison, Lexus has 230, Audi has 270, BMW has 338 and Mercedes-Benz has 352. Do the math and it’s easy to see that each Lincoln dealership doesn’t sell very many vehicles – in fact, they’re averaging just two sales per week.

According to Automotive News, Ford has a two-part plan to inject some life into its moribund Lincoln outlets. First, the total number of dealerships will be reduced by at least 200, and most of those closures will happen in large metropolitan markets where there are already multiple stores. Second, remaining outlets will be heavily upgraded in order to compete with Lincoln’s targeted competitors.

Will it work? Hard to say, but if the brand can build models like the rumored production version of the Concept C showcar, it could certainly inject some life into Lincoln. In any case, we should get a few more details around October 4, which is when Lincoln’s annual dealer meeting is scheduled to begin.

Gallery: Lincoln Concept C

[Sources: Automotive News – sub. req., Bloomberg]

Report: Lincoln plans to close 200 metro dealers, upgrade the rest originally appeared on Autoblog on Mon, 27 Sep 2010 18:21:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments

Continue reading “Report: Lincoln plans to close 200 metro dealers, upgrade the rest”

Report: Fiat wants to sell 50,000 500s in the U.S. through 165 dealers

Filed under: Car Buying, LA Auto Show, Budget, Hatchback, Chrysler, Fiat

Fiat 500

Fiat 500 – Click above for high-res image gallery

Chrysler is set to debut its American-spec Fiat 500 at this year’s Los Angeles Auto Show with the first examples being sold near the end of 2010. During the 2011 calendar year, Chrysler hopes to sell 50,000 of the Mini Cooper fighters, including the 500 Cabrio, which goes on sale sometime in 2011.

Built in Toluca, Mexico, the 500 will be sold through a network of 165 dealers across the United States, mostly in cities that have the largest small car markets. Will Chrysler be able to move 50,000 of the new Fiats? That’s mildly ambitious, since the Mini brand only moves about 50,000 Coopers annually. Still, consider our fingers crossed.

Gallery: Fiat 500

[Source: Associated Press via Google]

Report: Fiat wants to sell 50,000 500s in the U.S. through 165 dealers originally appeared on Autoblog on Tue, 31 Aug 2010 12:44:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

Continue reading “Report: Fiat wants to sell 50,000 500s in the U.S. through 165 dealers”