Interactive Automotive Articles

Good news is coming for over 600 of the 2000 General Motors dealers that had received notice that they would be losing their franchise licenses when those licenses came up for renewal this October. Although GM would not commit to the exact number, several media sources are saying numbers between 601 and 661 dealers. As mentioned several months ago here, the letters contain some GM core business criteria and that following those actions will allow the dealers to immediately resume to business as usual. It was discussed in earlier articles that some of these criteria would help some GM…

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 General Motors announced yesterday that the impending sale of the Hummer line to China's Sichuan Tengzhong Heavy Industrial Machines Co. will not happen. Allegedly, involvement from the Chinese government had an effect on the sale not proceeding. GM had been working to divest the line for approximately a year, and had considered several different options. The latest attempt falling through will result in the end of the Hummer brand. Exact date for the disappearance still to come.  

Odd news from the spring Consumer Report brand ranking issue with Toyota remaining the #3. In light of the numerous recalls and Toyota of North America's Jim Lentz appearing before the House investigation committee to attempt to explain that the acceleration problem expressed in multiple models had more to do with floor mats and gas pedals. Perhaps it is true that media overshare has created more hype than necessary for Toyota.

Although Toyota did retain their overall ranking, Consumer Report's did end up dropping a couple of their models following the recall and ultimately the suspension…

Forbes.com lists the safest small cars of 2010, but some of them are receiving a couple of "acceptable" ratings, not good. What exactly does "acceptable" mean? Surprisingly, the Smart fortwo has made the list, in the category of the rear test rating. Seeing those vehicles on the street, makes me wonder just want was used to check that out? Other Smart or Hummer? http://tinyurl.com/safetyonforbes

Twitter, Facebook and other entry points into Social Networking are a point of concern for all dealers, including Toyota Dealers.  Everyone knows that they should be using the sites, especially the big two, and everyone realizes (ok most everyone) that marketing on Social Networking sites is a completely different strategy than traditional auto dealer marketing. And that is where is stops. Hours and hours of conversations with dealers from California to New Jersey shows that everyone agrees they need to have a page, but no one has a great idea on how to use those pages. They want to…

Toyota is making some unprecedented moves in one of the most dangerous safety recalls affecting a large portion of their owners. Waking up to a news story several days ago surrounding the last words of a family’s 911 call as their Toyota vehicle began accelerating uncontrollably and ultimately smashing into an SUV and killing all four passengers onboard is a chilling revelation to exactly how bad the Toyota situation is. The original story was that in some vehicles the floor mats were catching the gas pedal and causing the drivers to lose control of the vehicles acceleration. That story seemed…

Let’s face it folks, we’re leaving a rough year for many in media companies and the automotive industry alike. 2009 saw many dealerships go out of business, auto companies downsize, and media companies lay off the wrong people. Therefore all that sadness and economic strife caused a lot of people to develop a fine whine. “Whoa is me” was the line of the year, I can’t sell any cars, my email leads are no good, what’s this social media stuff or how can I sell more with newspaper ads like it is 1984. If that was you, or everyone around…

Several days ago the statistics were released regarding 2009 dealership closings through the first 11 months of the year. The numbers, although staggering, should really not be surprising. And to people who deal with these stores on a daily basis, they are not surprising at all. Time and again, when dealing with stores that are still in operation in spite of themselves, it has crossed my mind that being in the dealer acquisition business, or to find use for empty buildings and paint for lease signs, might actually have some type of future.

So what are the numbers of stores…

The numbers are in from the Post Cash for Clunkers month that many were calling the “Hangover” month—which expected to show that automotive sales would plummet after all that free money. Those who read my blog religiously (and thank you for that) will remember that I did not think that C4C had completely depleted the pent up demand that was existing since the market started it’s downward slide last September. I felt, and feel, that the availability of eligible, and really all, new vehicles ran out before everyone that needed to buy a new car had actually done so.

The…