Why the Saturn story isn’t yet done
Posted on October 1, 2009 at 11:11 amPhil LeBeau says the Saturn dealers GM so successfully wooed in the late 1980s are likely to throw their weight around in an attempt to save the brand and their business.
They will likely try to force GM into doing one of two things: 1) give them money to go away or, 2) get back in the room with Penske and work out a deal. And with the U.S. Government now owning a majority of GM, you can bet the Saturn dealers will press their case in Washington.
Metro to build crime lab on Charlotte
Posted on September 25, 2009 at 12:29 pm
Nate Rau reports that Mayor Dean’s office will today put in motion plans to buy Bob Frensley’s former dealership at 5500 Charlotte for about $4 million and turn into into a Metro Police precinct and crime lab.
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Lawmakers lash out on GM, Chrysler dealership plans
Posted on June 3, 2009 at 7:01 pmBloomberg reports from Capitol Hill, where the two bankrupt auto makers took a lashing from senators. Exchanges like this one just don’t look good.
Senator Amy Klobuchar, a Minnesota Democrat, said the planned closing of successful dealers was “puzzling” and that some Chrysler dealers were given 26 days to close.
Rockefeller asked West Virginia dealer Peter Lopez at the hearing if he could close in 26 days. The answer was, “No way.”
The senator asked [Chrysler President] Press if he could close that quickly if he were a dealer.“I would have to find a way,” Press said.
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Alexander buys Cool Springs dealerships
Posted on May 20, 2009 at 8:11 amAutomotive retail entrepreneur R.C. Alexander was the big winner at the bankruptcy auction of The Auto Collection dealerships on Bakers Bridge Avenue. The dealers’ Ohio owner had placed them in voluntary receivership early this year during a fight with KeyBank.
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Crest Cadillac nabs GM honor
Posted on May 19, 2009 at 11:58 pm
A rare bit of good news from the local auto dealership arena:
History is being made in Middle Tennessee as Crest Cadillac is awarded the highest honor in customer satisfaction by General Motors Corporation according to Dave Sickmeyer, General Motors Southeast Zone Manager.
Sickmeyer today presented the award to Brian Palmer, Crest Cadillac general manager, and his entire team, with Palmer announcing new additions in customer service for his company.
“Crest Cadillac has earned the GM Mark of Excellence dealer award for the past five consecutive years. Of this class of dealers, they have risen to the top and are considered “best of the best” with the highest customer satisfaction rating in the United States earning “2008 Best In Class Cadillac Customer Satisfaction” award. This shows a total dedication to premier customer service from sales and service to maintenance and this award is a wonderful reflection of the good business practices and leadership of Brian Palmer and his entire team,” Sickmeyer said.
Sickmeyer indicated a Customer Satisfaction Survey is completed by individuals purchasing and/or servicing a Cadillac in the United States. This rating information is compiled on an annual basis with one dealership in the United States earning this honor.
“Crest has gone above and beyond in meeting the expectations of its customers and should be very proud of this accomplishment,” Sickmeyer said.
Your turn, GM dealers
Posted on May 15, 2009 at 7:51 amA day after Chrysler brought out the ax, General Motors will this morning begin notifying more than 1,000 of its dealerships that their franchise agreements will not be renewed.
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A sales boss for DealerSkins
Posted on at 7:47 amThe Nashville-based designer of car dealership Web sites has brought on board Shelley Jefts to direct its sales efforts. She comes from Cox Auto Trader/Auto Mart.
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One in four Chrysler dealers to go
Posted on May 14, 2009 at 11:48 am
With Fiat officials pulling the strings, the auto maker says it plans to end its agreements with almost 800 dealerships around the country.
Steven Landry, Executive Vice President for North American Sales, said the decision on which dealer contracts to reject “was based on a data-driven matrix that assessed a number of key metrics.” The 25 percent of its dealers Chrysler wants to drop account for 14 percent of sales, he said in the statement.
One of the main reasons why is in this short Wall Street Journal story: In 2008, Chrysler sold 303 vehicles per store. Toyota sold 1,292 and Honda 1,030.
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Dealer group rallies
Posted on May 6, 2009 at 2:41 pmRuss Darrow, chairman of the American International Automobile Dealers Association, offers a response to the “growing and unsettling wave of anti-dealer rhetoric in the news.”
The Obama administration’s auto task force and the executives of Chrysler and General Motors seem to think cutting their dealer bodies will solve all their problems. In truth, they are digging themselves deeper into a retail hole. I can’t believe our government or anyone else thinks GM or Chrysler can make more money with 20-30 percent fewer retailed customers – their dealers.
And it is not just automakers who will suffer when dealers close up shop. Communities of every size and in every region of this country rely on dealerships to act as a major employer and tax base, and to support local teams and charities. When dealerships go, they leave a vacuum that won’t be filled in these difficult economic times.
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Saturns made in Smyrna?
Posted on May 5, 2009 at 11:38 pm
A day after auto dealer and racing team owner Roger Penske said he’s interested in acquiring the Saturn brand, Bloomberg News reports that Nissan officials are interested in teaming with Penske in an interesting arrangement that might borrow from the latter’s approach to distributing the Smart in the U.S. – and unite the two auto brands most closely tied to Middle Tennessee.
Chief Executive Officer Carlos Ghosn may want to put Nissan’s North American factories to work producing vehicles under the Saturn nameplate after Nissan and Infiniti sales in the U.S. fell by a third.
…
Unlike most other vehicle-distribution networks, Smart takes customer orders and deposits via a Web site, allowing dealers to keep fewer cars in inventory. Penske executives refer to such a vehicle distribution method, sidestepping the traditional U.S. franchises in which only dealers can take retail orders, as “plug and play.”
More auto dealers wait for the phone call
Posted on April 30, 2009 at 11:07 pmThat would be the call to from Detroit telling them they have to give up their Chrysler franchise. Much like GM, the auto maker’s reorganization plan includes serious cuts in its dealer network, which includes nine outlets in the Nashville MSA.
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Eyeballing GM’s planned dealership closings
Posted on April 27, 2009 at 2:41 pm
UPDATED at 10 p.m. to include Murfreesboro and Dickson dealers.
General Motors this morning said it will kill off the Pontiac brand and sell or phase out Saturn, Saab and Hummer by the end of this year, which is more quickly than planned. Locally, those four badges account for the following 11 dealerships, most of which are attached to other brands’ outlets.
Crest Saab, MetroCenter
Crest Hummer, MetroCenter
Beaman Pontiac, downtown
Dunn Pontiac, Broadway
Franklin Pontiac, Madison
Cunningham Pontiac, Springfield
Rockie Williams Pontiac, Lebanon
Alexander Pontiac, Murfreesboro
Faulkner Pontiac, Dickson
Saturn of RiverGate, Madison
Saturn of Cool Springs, Franklin
In all, GM now plans to trim its dealer network from more than 6,200 a year ago to 3,600 by the end of next year. In January, the company had said it was looking to get to 4,700 dealerships.
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