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Special Coverage

NADA Convention & Exposition

Latest Stories
Spyker Wants More Showrooms; Could Integrate Saab 
Mar 16, 2010 2:11 PM, WardsAuto.com, By Tom Murphy
 Spyker currently has 16 North American dealerships and wants more than 25. An executive says it is “quite possible” Spyker and newly acquired Saab will share retail space.
GM Confident in Regal Powertrains 
Mar 16, 2010 10:13 AM, WardsAuto.com, By Eric Mayne
 GM dealers aren’t shy about expressing their opinions, “and not one of them said we need a V-6,” says Buick Marketing Manager Craig Bierley.
GM Backs Off Dealer Reductions; Reinstates 660 Targeted Rooftops 
Mar 5, 2010 4:28 PM, WardsAuto.com, By James M. Amend
 Responding to the outcry from dealers and local communities, Congress pushed GM to rethink the dealer cuts.
Electrifying Times 
Mar 1, 2010 12:00 PM, Ward's Dealer Business, By Lillie Guyer
 “Build it and they will come.” Auto makers building electric vehicles and their variants hope that adage proves true when their innovative products hit the market.
VWA Chief Says EVs Not Ready for Prime Time 
Mar 1, 2010 12:00 PM, Ward's Dealer Business, By Herb Shuldiner
 Washington The global auto industry will continue to rely on internal-combustion engines for the next couple of decades, says Stefan Jacoby, president
Study: Battery Costs Will Limit Early EV Buying 
Mar 1, 2010 12:00 PM, Ward's Dealer Business, By Lillie Guyer
 Despite the EV enthusiasm, Xavier Mosquet, senior partner with Boston Consulting Group, says a new study suggests battery costs likely will limit widespread
Alternative-Fuel Vehicles Getting Most Attention 
Mar 1, 2010 12:00 PM, Ward's Dealer Business Here are alternative-fuel models garnering the most attention. FORD FOCUS PHEV: Due out in late 2011. A PHEV version of the Ford Escape HEV SUV is scheduled

Editorials

What's After Automageddon? 
Mar 1, 2010 12:00 PM, Ward's Dealer Business, BY STEVE FINLAY
 What's the new ? That question came up a lot at the National Automobile Dealers Assn. convention in Orlando, FL, where the weather was mostly sunny but
Pollyanna? No. Upbeat? Yes 
Mar 1, 2010 12:00 PM, Ward's Dealer Business, BY PETER BRANDOW
 I'm as confused as the next guy as to what's been going on in the car business. Despite what appears to be a meltdown in opportunity, dealers were reportedly
Bring On Those Killer Cars 
Mar 1, 2010 12:00 PM, Ward's Dealer Business, BY JOHN McELROY
 Hal Sperlich, a former president of Chrysler who retired two decades ago, says Detroit's auto makers are dreaming if they think they can market their

Articles

Is Life Left in Mercury Brand? 
Mar 1, 2010 12:00 PM, Ward's Dealer Business, By David C. Smith and Steve Finlay
 Rumors have persisted for years that Ford Motor Co.'s Mercury brand is headed toward Boot Hill, joining such other once-stalwarts as Oldsmobile, Pontiac,
Bentley Bruised, Not Beaten 
Mar 1, 2010 12:00 PM, Ward's Dealer Business, By Steve Finlay
 Coming off a frightful sales year for ultra-luxury vehicles, Bentley Motors Inc. is poised for an expected rebound in 2010. Sales fell 49% in the U.S.
Mitsubishi Assures Dealers It Plan to Stay in the U.S. Market 
Mar 1, 2010 12:00 PM, Ward's Dealer Business, By Christie Schweinsberg
 Mitsubishi Motors North America is setting its sights on a return to 100,000-unit sales in a calendar year, after suffering a severe drop in volume in
New York Touts Auto Heritage 
Mar 1, 2010 12:00 PM, Ward's Dealer Business, By Steve Finlay
 New York City never gained traction as a car-manufacturing town, although a few early vehicles were made there, such as the Crane-Simplex, which counted
Dubious Record Set 
Mar 1, 2010 12:00 PM, Ward's Dealer Business, By Steve Finlay
 Charleston, SC, with a 16.3% drop saw the greatest decline in car dealerships among U.S. cities during last year's historic widespread reduction of automotive
Dealers Plead Their Cases 
Mar 1, 2010 12:00 PM, Ward's Dealer Business, By Lillie Guyer
 A team of regional arbitration panels begins hearing from terminated, and in many cases angry, General Motors Co. and Chrysler Group LLC dealers who lost
Back to Normal After Real Rough Year 
Mar 1, 2010 12:00 PM, Ward's Dealer Business, By Steve Finlay
 A sign that things are getting back to normal for the National Automobile Dealers Assn. is the group's plan to return its focus to non-dire issues this

2010 NADA Convention

Dealers Shake Off the Blues 
Mar 1, 2010 12:00 PM, Ward's Dealer Business, By Steve Finlay
 Orlando, FL Ranks of new-vehicle dealers are thinner, but their future seems clearer since the last time they met for their annual trade convention. At
2009 NADA Chairman's Main Destinations: DC and Detroit 
Mar 1, 2010 12:00 PM, Ward's Dealer Business, By Steve Finlay
 Normally, a National Automobile Dealers Assn. chairman's travel duties consist of going around the country, speaking to various state and local dealer
Some of Last Year's Dealer Wounds Remain Unhealed 
Mar 1, 2010 12:00 PM, Ward's Dealer Business, By Steve Finlay
 Some auto dealers are putting the industry's massive dealership eliminations behind them, but others remain fighting mad. We're moving on, says Michael
International-Brand Dealers Plan to Tout U.S. Contributions 
Mar 1, 2010 12:00 PM, Ward's Dealer Business, By Steve Finlay
 The new chairman of the American International Automobile Dealers Assn. became a dealer 34 years ago, when he opened a used-car lot with $2,500 borrowed
Ouch, What a Feeling for Recall-Weary Toyota Dealers 
Mar 1, 2010 12:00 PM, Ward's Dealer Business, By Steve Finlay
 Asked how, as a Toyota dealer, he might capitalize on the auto maker's sudden-acceleration recall, Bradley Hoffman quips: By ending it really soon. Toyota
Toyota Loyalists Seem OK, Fence Sitters Another Matter 
Mar 1, 2010 12:00 PM, Ward's Dealer Business, By James M. Amend
 Sales forecasters with the National Automobile Dealers Assn. do not expect Toyota Motor Corp.'s lofty marketplace image to suffer long-term damage from
GM Prez: React Swiftly to Potential Double-Dip Recession 
Mar 1, 2010 12:00 PM, Ward's Dealer Business, By James M. Amend
 General Motors Co.'s top North American executive says the auto maker has not formally drawn up a contingency plan should the U.S. economy fall back into
Chrysler Dealers Place Faith in Sergio; Liken Him to Lido 
Mar 1, 2010 12:00 PM, Ward's Dealer Business, By Steve Finlay
 Sergio Marchionne has the potential to become the next Lee Iacocca, says Chuck Eddy Jr., a Chrysler, Jeep and Dodge dealer in Youngstown, OH. Veteran
Hyundai Aims for Major Vehicle-Safety Improvements 
Mar 1, 2010 12:00 PM, Ward's Dealer Business, By Steve Finlay
 Hyundai Motor Co. Ltd. is ready to commit to vehicle-safety advancements to dramatically reduce crash deaths, a top U.S. official says. The goal would
GM Prefers Settling With Targeted Dealers Out of Arbitration 
Mar 1, 2010 12:00 PM, Ward's Dealer Business, By James M. Amend
 General Motors Co. says it wants to avoid arbitration with dealers appealing wind-down notifications by the auto maker this year and instead reach either
Dealers Donate Trucks to Haiti 
Mar 1, 2010 12:00 PM, Ward's Dealer Business, By Steve Finlay
 U.S. auto dealers are providing trucks to relief workers in Haiti, so they can deliver needed supplies to earthquake victims. Credit for the initiative

Remarketing

Switching Franchises 
Mar 1, 2010 12:00 PM, Ward's Dealer Business, By Andy Friedlander
 Before the sun came up, Jim Bickford's signs came down. More than 30 years after his father, Charles, had purchased the Boston Dodge dealership, and less
Remarketers Tell How to Get Used-Car Inventory Right 
Mar 1, 2010 12:00 PM, Ward's Dealer Business, By James M. Flammang
 Las Vegas Without the right cars in stock, in sensible quantities, dealerships face a hard task during these turbulent economic times. But which models

Sales

Education vs. Training 
Mar 1, 2010 12:00 PM, Ward's Dealer Business, By Richard F. Libin
 What is the difference between education and training? Education develops the faculties and powers of (a person) by teaching, instruction, or schooling;
Vehicle Sales Are Rebounding But Beware of Wet Blankets 
Mar 1, 2010 12:00 PM, Ward's Dealer Business, By James M. Amend
 Orlando, FL A recovering U.S. economy is driving growth of weak new-vehicle sales, but plenty of risks remain in the market, a leading forecaster says.

Finance & Insurance

Reluctant Subprime Lending Stymies Normal Auto Sales 
Mar 1, 2010 12:00 PM, Ward's Dealer Business, By Steve Finlay
 Auto sales won't recover completely unless subprime lending a real victim of the 2008-2009 credit freeze makes more of a comeback. So says Kevin Westfall,
Know Thy Customer 
Mar 1, 2010 12:00 PM, Ward's Dealer Business, By Marv Eleazer
 We all know time is of the essence in the Finance and Insurance office when closing a customer. So good use of the limited time is essential. Most customers

Fixed Operations

Turn Supply Costs Into Profits 
Mar 1, 2010 12:00 PM, Ward's Dealer Business, By James Clausen
 Shop-supply costs can eat up profits. If the majority of shop supplies that are used could be converted into parts inventory and sold on repair orders,



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