Latest Dealer Stories

Dealers Slowly Warm Up to Digital Marketing
Sep 5, 2008 8:38 AM, WardsAuto.com, By Steve Finlay
“When there’s a proposal to spend $25,000 on digital advertising, you’ve never heard so many skeptical questions.”

GM Sees Weaker August Sales, Says Industry Has Hit Bottom
Sep 3, 2008 5:25 PM, WardsAuto.com, By James M. Amend
The auto maker’s sales mix richened in the month with more trucks and SUVs, due to a combination of ’08-model clear-outs and lower prices at the pump.

Existing Customers Most Important
Sep 2, 2008 9:28 AM, WardsAuto.com, By Steve Finlay
Dealership chain Lithia Motors crunches numbers to determine who are the 100,000 sales customers and 100,000 service customers most likely to buy again.

What Happened To Loyalty?
Aug 28, 2008 7:49 AM, WardsAuto.com, By Steve Finlay
In addition to customer loyalty levels being down in the auto industry, they also are taking some interesting twists and turns.

Industry’s Problem Child
Aug 25, 2008 10:15 AM, WardsAuto.com, By Steve Finlay
Vehicle leasing has grown up, but many people in the auto industry still treat it like a little brat.

Extended Cab to Extend Ram’s Reach in Pickup Market
Aug 22, 2008 12:42 PM, WardsAuto.com, By Eric Mayne
Chrysler is shooting for Truck of the Year and “every single award out there,” with the launch of its ’09 Dodge Ram pickup.

Inability to Retain Customers Costs Auto Makers Billions
Aug 14, 2008 10:18 AM, WardsAuto.com, By Ward’s Staff
A one-percentage-point rise in customer loyalty would produce about $405 million in additional revenues based on an average vehicle sale price of $27,000, an Experian study finds.

Ford’s SVT Readies New Mustang to Face Dodge Challenger
Aug 14, 2008 9:34 AM, WardsAuto.com, By Byron Pope
The specialty performance division largely has been relegated to the background as the auto maker struggles to right its foundering North American operations.

Ford Oz’s FG Falcon Gets 5-Star Safety Rating
Aug 12, 2008 7:52 AM, WardsAuto.com, By Alan Harman
The sedan received a score of 34.6 out of a possible 37 points, giving it the highest score ever recorded by an Australian-produced car.

Spain’s Car Dealers Squeezed by High Vehicle Costs in Falling Market
Aug 11, 2008 8:07 AM, WardsAuto.com, By Jorge Palacios
Dealers must pay auto makers in advance for the vehicles they order, often at a higher price than they can charge customers.

Veteran Dealer Drops Cadillac for Toyota
Aug 8, 2008 8:48 AM, WardsAuto.com, By Mac Gordon
Hoot McInerney is a legend in Michigan dealer circles, having trained many younger dealers and counseled a number of auto executives.

Saturn Revitalization Working, Defiant Brand Chief Insists; Dealerships Get New Look
Aug 8, 2008 8:19 AM, WardsAuto.com, By Herb Shuldiner
Saturn achieved a 20% improvement in market share in 2007, Jill Lajdziak says, and this year’s sales of new products, including the Aura, Vue and Outlook, have climbed 3.4% through July 31.

Who Needs Big Trucks?
Aug 7, 2008 8:31 AM, WardsAuto.com, By Steve Finlay
The swing from large to small vehicles surprised many people, none more so than the dealers whose supplies suddenly were out synch with demands.

GM Postpones Meeting With Detroit Dealers
Aug 6, 2008 3:55 PM, WardsAuto.com, By Steve Finlay
A dealer says the postponement is “good news” to him because he feared the auto maker was planning to reduce a transaction fee paid to dealers.

Ford to Take Over Romanian Distribution in 2010
Aug 4, 2008 10:42 AM, WardsAuto.com, By Peter Homola
Ford says the decision is the next logical step following a steady increase in vehicle sales in recent years and the purchase of the former Daewoo Automobile Romania plant in Craiova.

GM’s July Sales Again Reflect Economic Woes, Shift to Small Cars
Aug 1, 2008 4:42 PM, WardsAuto.com, By James M. Amend
GM would have sold more cars in the month if inventories allowed, sales chief Mark LaNeve says.

Impending Meeting Has Detroit GM Dealers Wondering
Aug 1, 2008 3:44 PM, WardsAuto.com, By Steve Finlay
Some dealers worry GM will announce a reduction of the money the auto maker pays them for handling discounted vehicle purchases by employees.

GM Feels Pinch of Expensive Lease Programs in Second-Quarter Results
Aug 1, 2008 2:34 PM, WardsAuto.com, By James M. Amend
Looking more broadly at GM’s results in the quarter, its loss of $15.47 billion, or $27.33 per share, compares with a profit of $891 million, or $1.56 per share, year-ago.

LaNeve Sees Flat July Sales; Predicts Pickup Market to Recover With Economy
Jul 31, 2008 3:21 PM, WardsAuto.com, By Herb Shuldiner
Big pickups won’t get back to their peak sales of 2.5 million units, rather the segment should stabilize at 1.6 million units annually.

Massive Q2 Loss Prompts GMAC to Study Future of Auto Leasing
Jul 31, 2008 2:31 PM, WardsAuto.com, By James M. Amend
The financing firm says GM will shoulder up to $1.5 billion of potential changes to the lending company’s lease portfolio in the future.

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