As the DEALER advocate magazine, DEALER
welcomes your letters, and after verification will run them signed or
unsigned. Letters may be edited for space and clarity.
Send To:
DEALER magazine
1116 W. 7th Street
PMB 239 Columbia, TN 38401 (931) 388-1800 ext. 203
Fax (931) 388-4881 e-mail: mroscoe@dealeronline.com
Jim Ziegler,
After reading your article,
"Mayhem In Mayberry" in DEALER magazine, I can only agree. I have
a good friend who is currently in the Ford "family" and is contemplating
selling for many of the very reasons you describe. While not exactly Mayberry,
it is a small mid-western rural community. I have said all along what will
happen in the future when all we have is mega-dealer/ factory stores and any
semblance of competition has flown out the window. The media is as much to
blame as is the manufacturers. They continually tout the benefits of purchasing
on the Internet and how retailing must be "fixed". Give me a break!
The current system is working and improving; so what is the real problem?
I sincerely feel it is a form of yellow journalism and just a method to sell
print.
In addition, there are too many think tanks with the ear of the factory continually suggesting the dealer distribution process is obsolete. Why doesn't the manufacturer listen to the people who experience the market first hand and on a daily basis the dealer and sales & service personnel. These people know what John Q. Public wants and can afford . What we really need is better product in a more timely manner . Who wants to buy a new car when it looks like the last one? Hey, even your wife changes her hair color or style and buys a new dress once in a while, at least enough to keep the spice alive. Thanks for letting me vent.
Michigan Pontiac
Dealer
Name withheld upon
request
Jim Ziegler,
Ranger pick-ups in this
area are showing up with the recall spares. I stated at a dealer meeting last
week I think they will end up getting sued over this and the response was,
in so many words, I was stupid. The tire isn't the size of a mini spare, so
would the average person think it is a regular tire? If you have a tire shred
at 40 m.p.h. that's safe? I'm in a town of 900 people in a midwest state.
We've got little dealers in our region dropping like flies. There is something
wrong when you lose third generation dealers like this. I'm 41 and there are
guys in my age group giving up. It's like being in a war and watching your
buddies getting killed. My town is like Mayberry I'm even the fire chief.
I gotta tell you, we are not happy out here. Besides being squeezed out of
business, the quality is the worst its been since the seventies. If you ever
get a chance, read the book "The Whiz Kids". This isn't the first
time Ford has tried to go down this road.
Midwest Ford
Dealer
formally known as
"Goober"
name withheld upon
request
Dear Jim,
I look forward to your column
in every issue of DEALER magazine. I know how you just love JD Power. So I
thought you just might like a look at question #3 on the latest survey, "Over
the next 10 years, how likely would it be for the franchise system to remain
basically unchanged with both sales and services being performed by independent
franchised dealers?" Then question #14 asks, "Over the next 10 years,
how likely is it that the franchise system will remain basically unchanged
with both sales and service being performed by independent franchised dealers?"
What's wrong with these people? Don't they know we dealers are smart enough
to figure out whose side they are on? Keep up the good work, Jim.
Southwest Chevy/Olds
Dealer
Name withheld upon
request
Jim Ziegler,
Thank you for another very
good article, (October -"High Noon"). Your opinion of Ford Motor
Co. is right on target; the despicable way they treat their dealers, Nasser's
cost cutting moves, Blue Oval - "suck 'em in and then nail them"
and especially two-tier pricing. Thanks for sticking up for the dealers.
Florida Ford
dealer
Name withheld upon
request
Todd Smith,
I've read your article "Parts
Online: The Secret Cash Machine". I am very interested in developing
a web presence for parts e-commerce for all of our dealerships. I visited
your website and was not able to get any additional information on what is
necessary to develop the site. Will you please e-mail me the web address I
should visit to get this info? Should we decide not to host the site ourselves
will you please refer us to a company that is familiar with this type of site?
Thank you in advance for your time and consideration.
Wayne Hankins
Wayne,
I'm glad you got
something out of Todd's great article. I wish you luck as you go down that
path, but don't forget, the first issue of Digital Dealer is just around the
corner (Jan/Feb issue will be out by late January), and we will be featuring
fixed operations as our department focus. We have in the works, a detailed
piece focusing on online parts sales being written by the foremost authority
on this subject. Help is on the way!
Mike Roscoe
Dave Dunn,
My bodyshop manager really
complains about the amount of color sanding that is required for the product
out of our paint booth. He blames it on poor air flow in the booth - a.k.a.
eddies redepositing dried paint particles on the job.
In your article, "Your Paint Shop: Paint Work You Can be Proud Of", you point the blame at everything else. Is what my body shop manager says true, or is it what you have written?
He will read your article tomorrow a.m. Thanks,
Craig Tilleman
Tilleman Motor Co.
Havre, MT 59501
Craig,
I cannot say for
a certainty what the problem is in your store. Do you have a downdraft, pressurized
booth? Good equipment is essential.
I find that our industry has been trained to look for all the wrong reasons. People go out and buy a $50,000 spray booth and get more dirt in the paint than they did before. At Master's we focus on both the "effective" and "affective" domains in our education. Most people want a magic wand. The reality is that people need to change their entire approach and attitude. (affective)
Masters graduates may sign up for our Dirt Free training.
Please look at my web site: www.Masters-School.com, or send me your mailing address and I will send you a brochure. One of the paint booth manufacturers, Blowtherm, just attended our dirt-free training and they were amazed. Thanks for reading my stuff.
Dave Dunn
I feel like I know you - you write just like I think! In fact, you write like everybody SHOULD think! Please run for president if Bush doesn't win!
GM has recently decided to "crack-down" on GM dealers adding franchises to their locations without prior GM approval. (which, of course, there is NO way to get) Last year I added a Daewoo franchise to my Chevrolet/Chrysler dealership (I have a separate showroom for Chrysler, which was added to the store years before I bought the store). I was informed that GM would not be offering me a 5 year contract like most dealers, but that I would operate on a 1 year extension of the current contract.
I got a letter from my Market Area Manager (MAM) stating that I had 30 days to respond with a plan on what I am going to do about the Daewoo franchise. My response included the fact that I added the franchise in part due to GM pulling marketing funds from this area and the drop in GM market share has adversely affected my new car sales. I found it necessary to protect my business interests and employees to find "new business". I also reminded them that they added Hummer and are in the process of trying to buy Daewoo themselves, without ever consulting me as to whether I think this is in the best interest for me. Had they consulted me, I would have told them I'd prefer they spent the money on development of future product, improving quality or offering dealers a trip around the moon.
I have a sibling who is also a Chevrolet- Daewoo dealer. GM has informed him that since his purpose has changed for his "premises" they will be charging him back the $30,000 that he was paid for improving his facility during Image 2000.
Remember Jim, about 7 years ago, GM started "blueprinting" markets. I believe it was towns with populations over 25,000. I had a guy from GM in here wanting to buy "site-control". He wanted me to build a service department to separate my Chrysler franchise. He was willing to pay me, I think it was $100,000. He also wanted to buy "site-control", meaning I agreed not to add any franchises. I declined that offer also.
I have high hopes that Lovejoy is going to return GM to a positive light in their dealers' eyes. Unfortunately, as long as Zarella is in charge, I don't believe we will get anything but lip service. Again, thanks for supplying a good laugh every month! You really hit the nail on the head.
Midwestern Chevrolet/
Chrysler/Daewoo Dealer
Name withheld upon
request
