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.
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1116 W. 7th Street
PMB 239 Columbia, TN 38401 (931) 388-1800 ext. 203
Fax (931) 388-4881 e-mail: mroscoe@dealeronline.com
Perhaps I shouldn't bash the hand that feeds me. It is just frustrating to be held back by such nonsense. I can easily remember the days when supply was not a problem because the product was unsellable due to a variety of problems. Today, the advertising is good, the product is desirable and the dealer body is able. The only missing ingredient is for the largest auto manufacturer on the planet to just do its job.
Hope to see you soon in Atlanta.
Fraternally,
South Jersey VW Dealer
Dear Mr. Ziegler,
I always make a copy of
your article for the dealership managers. Did you send a copy to Mr. Jerry
Reynolds, Ford Dealers Council Chairman? I have enclosed a letter I wrote
to NADA about Blue Oval. Nobody was listening then and they are apparently
not listening now. The real reason I'm writing now is to ask you, "What
did the dealer have in her hand"?
Sincerely,
Southeast Michigan Ford Dealer
This is but one of close to 100 letters, e-mails and phone calls asking Ziegler what the dealer's down card was. In case you missed it in the January issue, it was a ten and he lost.
Mike Roscoe
Kudos
Dear Mr. Roscoe:
It's rare that I write a
letter to any publication, but I wanted to congratulate you on the sixth anniversary
of DEALER magazine, and thank you and your writers for speaking the truth
about the rapid changes taking place in our industry. Your insight to what's
really happening has been remarkable. I particularly enjoy Jim Ziegler's articles
and his predictions, which have hit the mark repeatedly.
There are only two publications that I make sure I read without fail, Automotive News and DEALER magazine. As a large, single franchise, independently owned, metropolitan Ford dealer, I have followed with interest your magazine's views on factory owned dealerships, publicly held automotive chains, the Ford Blue Oval Certification debate, the proliferation of the automotive dotcoms and the Internet's impact on how we will retail vehicles in the future. Your magazine is what dealers need to help them see through all of the manufacturers' rhetoric and their program du jour public relations hype.
Good dealers are the ones who will adapt and thrive in this sound economic environment and the uncertain environment of the next market downturn. No one wishes for the tough times to return, but it would focus our industry on what's really important: taking care of customers and providing a quality ownership experience. We've had it so good for so long, that many newcomers to automotive retailing don't know what it really takes to survive.
Please keep your writers printing the truth, and loyal dealers will have advertisers begging to buy ads in DEALER magazine. Thanks for the outstanding publication.
Sincerely,
M. Allen Vigil
President
Allan Vigil's Southlake
Ford
Jonesboro, Georgia
Wow, thanks. It's letters like this that make it all worthwhile. Surprisingly, there are still plenty of advertisers who don't see the value of connecting with dealers through this magazine.
Mike Roscoe
Mike,
My name is Jeff Mears, and
I am one of those poor suckers who is entrusted to "manage" VOMS.
I've strapped the program on almost every week for the last 2+ years, and
have actually done well "beating" the system. Now for the zinger,
over the last few months, it seems as though GM has effectively jammed approximately
20-30% extra units down our collective throats. These aren't "flex"
or temporary allocation, they are flat out "surprises"!
My hope is that you can somehow start a "chat," and ferret out the other VOMERS. I'm interested in finding out how widespread this B.S. move actually is, and furthermore, discuss the financial ramifications it has had on other dealers.
Thanks,
Jeffrey D. Mears
If there is sufficient interest from our readers, I will start a message board on www.dealeronline.com. Let me know. mroscoe@dealeronline.com
Mike Roscoe
Industry Expert Feedback
Peter Brandow,
BRAVO! Your article in the
December issue of DEALER magazine is the most insightful, perspicacious
interpretation of today's auto market I've read. This short rendering should
be required reading for all: retailers, manufacturers and pundits alike.
I note that you have the ear of GM and NADA. I pray they are listening to you rather than the wunderkind seeking approval.
Sincerely yours,
J.S. McClinton
III
Owner/Operator
McClinton Chevrolet
Mitsubishi
Jim Boldebook:
I just finished your article
in DEALER magazine. I would very much like a copy of CBC's "Ten
Commandments for Automobile Dealers." I am always looking for ways to
improve in an ever changing business.
Also, please pass on to Mr. Roscoe my compliments on his publication. DEALER magazine is always welcome here, not only by myself, but also by my 20 managers. They really seem to enjoy the articles I give them to read.
Again, Thank You!
David Broadway,
GM
Tranum Ford-Mercury,
Inc.
Gatesville, Texas
This is one of about three dozen letters and e-mails asking Jim for a copy of his "Ten Commandments."
Mike Roscoe
Hey Big Jim,
I
want you to know your article about "Who Moved the Cheese" cost
me about $280.00 (even with Barnes and Noble 40% off). I had to buy enough
copies so the entire staff could read the book. We are now passing it to the
technicians and then the rest of the shop. After that they will go to the
Chrysler store in East Liverpool (30 miles away).
It was worth it, even for the few who came to me for discussion. They are talking amongst themselves. Thanks for the tip.
On another note...I pray you read the article that quoted Maryann Keller saying the Internet won't work. I almost had a sexual experience thinking of some high end stockholder of a giant web site reading it at the same time. You're mostly on the money all the time; keep up the good work.
John Seretti
John Seretti Chevrolet
Pittsburgh,PA
John Seretti Chrysler
Plymouth Dodge Jeep
East Liverpool, Ohio
Jim Ziegler,
I
read your stuff every month and get a kick out of what you say and how you
say it. This month (December) was no different. I do hate the way you ended
the article though...did the dealer turn over a face card or what? Great articles.
Keep it up.
Best regards,
John Mecham
John Mecham Dodge
Chrysler Jeep
Park City, Utah
John Mecham Chrysler
Plymouth Jeep
Metro Salt Lake
Dear Jim,
I
had the pleasure of making your acquaintance at a NADA VW Twenty group meeting
in Wyoming a few months ago. As a matter of fact, I sent two of my managers
to your class in Atlanta. So far, I am happy with the results and I will probably
take you up on your invitation to attend a future meeting.
I read your article in DEALER magazine. I am very much afraid to have you read my tea leaves, tarot cards, or even open my fortune cookie. The future, from where I sit, looks a little murky. You couldn't have been more correct about VW's ability to fumble on the goal line. Their problem in the US and Canada far exceeds the new architecture you spoke of. In fact, every time I look in Automotive Snooze, (as you put it), I am shocked that there is never a word about the continuing problems that VW has, i.e. the inability to meet demand for auto transmissions, product distribution, and let us not forget, the problem they have with painting certain colors because they built the factory right next to an active volcano in Mexico. (I guess they figured it would be a double bonus, cheap labor and cheap real estate).
