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Motor Authority - blog Tag: dealers

  • GM to close 42% of Canadian dealer network

    GM to close 42% of Canadian dealer network May 20th, 2009 By Nelson Ireson Nelson Ireson, Author, May 20th, 2009 Nelson Ireson 0 Comments

    GM to close 42% of Canadian dealer network The symptoms of America's ailing carmakers don't recognize borders, and no nation is more keenly aware of that fact than Canada. That's doubly true after today's announcement of General Motors' planned closure of 42% of the company's Canadian dealerships.

    In all about 300 dealers will be shuttered. Like their far more numerous American counterparts, the axed Canadian dealers will have until the expiry of their franchise agreements in October 2010 to liquidate inventory and other holdings.

    The dealership cuts were explained as a necessary reduction, focused largely on over-saturated urban markets like Toronto.

    "Due to the unique aspects... The symptoms of America's ailing carmakers don't recognize borders, and no nation is more keenly aware of that fact than Canada. That's doubly true after today's announcement of General Motors' planned closure of 42% of the company's Canadian dealerships. In all about 300 dealers will be shuttered. Like their far more numerous American counterparts, the axed Canadian dealers will have until the expiry of their franchise agreements in October 2010 to liquidate inventory and other holdings. The dealership cuts were explained as a necessary reduction, focused largely on over-saturated urban markets like Toronto. "Due to the unique aspects of our Canadian dealer network, we have focused our network rationalization efforts on key urban markets in an effort to achieve a viable network configuration all across Canada. The end result in Canada will be a more competitive dealer network with higher volumes, while continuing to maintain the strongest and broadest dealer network in the country better equipped to serve GM customers," the Canadian arm of the company said in a statement. Toronto alone currently has 34 dealerships, a number that's far too high according to Montreal GM dealer Paul Lamoureaux, who also predicted Vancouver would be hit hard by the closures. "Closing all these dealerships is bound to hurt sales," he told Bloomberg. "You can't think people are going to travel 50km (30mi) to buy a new car." The Canadian closures are part of GM's overall plan to get its capacity - both in terms of production and sales - back in line with demand. The question remains if it will be enough to ward off the ever more likely scenario of a structured bankruptcy, especially with the June 1 deadline posed by the Obama administration looming near. Read More

  • Chrysler dealers fire back at proposed franchise rejections

    Chrysler dealers fire back at proposed franchise rejections May 18th, 2009 By Nelson Ireson Nelson Ireson, Author, May 18th, 2009 Nelson Ireson 5 Comments

    Chrysler dealers fire back at proposed franchise rejections Just a couple weeks into the nascent Fiat-Chrysler partnership, trouble is already brewing. The American carmaker's 3,188 dealers, upon hearing that 789 of their number will be let go by June 6, banded together to prepare for a legal fight.

    The dealers are contesting Chrysler's incredibly short notice - just under a month - in closing down so many franchises. In most states, the company would have to give enough time for the dealers to properly wind down their business and close out their obligations. But Chrysler is arguing that due to its bankruptcy, it need not comply with those rules, reports the Detroit Free Press.

    The decision to... Just a couple weeks into the nascent Fiat-Chrysler partnership, trouble is already brewing. The American carmaker's 3,188 dealers, upon hearing that 789 of their number will be let go by June 6, banded together to prepare for a legal fight. The dealers are contesting Chrysler's incredibly short notice - just under a month - in closing down so many franchises. In most states, the company would have to give enough time for the dealers to properly wind down their business and close out their obligations. But Chrysler is arguing that due to its bankruptcy, it need not comply with those rules, reports the Detroit Free Press. The decision to cut back its dealer network is a necessary one if Chrysler is to bring its retail presence in line with its newly-shrunken market presence and the smaller overall market itself. Obviously dealers don't like the news, but the reality of Chrysler's situation has already cost thousands of jobs. To protect the dealer interests, however, a committee was formed and in cooperation with the National Automobile Dealers Association (NADA), the group sent a letter to all Chrysler dealers asking them to pitch in $4,000 each to generate a legal fund. If every dealer were to contribute, that would total $12.75 million. All protests to the list of rejected dealers must be made by May 26, with court arguments to start up June 3. The preliminary list of dealers to be cut and kept was revealed last Thursday as part of the ongoing bankruptcy proceedings. That list is only a tentative list, however. Final word won't come until June, once the new company is formed and Fiat makes the ultimate decision on which dealers will stay and which will join the new Fiat-Chrysler alliance. Read More

  • Report: Chrysler to offer $1,000 certificates to all existing customers

    Report: Chrysler to offer $1,000 certificates to all existing customers May 15th, 2009 ByRalph Hanson Ralph Hanson, Author, May 15th, 2009 Ralph Hanson 2 Comments

    Report: Chrysler to offer $1,000 certificates to all existing customers As bankruptcy thrashes Chrysler vehicles' resale value the company is pulling out all the stops to keep sales up until it can emerge and join forces with Fiat. To help get feet on the floors of its remaining dealerships, the company is now reportedly getting ready to send out $1,000 certificates toward the purchase of a new car to all of its existing customers.

    The move is a bold one, since the certificate is ostensibly in addition to all the price cuts and incentives already on the table at Chrysler, Dodge and Jeep. Coming along with the $1,000 offer is a letter from CEO Bob Nardelli explaining the situation, reports the Wall Street... As bankruptcy thrashes Chrysler vehicles' resale value the company is pulling out all the stops to keep sales up until it can emerge and join forces with Fiat. To help get feet on the floors of its remaining dealerships, the company is now reportedly getting ready to send out $1,000 certificates toward the purchase of a new car to all of its existing customers. The move is a bold one, since the certificate is ostensibly in addition to all the price cuts and incentives already on the table at Chrysler, Dodge and Jeep. Coming along with the $1,000 offer is a letter from CEO Bob Nardelli explaining the situation, reports the Wall Street Journal. Though 789 of Chrysler's dealers will be shutting down in just a few weeks, they are still open for business in the interim, and the new incentive could help get rid of some of the inventory that will otherwise have to be purchased by Chrysler's remaining dealer network. In all, about 9 million current Chrysler owners will be getting the certificates, putting the total value of the incentives at $9 billion if all of them were to exercise the option. Read More

  • New York Aston Martin dealer facing corporate espionage charges against rival Ferrari dealer

    New York Aston Martin dealer facing corporate espionage charges against rival Ferrari dealer April 24th, 2009 ByRalph Hanson Ralph Hanson, Author, April 24th, 2009 Ralph Hanson 1 Comment

    New York Aston Martin dealer facing corporate espionage charges against rival Ferrari dealer Espionage isn't just restricted to the James Bond and John Le Carre figures of the world - we already saw industrial espionage taint the image of Formula 1 a couple of years ago with two Ferrari F1 employees being handed jail sentences in the matter. In a strange twist of events, this time Ferrari is at the losing end of some corporate espionage undertaken by rival manufacturer Aston Martin - although this time it wasn't in the F1 paddock.

    Reports are circulating that the owners of a New York based car dealership, that specialized in selling Bentleys and Aston Martins, have been accused of conducting corporate espionage against rival ... Espionage isn't just restricted to the James Bond and John Le Carre figures of the world - we already saw industrial espionage taint the image of Formula 1 a couple of years ago with two Ferrari F1 employees being handed jail sentences in the matter. In a strange twist of events, this time Ferrari is at the losing end of some corporate espionage undertaken by rival manufacturer Aston Martin - although this time it wasn't in the F1 paddock. Reports are circulating that the owners of a New York based car dealership, that specialized in selling Bentleys and Aston Martins, have been accused of conducting corporate espionage against rival Ferrari and Maserati dealers. The charges relate to some illegal 'e-mail tapping' undertaken by the Bentley/Aston Martin dealer, during which they gained unauthorized access to a New York Ferrari dealer's email server around 2,500 times in a period of about 8 months last year. Not only were the Bentley/Aston dealers reading the emails, they were also contacting customers of Ferrari that were negotiating with the Prancing Horse. In one case, a customer was attempting to purchase a Ferrari Enzo from the New York Ferrari dealership when the Bentley/Aston dealers contacted the customer offering help. While the current charges may seem a bit more blasè than other espionage cases we've heard of, the maximum penalty if the Bentley/Aston dealer is found guilty could still amount to a whopping 5 years in prison and a $250,000 fine. Ouch. Read More

  • Saturn's Franchise Operations Team leader says brand has partner, will survive

    Saturn's Franchise Operations Team leader says brand has partner, will survive April 1st, 2009 ByRalph Hanson Ralph Hanson, Author, April 1st, 2009 Ralph Hanson 0 Comments

    Saturn's Franchise Operations Team leader says brand has partner, will survive News that makes or breaks a carmaker's future isn't typically found in Danbury, Connecticut, but these aren't typical times. Saturn's Franchise Operations Team (FOT), a group of eight dealers, has a task force being led by Todd Ingersoll of Saturn of Danbury, and Ingersoll is saying that Saturn will live on.

    "In the next three weeks, we will announce a long-term partnership that will provide Saturn with world-class cars," Ingersoll told the Danbury News Times. "Saturn is a brand that is beloved by consumers. We wanted to find another company that sees value in the brand. We think we've done it."

    Ingersolls statements don't leave much room... News that makes or breaks a carmaker's future isn't typically found in Danbury, Connecticut, but these aren't typical times. Saturn's Franchise Operations Team (FOT), a group of eight dealers, has a task force being led by Todd Ingersoll of Saturn of Danbury, and Ingersoll is saying that Saturn will live on. "In the next three weeks, we will announce a long-term partnership that will provide Saturn with world-class cars," Ingersoll told the Danbury News Times. "Saturn is a brand that is beloved by consumers. We wanted to find another company that sees value in the brand. We think we've done it." Ingersolls statements don't leave much room for misinterpretation - he's saying the Saturn brand will be changing hands to align with another carmaker and it will get new models after the two-year period during which it will wind down its association with General Motors' products. Exactly who might be in the running for the brand or what structure the new Saturn alliance might take is still unclear, and coming on today of all days, it leaves us wondering if it will really happen at all, but if a brand like Saturn - formerly customer-driven, lately out of touch, but coming back around - can make it, there's hope for the industry yet. Read More

  • Roll your own 2010 Camaro

    Roll your own 2010 Camaro March 17th, 2009 ByRalph Hanson Ralph Hanson, Author, March 17th, 2009 Ralph Hanson 2 Comments

    Roll your own 2010 Camaro General Motors has its hands full building out the first 14,000 pre-ordered Camaros for the next several months, but if just have to have that new muscle car and you aren't one of the lucky horde, don't despair. Chevrolet has a site just for you.

    The online build process is simple - pick one of the five available basic trim packages - three V6s, two V8s - add your options, and find a dealer. Of course, with all of the first few months of production pre-ordered, that means finding a dealer to order one for you, but in the mean time you can fine-tune the car to get exactly what you want from it.

    For example, you can choose the fast but... General Motors has its hands full building out the first 14,000 pre-ordered Camaros for the next several months, but if just have to have that new muscle car and you aren't one of the lucky horde, don't despair. Chevrolet has a site just for you. The online build process is simple - pick one of the five available basic trim packages - three V6s, two V8s - add your options, and find a dealer. Of course, with all of the first few months of production pre-ordered, that means finding a dealer to order one for you, but in the mean time you can fine-tune the car to get exactly what you want from it. For example, you can choose the fast but affordable 1SS package, cyber gray metallic paint, ground effects package, standard 20in alloy wheels and black bonnet stripe package for one mean-looking and seriously quick car - and an MSRP of just $33,770. Combine it with the available original equipment accessories on GM's OE site and you'll have a hard time getting all your shopping done in three months' time.2010 Camaro SS official photos2010 Chevrolet Camaro original equipment accessories Read More

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