Recent Comments:
TomTom takes portable navigation devices to the next level {Autoblog}
Mar 6th 2006 11:31AM Cool products...stupid company name. Second only to Piggly Wiggly in dumb company names.
Nader blasts DaimlerChrysler, Ford, and General Motors-- again. {Autoblog}
Mar 2nd 2006 11:26AM If Ralph is concerned about the American consumer, why doesn't he take his media circus to the tobacco companies instead? Cigarettes have killed a hell of a lot more people than Corvairs or SUVs have.
Comment Corner: Help Wanted: Car sellers--inquire within. {Autoblog}
Mar 1st 2006 9:38PM It would be all right with me if all dealers went to one standard price for each model, as long as the first customer who comes in with a chip on his shoulder and says, "You gotta do better than that" can be tied down in the parking lot and driven over multiple times by the entire sales staff.
Nader blasts DaimlerChrysler, Ford, and General Motors-- again. {Autoblog}
Mar 1st 2006 9:20PM Ralph Nader is the Jessie Jackson of the car biz...an irrelevant media whore whose time is long past.
Comment Corner: Help Wanted: Car sellers--inquire within. {Autoblog}
Mar 1st 2006 2:49PM #13 - I can't tell whether you think a dealership gladly taking as much of your money as you will let them is good or bad. Certainly if you are selling your own car and the potential buyer says okay without asking you to cut your price you'll take all his money, right? Or would you tell him/her, "Gee, I'll gladly take less than that. How low would you like me to go?"
I once had a highly irate customer (a doctor)call me to complain that I had "ripped him off" and cheated him when he bought a new Jaguar from me. Despite the fact that he was quite happy with the deal he had gotten when he drove away in his new car, he since found out that another doctor had purchased a new Jag for less than he did and so obviously, I ripped him off. He demanded to cancel the deal and renegotiate a new one. After some prodding, he admitted that he would, if asked by a patient, lower his normal charge for surgery. When I suggested that he was "ripping off" those who didn't ask for a break, he got quite indignant. Doctors can be such a**holes. Anyhow, we didn't redo the deal but I'm sure he continued to badmouth me as a sleazy scam artist even though he had purchased a car at a price he was thrilled with just a week before. Go figure.
Ford uses March to showcase luxury, value {Autoblog}
Mar 1st 2006 1:28PM Ouch. Leasing rears its ugly head again. Great for the dealer (moves cars), great for the manufacturer (moves cars) but 9 times out of 10, not great for the consumer.
Unless one is okay with the fact that they will have car payments for the remainder of their natural life, leasing is not a smart way to go for the average bear, particularly if they drive average or above average miles. IMHO. At the end of the lease period, you own nothing unless you want to re-finance your used car.
Geneva Motor Show: Lamborghini Murcielago LP640 world premiere {Autoblog}
Mar 1st 2006 12:41PM Right about the color, I thought it was primered but unpainted at first glance.
I love the look and sound of exotic supercars but in reality, if you line up all the recently unveiled concepts and the soon-to-be-built production models, they're basically all the same, except for the goofy one where the passenger sits behind the driver.
Just how many mega-million dollar, lethal in the hands of almost everyone except F1 drivers, super cars does the world need?
Th!nk again? Not so fast-- Norwegian electric car maker goes bankrupt {Autoblog}
Mar 1st 2006 12:01PM You'll see lots of Ford dealers that still have Th!inks that they use for schlepping customers around the lot. But they look more like overgrown golfcarts, not the cars shown at the Th!nk web site.
The following link is from the Th!nk website under "used cars," but I don't think they are Th!nks. Either way, I wouldn't be seen driving one in public, particularly the pink one. To me, it just proves that some people have no pride.
http://www.elbilnorge.no/modules.php?name=News_ElbilNorge&new_topic=4
Comment Corner: Help Wanted: Car sellers--inquire within. {Autoblog}
Feb 28th 2006 11:40PM Well, of course they're making money. That's why anyone goes into business - and how they stay in business. But, in general, the dealership net profit these days is pretty slim compared to other retail businesses. And now consumer groups are pushing for limits on how much dealers can make on the financing and ancillary products through the F&I office.
The objective of any dealership is to reach 100% or greater service absorption, meaning that the service/parts department profit covers all of the dealership fixed expenses so that even when vehicle sales are slow, the bills are still being paid. Smart dealers pay more attention to the efficiency and customer retention skills of their service/parts operation than they do their sales dept.
Germans get first drive in Mazda Kabura {Autoblog}
Feb 28th 2006 9:22AM Will somebody please buy me one of these? Thank you.
