Volume 6 Issue 4

Volume 6 Issue 4
Why Blow
Our Own Horn
when our customers
say it best?
“I am very impressed with the high quality and informative Sales and Management online
workshops that are now available through The Virtual Academy. We’ve needed a great service
like this for a long time.”
~ Keith Campbell, Dealer Principal, Honda Carland, Roswell
“It’s very convenient and timely. All four of our dealerships make The Virtual Academy an
important part of our daily sales meetings. It also allows us to use it during slow periods. I
appreciate that I can train sales professionals in large or small groups when it works for us.
It is ready when we are. The same goes for our service advisors. We all appreciate that
you offer training on different experience levels.”
~ Andy Jones, Dealer Principal, Gerald Jones Dealer Group, Augusta
“The Virtual Academy could not have come at a better time. With most
Automotive Dealerships operating with fewer managers today, for
obvious reasons, The Virtual Academy helps provide ‘Peace of Mind’
that your team members are receiving good solid training. It’s like
having a Sales Trainer on staff.”
~ Ross Long, General Sales Manager, Capital Buick Pontiac GMC, Atlanta
“It’s mandatory viewing at this dealership. A different workshop is
featured each week at our Monday morning sales meeting, with 25 sales
reps and five managers, including myself, in attendance. We all learn
new things during these workshops, regardless of our different levels
of experience. ”
~ Brian Dominick, General Sales Manager, Curry Honda, Chamblee
“We have been using this valuable service regularly since
subscribing earlier this year, and have already completed most
of the sales and management training workshops. The Virtual
Academy is very easy to use, thanks to the interactive menu and
the printable work books and handouts. It is a phenomenal
value for the price.”
~ Arvind Sarathy, General Sales Manager,
Jim Ellis Volkswagen Marietta
We’re Online All The Time!
Toll Free: 1-877-4-Academy • email: [email protected]
in this
Volume 6 Issue 4
issue
10
2
MISSION STATEMENT
Board of Directors
4
Drive On
Shayne Wilson, President
5
Advertiser’s Guide
6
The Changing Role of the
Used Car Manager
By Lee Culver
Culver Consulting
12
16
Helping Hands: MAADA Signs
up with the U.S. Marines for
2009 Toys For Tots Drive!
18
Business Continuity and
Management Succession
Planning. What’s That?
By Joel H. Miles,
Senior Consultant, Dixon Hughes
20
AutoCount
22
“Big Wheels!” WSB-TV’s
Chuck Dowdle
Announces Retirement
24
Automotive Industry on the Move
26
Helping Hands: Atlanta Junior
Golf Enjoys a Great 35th Season
28
Academy Schedule
Services
14
8
Take Time for a Power Play
By Carlos Alvarez,
Dealership Development Manager,
American Financial & Automotive
You Can’t Judge the Market
by the Headlines
By Thomas Webb,
Chief Economist,
Manheim Consulting
Automotive Salesperson
Randy StephensonHe’s Quite a Caricature!
1 3 4
Managing “By The Numbers”
By Scott Dreisbach,
Vice President, Valuinsight, Inc.
ON THE MOVE STAFF
Dave Tribble, Editor-in-Chief
[email protected]
Dawn Palzewicz, Art Director
[email protected]
DISTRIBUTION:
Janet Brown and Pam Schrodel
CONTRIBUTING WRITERS:
Carlos Alvarez, Lee Culver,
Scott Drelsbach, Joel H. Miles,
and Thomas Webb
PHOTOGRAPHY:
David Pano, and Richard Stegall
MAADA
440 Interstate North Parkway
Atlanta, GA 30339
770-916-1741
www.maada.com
ON THE MOVE is published four times annually by the Metro Atlanta Automobile Dealers Association.
Any reproduction in whole or in part of the contents of this publication is prohibited without prior consent of the Metro Atlanta Automobile Dealers Association.
The appearance of advertisers does not constitute an endorsement of the products or services by the Metro Atlanta Automobile Dealers Association.
1
Board of Directors
MISSION STATEMENT
The Metro Atlanta Automobile Dealers Association is made up
of over 160 franchised new car and truck dealers from the 18
county Metro Atlanta area. The association and its members
strive to uphold the highest standards of honesty and integrity
Randy Morris,
Chairman
and continuously work together to improve the car buying
experience for Metro Atlanta consumers.
ERNEST HODGE,
Immediate Past-Chairman
WALTER BRIDGES
JIM ELLIS
DON JACKSON
CLAY NALLEY
RICHARD PUGMIRE
STEVE RAYMAN
BO SCOTT
ALLAN VIGIL
BILL VOYLES
We’ve just added these new training programs.
Desking the Deal Parts 1-5; Professional Selling Skills: Part 28 “Demonstration Tips,” Part 29 “Write-up Terminology,” Part 30 “The Buyer’s Order,” “Part 31 “Preparing for the Write-up,”
Part 32 “Walking the Trade, Part 33 “The Evidence Manual,” Part 34 “Review with Management” and Part 35 “Salesperson Responsibilities in a Write-up;” How to Coach Yourself up:
“Management Role,” “ Rumination,” “ When You Talk to Yourself,” “ Negative Thinking,” “Failing Successfully” and “Fear of Success.”
2 www.maada.com
President’s Message
HELPING THE MARINES HELP OUR KIDS
While the United States Marine Corps may only be looking
for a few good men and women, they’re also in desperate
need of thousands of new toys this Christmas for the underprivileged children of our metro area.
After a unanimous vote from our Board of Directors, we
offered a helping hand to the Marines and one of the
nation’s finest Christmas charities – Toys for Tots. They graciously accepted our offer. Now our goal is to set up toy
collection sites at many of this area’s franchised new car
and truck dealer locations.
Shayne
Wilson,
President
The Atlanta Toys for Tots campaign is one of the largest in
the nation. They delivered gifts to over 354,000 children during the holidays of 2008. This major undertaking was accomplished with a small staff of only 22
U.S. Marines and several hundred volunteers.
Amazing as this seems, these individuals covered
over 4,996 square miles surrounding the metro
Atlanta area.
Even though the 2008 Atlanta Toys for Tots campaign was successful, they were still short of the number
of toys needed. The Marines now feel that they are facing an even tougher task this year, with the economy still shaky and more donation requests than ever before. To accomplish their goal, they need more
toys and more toy collection sites for these donations. This is where we can be of help.
We are now contacting our dealer members about participating with the Toys for Tots campaign,
requesting their support as toy collection sites from October 15 through December 16. We are expecting strong participation, since there are no businesses in this metro area that can match these dealerships when it comes to community support.
In early October, each participating dealership will be visited by one of our staff members with a
collection box for the toys and a window and street sign. These same staff members will also be responsible for picking up the donations at the conclusion of the campaign.
I’m betting that the many good dealerships of the metro Atlanta area will come through big for the kids and
Marines this Christmas.
THANKS TO OUR MEDIA SPONSORS
I would like to personally thank Comcast Spotlight, CW69 WUPA-TV, Kicks 101.5FM and True Oldies 106.7FM
for coming on board as media sponsors for the association’s Toys for Tots drive. We have produced 30 second
TV and Radio public service spots that will be broadcasted on these stations during the entire two months of this
campaign. These spots will encourage the public to drop off their donations at their local car dealer. A listing of
participating dealers will be listed on our website, www.maada.com, plus on the Atlanta Toys for Tots campaign
site, www.atlantatoysfortots.com.
4 www.maada.com
ON THE MOVE
A d v e r t i s e r ’ s
G u i d e
Advertiser
Page Number
Telephone
URL
AM 750 WSB
Inside Back Cover
404.897.7316
www.wsbradio.com
American Financial
11
800.967.3633
www.afasinc.com
Comcast
27
770.559.2262
www.cableadvertisingworks.com
Georgia Automobile Dealers Association
23
770.432.1658
www.gada.com
Guardian Products
5
800.727.7222
www.gpcorp.com
Manheim Auctions
3
800.856.6107
www.atlantaautoauction.com
WSB-TV
Back Cover
404.897.7000
www.wsbtv.com
The Virtual Academy
Inside Front Cover
1.877.4.Academy
www.maada.com
In 2008, for the first time in decades the average used
car department operated at a net loss for the year.
Obviously, economic conditions had a lot to do with
that. Yet in spite of the challenges the industry faced,
some used car operations still prospered. Was that due
to dumb luck... divine intervention...
or have those
dealers simply been quicker to recognize and adapt to
the changing used car landscape?
THE CHANGING
BUSINESS MODEL
The old business model is certainly
bent, if not broken. The most successful
operators understand that market
dynamics have changed. We now live
in an information-rich age and are selling to informed buyers. The customer
is finally in the driver’s seat and wants
to do business on his terms, not ours.
Prospects know what they want, what it
should cost and where to find it. To
accommodate this new market, progressive organizations have re-engineered
their sales and marketing processes to
make them more customer-centric….and
6 www.maada.com
those early adapters have been well
rewarded (just look at the success of
companies like CarMax).
If you don’t give customers what
they want, someone else will.
In addition to improved sales and marketing practices, profitable operators
have become more nimble in this highly
volatile market. They anticipate
changes in demand and respond quickly to market shifts. As a result, they
avoid catastrophic wholesale loss and
are able to capitalize on market opportunities.
By Lee Culver
Lee Culver is a consultant and trainer with 30 years
automotive experience. He specializes in increasing
used vehicle department net profit and can be
contacted by email at [email protected] or
phone at 404-200-4410.
Lee is also a contributor to the Virtual Academy for
Automotive Professionals.
INVENTORY
Today’s used car manager must first
and foremost become a master of
inventory management. He must stop
making excuses for sitting on aged units
and focus on speeding up his turn (8 to
12 times per year). A passive
approach to inventory management is
no longer acceptable. To be effective,
the UCM must:
•
•
Proactively plan his inventory
mix based on facts and market
analy-sis, not guesswork or
wishful thinking
Keep his finger on the pulse of the
•
•
•
•
market and stay ahead of the
curve - changes are generally
predictable
Reduce risk by operating with a
lower days supply – especially in
late model vehicles
Ensure that vehicles are priced
competitively in the market place –
today’s buyer isn’t going to
overpay
Manage inventory as it ages, not
after it’s aged
Eliminate aged and undesirable
units promptly – time is the enemy
Since the majority of used car shoppers
now search on line before contacting a
dealership, stocking what customers
want is a prerequisite of success.
Acquiring what you need, however, will
become more challenging. As long as
the new car market remains anemic
there will be fewer late model trade-ins.
In addition, the collapse of leasing
(other than high end) has also reduced
availability of 3 and 4 year old merchandise. To further exacerbate the
problem, rental car companies have
decreased the size of fleets and are
now keeping units in service longer.
That, of course, means fewer program
cars and those that are available will
have considerably higher mileage.
Without a doubt, used car managers
and buyers will be directing more of
their time and energy toward finding
the right ‘stuff’.
PAY ATTENTION
TO THE NUMBERS
Historically, the UCM’s focus has been
on sales and gross. That, however, is
only half the job. If you’re spending
more than you’re bringing in you won’t
be in business long. Today the focus
must be on the bottom line, which
requires that he understand all financial
aspects of running the department. He
should strive to perform at industry
benchmarks for sales, gross, expenses
and net. He should also understand the
concepts of cash flow, carrying costs
and net to gross.
Expense control is especially important.
Before investing in a new service or
technology that promises to increase
sales, perform due diligence. Do a cost
/ benefit analysis to see if it makes
sense. Don’t be misled by fuzzy math,
eg: “You’ll just have to sell two more
cars per month to pay for it.” Instead,
look at how it will impact your bottom
line, eg: if your net to gross is 10%,
that means a new $2000 per month
expenditure would have to generate an
additional $20,000 in gross profit each
month just to keep your bottom line the
same. Don’t take the plunge if the
expected results can’t justify the time
and expense.
MERCHANDISING
Merchandising the physical inventory
continues to be important since ‘drive
by’ is still a significant source of floor
traffic. In this ‘new’ market, however,
the UCM must also pay attention to his
virtual showroom. No self-respecting
manager would ever ignore the appearance of his lot. He’ll walk it daily to
look for problems and see that inventory is properly displayed and merchandised. Yet, incredibly, that same manager will totally ignore his website.
Shouldn’t he be ‘browsing’ it daily to
see that listings are current and have
quality pictures, all vehicles are priced,
descriptions are accurate, ads and specials are up-to-date, links are working,
and so on? The new reality is that the
physical lot and virtual showroom are
equally important.
MANAGING EFFORT
Depending on the size of the dealership, the UCM may or may not be
responsible for a sales team. If he does
have that responsibility he’s expected to
monitor the sales effort, eg, customer
count, demo drives, closes, sales, phone
ups, appointments, and such. He needs
to make sure team members are performing at or above industry standards.
In addition to those metrics, he now
needs to track results with internet leads
and review website analytics.
Evaluating this information is essential
to improving sales effectiveness. Ignore
it at your peril.
When performance is measured,
performance improves.
ADVERTISING /
MARKETING
Another change to contend with is how
used vehicles are advertised.
Traditional media (newspaper, TV,
radio) are no longer the primary drivers of media generated traffic, nor are
they the most cost effective. The internet is the new king, yet there is no
definitive model as to the ultimate strategy for attracting buyers since the technology is continually evolving.
There seems to be an unending stream
of ‘silver bullets’ which promise to cure
your marketing woes - SEO, SEM, blogging, social networking, video, chat,
twitter, e-newsletters or some other
web based solution. They all sound
promising, but your decision to use
them should be based on facts, not
hype. Keep in mind those ‘fixes’ won’t
help much if you have a weak foundation. So your first priority should be to
have sound fundamentals in place– the
right inventory, customer-centric processes, a web site that meets customer
needs, quality listings, skilled front line
people, a structured follow up system
and the like. In other words, master the
basics before investing in the next ‘musthave’ solution. And, as noted above,
evaluate how any new expense will
impact your bottom line before committing those dollars.
ADAPT AND PROSPER
Today’s dealerships serve a rapidly
changing market. Technology is changing the way people shop for cars, fuel
prices are influencing the type of vehicle they purchase and economic conditions are affecting how much they
spend. As the market changes so
should your activities and methodology.
Survival demands it.
Charles Darwin, the English naturalist
and first evolutionary scientist had this
to say about survival:
It is not the strongest of the species
that survives, nor the most intelligent that survives. It is the one
that is most adaptable to change.
The same holds true for organizations.
To prosper they must learn how to master change. If not, they are likely to
become its next victim.
7
[
]
“Our association’s Board of Directors
wants to help the Marines in their
annual quest to bring happiness into
the lives of hundreds of thousands of
needy local children,” remarked Shayne
Wilson, President of the Metro Atlanta
Automobile Dealers Association.
8 www.maada.com
9
Since 1775, the United States Marine Corps has met all
challenges when it comes to preserving the rights and
freedom of Americans. This same elite fighting force
also faces another kind of challenge each year with
their Toys for Tots program, assuring that millions of
underprivileged children receive gifts on Christmas Day.
The Metro Atlanta Automobile Dealers
Association (MAADA) has recently
joined up with the Marines to help out
during the upcoming Toys for Tots season. The association will be working with
participating franchised new car and
truck dealer members in setting up toy
drop off points throughout the 18 country
metro Atlanta area.
“Our association’s Board of Directors
wants to help the Marines in their annual
quest to bring happiness into the lives of
hundreds of thousands of needy local
children,” remarked Shayne Wilson,
President of the Metro Atlanta
Automobile Dealers Association. “We
know that our many franchised dealer
members will all feel the same. There’s
no better group of business people in this
area when it comes to the support of our
community.”
While challenging economic times have
caused many associations to cut back on
charities, Wilson is proud to say that
MAADA’s community support has continued to remain strong on behalf of its
dealer members. Besides Toys for Tots,
MAADA also supports Atlanta Junior
Golf, Camp Twin Lakes, Children’s
Healthcare of Atlanta, EnAble of
Georgia, The March of Dimes, The
Salvation Army and The When Everyone
Survives Foundation.
“Partnering with the many automotive
dealer members of the MAADA will
allow the Marines new opportunities to
help the needy children of metro
Atlanta,” said GySgt Ed Barrett, USMCR,
area coordinator for Toys for Tots. “We
also look forward to this partnership
growing during the coming years.”
The dealer toy drop off locations will be
very important to the Atlanta Toys for
Tots campaign, which is the largest in the
nation. Amazing as it may seem, there’s
only a staff of 22 Marines who cover
over 4,995 square miles surrounding the
metro area.
The 2008 Toys for Tots campaign was
quite successful, as they distributed
710,502 toys to needy children, raised
$276,000, and attended 639 public and
private events. Despite these high numbers, there were still not enough toys to
meet the requested demand. The
Marines are expecting an even bigger
increase in demand this year.
The scheduled dates for the MAADA
campaign will be from October 15 December 16, 2009. All participating
dealer members will receive window
cling posters, street signs, and a large
collection box for all of the toys to be
stored. The association will also
arrange pickup of toys from each location.
Toy for Tots began in 1947 when Major
Bill Hendricks, USMCR, and a group of
Marine Reservists in Los Angeles collected and distributed 5,000 toys to needy
children. The idea came from the
Major’s wife, Diane, who in the fall of
1947 handcrafted a Raggedy Ann doll
and asked her husband to deliver it to an
organization which would give it to a
needy child. When Bill discovered that
no such agency existed, Diane told him
that he should start one. He did and the
rest is history.
In 1995, the Secretary of Defense
approved Toys for Tots as an official
activity of the U.S. Marine Corps and an
official mission of the Marine Corps
reserves. Just one year later the Marine
Forces Reserve expanded the charitable
organization to cover all 50 states.
During the 62 year history of the Toys for
Tots program, Marines have distributed
more than 400 million toys to over 190
million needy children. This charitable
endeavor has made U.S. Marines the
unchallenged leaders in looking after
underprivileged children at Christmas.
For more information about MAADA and
its involvement in the local Toys for Tots
drive, please call 770-916-1741 or contact
us via email at [email protected].
Carlos Alvarez,
Dealership Development Manager
American Financial & Automotive Services
800.967.3633 • [email protected]
Consider this, almost every dealership
throughout the country has some type of
game plan that is designed specifically
for sales professionals in the dealership.
An effective game plan begins with a
well thought out introduction. It concludes
by introducing the customer to the business manager and presenting the business manager with the deal jacket so the
paperwork can be prepared for vehicle
delivery. When the business manager
finally greets the customer, he/she does
not know how much time has been invested by the salesperson to arrive at that
point. In today’s fast-paced world, customers want to move quickly through the
sales process. In reality, the majority of
sales professionals in today’s industry will
do whatever they can to rush the customer into the business office so that the
deal goes through. It is the salesperson’s
responsibility to remember the dealership’s game plan and not rush to get the
customer into the business office.
What should the business manager do to
ensure the sales team is not rushing the
deal? Most sales professionals rush and
work the deal like it is the third period of
the Stanley Cup Finals with less than two
minutes to go to score the winning goal.
The business manager needs to coach the
sales team to take control of the delivery
process and explain to them the benefits
of not rushing. To begin, instruct the
sales professional to bring the business
manager out and introduce him/her to
the customer. This is the perfect way to
set up a proper turnover. It allows the
business manager to conduct a “Power
10 www.maada.com
Play,” also known as a customer interview! By having the sales professional
introduce the business manager in the
sales office, where the customer feels
comfortable and at ease, the business
manager is given a better chance of
building rapport with the customer. This
delivery process is not time consuming
and is an easy way to ensure your dealership is working as a team.
The next step in the game plan is to train
the business manager to conduct a proper customer interview. Few things are as
important to the dealership’s profitability
than the customer interview process. A
strong customer interview can be a vital
tool, just like a “Power Play.” A team
cannot win a championship without one.
To conduct a successful customer interview, the business manager must assume
the role of team captain. He/she will
take charge and help the general manager, or “coach”, develop effective strategies. When the team captain knows the
plays ahead of time, the team has a better shot of scoring a goal. For the business manager, this means comprising a
list of open-ended questions that directly
revolve around the products and services
the dealership offers in the business
office. Open-ended questions encourage
a complete, more useful answer from the
customer. This type of question also
tends to be more objective and less leading. Typically, open-ended questions
begin with “How” and “Why” or can
begin with the lead-in “Tell me about…”
Often times, they are not technically a
question, rather they are statements that
implicitly ask the customer for a response.
The basic idea is to ask questions that
help quickly build rapport while also
allowing the customer to reveal possible
objections or insights into what they are
willing to buy.
Once the business manager has conducted a customer interview, the responses
are used to create need for the products
and services the dealership offers. For
example, if the business manager asks
the customer the following question,
“Where are you from?” and the customer
responds by saying, “My family and I
live in Alpharetta, GA,” the business
manager knows that the customer has a
family and lives in an affluent area. This
means that the customer would most likely be interested in GAP insurance to
cover any cost his/her family would incur
if the car were to be totaled. Next the
business manager asks, “Where do you
work?” The customer responds, “I work
for a pharmaceutical company in the
Atlanta area.” The business manager
responds by asking, “I have never driven
from Alpharetta to Atlanta. How far of a
drive is that?” The customer then replies,
“About 27 miles if I take GA 400.” The
business manager now knows the customer does a lot of driving on a high-traffic freeway. This opens up a dialogue
about how the customer is a high-risk candidate for flat tires, chipped windshields,
and additional part failures. Thankfully,
the business manager has a solution
through products like wheel and tire,
windshield protection, and a service contract. It cannot be stressed enough how
important it is for a dealership take the
time to evaluate its playbook to ensure
that the sales team and the business manager are ready and willing to follow the
plan. If the dealership team members
need help developing a game plan that
works for them, they should look into various training options. Players do not
improve without practice and training!
To ensure the delivery process goes
smoothly, the salesperson must set up the
play properly. After the salesperson
hands the customer off to the business
manager with a strong introduction, it is
the business manager’s responsibility to
conduct a customer interview that builds
rapport and gathers information. If these
simple rules are followed, it will be nothing but NET!
By THOMAS WEBB,
Chief Economist,
Manheim Consulting.
Tom Webb is chief economist for
Manheim Consulting.
Cash for Clunkers stole all of the headlines in the auto business
this summer, but I’d argue that two important trends were taking place behind the scenes. First, the earnings for lessors and
lenders were boosted by solid used vehicle retail sales, which
resulted in higher residual values. And most important for
members of the MAADA, despite having to pay higher prices
for inventory, dealers saw an improvement in used vehicle
retail gross margins.
ECONOMY SHOWS SIGNS
OF IMPROVEMENT
The old cliché says that you
can’t always judge a book
by its cover, and I’d add that
you can’t always judge the
automotive marketplace by
the headlines.
12 www.maada.com
Dealers with an eye on the economy as a whole will note that
real GDP declined by a modest 1 percent in the second quarter of 2009, as opposed to the steep 6.4 percent decline in
the first quarter. With the consensus forecast calling for real
GDP to be positive in both the third and fourth quarters of the
year, by loose definition, the recovery has begun. The forecasters’ game has now shifted to describing the pattern of the
recovery – “V” shaped to describe a sharp rebound, “L”shaped to indicate a stagnant stay at the bottom, or “W” to
indicate a sharp upturn followed by a retreat and then a final
upturn.
Our current assessment of trends at Manheim Consulting suggests a “W.” Although a double-dip recession is unlikely, it is
very possible that the pace of economic growth in the second
half of this year will be faster than what occurs in the second
half of 2010. On the positive side, we believe the “W” recovery will have an upward tilt, not a downward slant.
13
CASH FOR CLUNKERS
REJUVENATED NEW
VEHICLE SALES
Thanks largely to the Cash for Clunkers program, July’s new
vehicle sales rose to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 11.2
million and early August moved well above the 12 million
rate, this after the SAAR never reached 10 million over the
first six months of the year.
Now that Cash for Clunkers is over, some have predicted a
“payback.” Considering that new car sales levels were so
poor prior to Cash for Clunkers, we believe such fears are
unjustified. Cash for Clunkers was like a jump start for a dead
battery; the worst that can happen is that we return to our
previous condition.
USED CAR SALES REMAIN
KEY TO PROFITABILITY
Earnings reports from the seven publicly traded dealership
groups show that average retail used vehicle margins
improved in both the first and second quarters of 2009. On a
sales-weighted basis, the average used vehicle retail margin
was 10.8 percent in the second quarter of 2009, versus 10
percent a year ago.
Given that Cash for Clunkers was a new vehicle incentive, conventional wisdom would have suggested the program would
have been negative to used vehicle pricing. But the countervailing force of already-low new vehicle inventories, intensified
as a result of Cash for Clunkers, created strong demand for
used vehicles.
In fact, even before the C4C program boosted July’s sales
pace, the dealer stock of new vehicle inventory was down by
a million units, or more than 31 percent, from a year ago. By
July, the decline was 40 percent compared to year-ago levels,
and inventory levels are expected to remain exceptionally low
for several months to come. This will be an important support
to used vehicle pricing going into the fall new model introduction period.
PRICES AND MILEAGE
RISE TOGETHER
Due to the significant falloff in wholesale supply, late-model
used vehicles continue to outperform the overall market in
terms of price. The adjacent graphic gives a sense of relative
price strength by showing the change in average mileage by
price tier. If mileage is up for a given price tier, that means
pricing was strong since, in effect, the buyer was willing to
pay the same amount for a vehicle with more miles. The converse is true if average mileage for the price tier is lower. In
July, vehicles in the $11,000 to $14,000 range had the
biggest increase in mileage and, thus, the strongest pricing
performance according to this measure.
14 www.maada.com
You will never forget salesperson Randy
Stephenson of Jim Ellis Chevrolet-BuickPontiac-GMC in Atlanta after you buy a
new vehicle from him.
That’s because he
will never forget you on special occasions
and holidays, sending postcards featuring
caricatures of himself in very comical settings. It’s nothing new to see Randy jumping out of a cake for your birthday, riding
a broomstick on Halloween, or even
decked out as the Easter bunny.
The 58 year old Stephenson was born in Cleveland, Tennessee.
While most five year old boys wanted to be a policeman, doctor
or fireman when they grew up, Randy wanted to be a car salesman. His family moved to Atlanta when he was eight, and
Randy’s dream job eventually became a reality in August of
1983 when he joined the sales force of Camp Chevrolet on
Buford Highway. Camp sold this franchise to Jim Ellis in 1990,
who moved it to Peachtree Industrial Boulevard the following
year.
Randy’s first caricature postcard was sent out in 1987. Since
the salesman is not an artist, he had an aspiring cartoonist in
the company’s service department create this card and a series
of others that followed. To date, there have been a total of five
different artists who have penned over 20 of Randy’s comic
adventures.
When asked how his customers have reacted to his postcards
throughout the years, Stephenson replied, “They love them! In
fact, there are some former customers who call or visit the dealership who forget my name, but ask for the guy who sends out the
funny postcards. I like making people smile. ”
Stephenson has done a great job of making his employers smile
throughout the years, building a base of 1,329 repeat customers
and winning over 40 sales awards from the manufacturers. His
office space in the dealership is too small to house all of these
trophies and plaques, so he instead displays them in his home.
Randy cites his father as a role model when it comes to hard
work. The elder Stephenson was a workhorse for all 89 years of
his life. By following in these footsteps, Randy said that he never
thinks of retiring and plans to continue his automotive sales
career for the remainder of his life
Don’t be surprised if you see another 20 new Randy Stephenson
funny postcards during the next two decades. Just buy a new
vehicle from the master salesman and you’re on the list.
15
1
4
3
Managing
2
“By The Numbers”
5
Every Dealer and Dealership manager have been exposed to many
different benchmarks over the years by which to compare their individual operations to a set of standards that have become what we all
refer to as “Industry Benchmarks”. While some of these measurements vary by the type of franchise you operate, there are many that
do not. The entire thrust of this article to identify some of these key
benchmarks for the variable departments for you to use as a quick
reference guide. These Auto Industry Guidelines were gathered
largely from, and published by, the CPA’s at Auto Team America.
NEW VEHICLE DEPARTMENT
Sales Guidelines
New Vehicles Days Supply
No units older than (in days)
Sales units per Salesperson (N)
Front end gross per unit-Cars
Font end gross per unit-Trucks
Sale Ratio New to Used
Gross Guidelines
Gross Profit as a % of Sales
F&I Penetration Rate (inc. Lease)
INSURANCE Penetration %
Extended Service Contract Penetration
Finance Gross per Financed Vehicle
Insurance Goss per Insured Vehicle
Ext Service Gross Per Contract
Expense Guidelines
Sales Comp as a % of vehicle GP
Supervision as a % of vehicle GP
F&I Comp as a % of F&I income
Personnel Exp as a % OF GP
Advertising as a % of GP
Advertising per retail unit sold
Floor Plan as % of GP
16
By Scott Dreisbach
Vice President
Valuinsight, Inc.
www.valuisight.com
[email protected]
561 368 7810 X108
561 404 8450 Direct
DOMESTIC
IMPORT
HIGHLINE
75
180
9
$1,403
$1,723
1.3:1
60
98
10
$1,082
$1,449
1.8:1
45
57
10
$2,480
$2,654
2.9:1
5.7%
67.6%
17.6%
35.6%
$641
$489
$901
5.0%
66.1%
13.3%
31.6%
$570
$366
$685
6.2%
63%
9.0%
13.7%
$905
$264
$935
23.6%
17.4%
15.8%
46.1%
17.8%
$266
14.4%
20.6%
16.0%
15.3%
46.5%
16.8%
$277
8.4%
18.3%
9.3%
23.0%
36.1%
12.9%
$396
6.9%
USED VEHICLE DEPARTMENT
Sales Guidelines
Used Vehicles Days Supply
No units older than (in days)
Sales units per Salesperson (U)
Front end gross per unit-Cars
Font end gross per unit-Trucks
Gross Guidelines
Gross Profit as a % of Sales
F&I Penetration Rate
INSURANCE Penetration %
Extended Service Contract Penetration
Finance Gross per Financed Vehicle
Insurance Goss per Insured Vehicle
Ext Service Gross Per Contract
Expense Guidelines
Sales Comp as a % of vehicle GP
Supervision as a % of vehicle GP
F&I Comp as a % of F&I income
Personnel Exp as a % OF GP
Advertising as a % of GP
Advertising per retail unit sold
Reconditioning-Cars
Reconditioning-Trucks
DOMESTIC
IMPORT
HIGHLINE
45
60
10
$1,832
$2,200
45
60
11
$1,793
$1,609
37
45
13
$2,203
$1,830
13.1%
64.1%
22.1%
40.9%
$589
$396
$869
8.8%
54.5%
21.3%
36.7%
$562
$338
$793
8.4%
54.3%
10.50%
29.7%
$660
$350
$788
23.8%
14.4%
13.6%
37.9.%
15.9%
$283
$773
$818
21.5%
13.3%
19.2%
46.9%
11.7%
$238
$780
$528
25.2%
13.7%
21.2%
46.9%
10.6%
$291
$788
$486
ADDITIONAL KEY GUIDELINES-INVENTORY MANAGEMENT
As many of you know, I have been specializing in vehicle inventory management systems for the past 15 years. Over that time
many key guidelines and money making ideas have emerged
and the importance of precise vehicle inventory management
has never been more clearly defined than it is today. It is well
known (especially by those who have ignored it) that precise
vehicle inventory management can be the difference in whether
or not we operate our stores at a profit or loss.
The first principle (and a concept that is difficult for many managers to get their head around) is that the investments in vehicle inventories are no different than any other type of investment portfolio. Some investments clearly perform better than
others. You have made these investments expecting a Return
On Investment. (ROI) It is only natural that when a specific
portion of your investment portfolio is producing a significant
and rapid return, you would want to do more of it.
Conversely, when other portions of your investment portfolio
are underperforming, you would want to do less of it. The
secret to growing your ROI and maximizing this profit center is
to know exactly what each individual investment has done for
you in the past, what it is doing for you now and how the
investment needs to be re-structured to grow the ROI in the
future.
An example of the financial impact to your bottom line that you
can achieve for your New Vehicle Inventories is as follows:
# New units sold on and average month
# New unit inventory for an average month
Average cost per new unit
Current Floor Plan Interest Rate
17
65
200
$29,655
6.25%
When you crunch these three simple numbers here is what you
will find:
Your current day supply of inventory is 95. If you can get your
inventory down to a 90 day supply you will release frozen capital of $148, 275.00 and have a direct savings of $9,267.00
per year. If you reduce your day supply to 75 you would
release $1,112,062.00 resulting in a direct savings of
$69,503.00. Better yet, by operating on a 60 day supply of
New Vehicles you would free up $2,075,850.00 earning you
an interest savings alone of $129,740.00. This is not a pipe
dream. Many Dealerships are doing this. This does not
include the additional gross you will capture by having a quicker turning inventory (the clients I work with typically see an
additional gross of $100.00 per unit and this would mean
another $78,00.00 per year for this example store) or the
direct expense savings you will realize by the reduction in policy, and delivery expense.
Similar savings can result for your used vehicle department by
achieving the target day supply of 37.
CONTINUED ON PAGE 19.
The dealership industry is comprised primarily of privately
owned, closely held businesses. The form of business is usually the corporation, which technically provides for perpetual existence. However, without planning, the existence of the
business beyond its current ownership and management is
anything but assured.
The dealership industry is comprised primarily of privately
owned, closely held businesses. The form of business is usually
the corporation, which technically provides for perpetual existence. However, without planning, the existence of the business beyond its current ownership and management is anything but assured.
The definition of a business continuity and management succession plan is a plan for who and how the company will be
owned and managed in the future, and how that transition will
occur.
It is not the same as an estate plan of the owner or owners.
An estate plan deals with the disposition of assets upon the
death of an individual. While there are analogies sometimes
drawn between corporate continuity planning and estate planning, and it is called "corporate estate planning" by some, it is
more than that, because it deals with more than just what happens if an individual dies while an owner of an equity interest
in the entity involved. An effective business continuity plan contains two elements: (1) the long-range plan which deals with
ownership transfers and management succession assuming
continued life of the current owners and managers until a predetermined retirement date and (2) a contingency plan which
provides for how ownership transfer and management succession is to occur upon the death of an owner prior to the implementation of the long-range plan.
There a number of reasons why owners of closely held dealerships avoid the issue of continuation plans. Some of these are:
1.
It involves addressing the issue of death, which most
people have a natural disinclination to do.
2. It is not something which is necessary to the successful
18 www.maada.com
Joel H. Miles,
Senior Consultant
Dixon Hughes
operation of the business, which is where management's
priority is normally placed.
3. It involves the assumption that someone else will
eventually replace the current management. Most entre
preneur owners/managers avoid that thought, preferring
to think that no one is capable of replacing them.
4. Many times family considerations come into the picture, in
situations where there are family relationships among the
owner and managers. Most of the time this requires a
judgment of competence and effectiveness which is some
times shunned because there is an impossibility to be
objective in such judgments.
5. It requires one to analyze the company's performance
and capabilities objectively, which some owners would
like to avoid.
Because of these and other difficulties, it is often advantageous to have an objective third party assist in continuity planning, such as a consultant who focuses on this topic, or a business and tax-oriented attorney familiar with the estate planning and corporate restructuring and re-capitalization.
There has been a lot of attention paid lately to some of the
unique aspects of continuity planning in "family" businesses.
There is no question that the presence of more than one family
member of a family unit in the ownership and management of
a business generates the need for special consideration and
concern, but the problem itself is generic to closely-held businesses, not just family ones. One of the main differences in
family situations is that ownership transfer objectives of the
current owner may allow for more options where the ultimate
transferee is a member of his or her family. Specifically, there
is a greater willingness to use gifting as a transfer technique,
whereas that usually is not a viable option in a non-family situation.
The first and sometimes hardest step in the continuity planning
process is the establishment of the objectives of the plan.
Generally, the objectives should address, at a minimum, the
following issues:
1.
Is continuation of the business beyond the current owners
and managers desirable and feasible?
2. The continued involvement and eventual retirement of the
owners and key managers.
3. Voting control of the company and how, when and why it
will change in the future.
4. Requirements and provisions for the transfer and
restriction of transfer of ownership interests in the
company both during the life, and upon the death of
owners. These are usually contained in the buy/sell or
shareholder agreement if there is more than one
shareholder, or in the estate plan of sole-shareholder
companies. The shareholder agreement provides for the
terms, price and conditions of transfer or sale, both
during the lifetime of the shareholders and upon death.
The shareholder agreement is the single most important
part of the continuity planning puzzle, and should
receive an appropriate amount of attention.
5. Identity of the future equity participants of the business.
In most cases it is desirable to have ownership in the
hands of the key management group of the company.
History has proved that it is difficult to successfully
involve outside shareholders in the ownership structure of
a closely-held dealership firm. A big part of the reason is
the dependence on the key people in a service industry
such as dealerships, and the relatively high degree of risk
assumed by the owners.
6. Indemnification of bank and bond credit by the owners.
Often this is a severely limiting factor in the planning
process, because of the dependence of the company's
operations on the availability of such credit, and the
necessity for the financial strength of the owners to
support such.
fer techniques can be found to do what is desired, assuming
two important conditions are met. They are that the business
can be sufficiently profitable in the future and that there is
enough time to allow the techniques employed to work. This is
particularly true where ultimate ownership transfer is to be to
an employee or group of employees who do not have access
to significant amounts of money themselves to use in the
process.
Continuity planning is an orderly process that determines who
and how the company will be owned and managed in the
future. No one can deny the importance of such an issue to
the owners of a closely-held dealership. Owners who ignore
the need for such planning do so at their own peril.
Joel has been a management consultant specializing in the construction
industry for 37 years. He is a specialist in ownership and financial
issues, and performs consulting projects related to continutiy planning,
ownership structure, financial performance and measurement, valuation
of ownership interests, buy-sell agreements, and management performance. In addition, he provides litigation support services in the areas of
valuation and construction claims. He is also involved in mergers and
acquitions in the construction industry, representing both buyers and sellers.
(Managing “By the Numbers”)
CONTINUED FROM PAGE 17.
The three principle ingredients of any good vehicle inventory
management system designed to quickly give information to
management that will lead to direct results and help accomplish the following:
1. To continually phase in what we need and phase out what
we do not based on facts.
2. Make it easy to read, use and understand.
3. Recommend some specific action that needs to be taken.
4. Make decisions based on actual data, not “gut feel”.
To fully develop the potential of this additional “profit center”,
you need to have several key pieces of information for every
single one of your investments. This information does exist in
your DMS, regardless of brand. The hard part for dealerships
seems to be the ability to assemble this information, update it
every day, develop and implement action plans and monitor
the results. In other words, you need an automated, reliable,
ongoing vehicle inventory management system. You would
never allow your parts inventory investment to be managed
without a system. How is your vehicle inventory any different?
Generally speaking, history has proven that successful dealerships are owned by the key manager or managers of the
business and many times the objective of the continuity plan is
to ensure that non-employees are not involved in ownership.
This can be a tough issue to deal with in family situations
where there are owners with more than one child and some
of whom are not involved in the business.
If you would like to see what kind of revenue impact could be
achieved for your store, or would like to learn more about
automated vehicle inventory management systems simply drop
me an E mail and I will send you the revenue impact calculator
file for you to plug in your own numbers and see for yourself
what potential awaits you.
Once the objectives have been established, the next step is to
establish a step or series of steps which will provide for the
accomplishment of the objectives. In most cases, equity trans-
Whatever you decide, it is clear that precise vehicle inventory
management is here to stay and the sooner you take a proactive approach to this all important topic, the sooner you will
begin to realize the positive financial impact in your operation.
19
Call Maureen Brown at 800.679.8807 x 906 or
visit www.autocount.com for more information.
20 www.maada.com
21
The answer to that question is a simple
one – it’s Chuck Dowdle of WSB-TV.
The Atlanta born and bred Dowdle has
been a mainstay of Channel 2’s news
broadcasts for over 24 years now, and
this very knowledgeable gent is well
respected by his viewing audience, peers
and those who play the games.
Everyone loves Chuck, and this admiration will be the reason that hundreds of
thousands of people will be sad when he
officially turns in his sports anchor mike in
December for an early retirement.
Chuck has been a special friend of the
Metro Atlanta Automobile Dealers
Association (MAADA) for quite a few
years. The sports anchor has been the
host of Channel 2’s Annual Auto Show
Preview for the past three years, and
hosted the 2008 special, “Freedom to
Drive.” The latter special encouraged
viewers to take advantage of the many
great incentives that area franchised new
car and truck dealers have to offer. The
Freedom to Drive” special was also syndicated to Cox Television markets throughout the country.
Shayne Wilson, MAADA’s President, and
ON THE MOVE’s editor both had the
pleasure of spending time with Chuck
during recent travels to the North
American and New England auto shows
to tape B-roll for these specials. Listening
to his behind the scenes stories about
Georgia’s sports teams, athletes and
coaches was a real treat. Chuck recently
said that he immensely enjoyed these
22 www.maada.com
annual trips and hopes that WSB will ask
him to continue to host the Auto Show
Preview even after he retires.
The greatest memory in his broadcasting
career was the giant Atlanta Braves
downtown parade that followed their
seven game loss to the Minnesota Twins
in the 1991 World Series. He considers
that season will never be matched as the
Bravos went from worst to first and made
Atlanta into a baseball city forever.
Dowdle was first featured in ON THE
MOVE magazine four years ago in a
“Metro Atlanta Big Wheels Talk about
Their First New Cars” feature. He had a
great time talking about his 1965 forest
green Ford Mustang, which was purchased for only $2,100.00. He
described his first new car as “a six cylinder, 3-speed model that had an engine
so small that you could see the asphalt
pavement under it when you opened the
hood.”
Chuck can no longer see the asphalt
pavement these days, since he drives a
2009 Nissan Murano. He fell in love
with this model after viewing it at the
North American International Auto Show
in 2008.
The veteran sportscaster plans to remain
in Atlanta after retirement. He also plans
to play more golf and do a little traveling.
We wish him all the luck in the world.
1965 Ford Mustang
These industry news stories appeared during the past quarter in the daily NADA
HEADLINES email from the National Automobile Dealers Association. NADA
searches hundreds of publications daily to deliver the top automotive stories each
morning.
Mini to Add 17 U.S. Stores
Mini will add 17 U.S. stores in the coming months, mostly in new markets, the
company recently said. The following
cities will get new dealerships:
Birmingham, Ala.; Pensacola, Fla.;
Alexandria, Va.; Austin, Texas; Seattle,
Wash.; Fort Myers, Fla.; El Paso, Texas;
Ontario, Calif.; Louisville, Ky.; Raleigh,
N.C.; Knoxville, Tenn.; Loveland, Colo.;
Madison, Wisc.; Mount Laurel, New
Jersey; Allentown, Pa.; San Diego and
Tempe, Ariz. Source: Automotive News
Nissan to Mass Produce Electric
Cars in 2012
Nissan Motor Co. said its electric vehicles will be affordable, setting sights on
the potentially lucrative market with a
plan to mass produce zero-emission
cars globally from 2012. Along with
production in Japan and Europe, [Chief
Executive Carlos Ghosn] said Nissan
would make electric vehicles in the
United States at its Smyrna plant in
Tennessee with initial output capacity of
more than 100,000 units per year.
Source: The Associated Press
Coming to an Ex-U.S. Car
Dealer Near You: Pickups
from India
Dramatically weakened by recession,
U.S. automakers in the next few years
are likely to be challenged on their
home turf by car manufacturers from
24
the developing world. But, while the
Chinese were expected to be the first to
land in North America, it now looks like
India will beat China to the U.S. market
— and not with cars, but with light
trucks. By the end of the year, Mumbaibased conglomerate Mahindra &
Mahindra ... plans to launch two-door
and four-door compact pickups that
would compete with established brands
such as the Toyota Tacoma ... and the
Ford Ranger. Source: TIME
er run by Fiat SpA, will sell four models
of the Italian carmaker’s 500 subcompact in the U.S., Chief Executive Officer
Sergio Marchionne said. Chrysler ...
will eventually sell a convertible, wagon
and sporty version called the “Abarth”
in addition to the four-seat subcompact
in the U.S., Marchionne said ... “All of
those cars will be coming to the U.S.,”
Marchionne said. “Fiat will be known in
the U.S. purely in terms of its 500 car.”
Source: Bloomberg
Hyundai Says It Will Be First to
Meet New Fuel-Economy Rules
Subaru Will Add a Few
Dealers, Mainly in the Sun Belt
Hyundai Motor Co., South Korea’s
largest carmaker, plans to be the first in
the U.S. to meet stricter fuel-economy
rules set by the Obama administration,
John Krafcik, Hyundai’s U.S. chief executive, said. The government recently
announced modified rules to push
automakers to cut greenhouse gas emissions and boost fuel-efficiency to an
average of 35.5 miles per gallon by
2015. “We’re going to hit it ahead of
everyone; that is the current plan,” said
Krafcik, president of Seoul-based
Hyundai’s U.S. unit, in an interview in
New York. “We have a plan to be the
number one brand in fuel efficiency.”
Source: Bloomberg
"We want to add a handful of new
dealers, mainly in the South and along
the Sun Belt," said Tim Colbeck, senior
vice president for sales at Subaru of
America. Colbeck said interest in
Subaru is growing because the brand
came in second, behind Lexus, in the
National Automobile Dealers
Association's latest dealer attitude survey, which measures how dealers feel
about the brands they sell. Subaru was
the only mainstream manufacturer to
grow in 2008. Source: Automotive News
Chrysler to Sell 4 Fiat 500
Models in U.S., CEO Says
Chrysler Group LLC, the U.S. automak-
Toyota to Mass Produce Plug-in
Hybrids from 2012
Toyota Motor Corp. plans to start mass
producing plug-in hybrid vehicles in
2012, with a projected first-year output
of about 20,000 to 30,000 units, the
Nikkei business daily reported on
Saturday. Toyota wants to price its plugin hybrids at a comparable price to
Mitsubishi Motors Corp's all-electric car,
which debuts this month to fleet customers in Japan at 4.59 million yen
($47,800) before government subsidies,
the Nikkei said, without citing sources.
Source: Reuters
GM Product Chief Says No
Delay for Plug-in SUV
General Motors is on track to launch a
plug-in sport-utility vehicle in 2011
despite scrapping its Saturn brand as
part of a sweeping reorganization in
bankruptcy, according to the automaker's product chief. "I can tell you that I
won't lose one day in terms of customers being able to walk into dealerships and actually purchase a plug-in,"
GM Vice Chairman Tom Stephens said
in an interview. Source: Reuters
Hyundai Shies Away From
Challenging Prius With Hybrid
Hyundai Motor Co.’s first hybrid car,
twelve years behind Toyota Motor
Corp.’s Prius, won’t pose a threat to the
world’s best-selling hybrid. Hyundai’s
Elantra hybrid, which goes on sale
today, will use liquefied petroleum gas
and be sold only in South Korea. “The
LPG-hybrid isn’t a global model,” said
Lee Hang Koo, a research fellow at
Korea Institute for Industrial Economics
& Trade said. “The real battle will come
when Hyundai releases a full gasolineelectric hybrid model.” Source:
Bloomberg
Auto Dealer Joins U.S.
Senate Race
Cleveland, [Ohio], auto dealer Tom
Ganley recently announced his
Republican candidacy for the U.S.
Senate, setting up a potentially expensive 2010 primary election against former U.S. Rep. Rob Portman of
Cincinnati. Although he has never
served in elected office, Ganley, 65,
said ... that he thinks he can win the
seat to be vacated at the end of next
year by retiring Republican Sen.
George V. Voinovich. "I have a great
passion to see this through to a conclusion, to a victory," [he] said... Ganley
runs Ohio's largest group of automobile
dealerships, along with other companies dealing with finance and insurance.
He started with a Rambler dealership in
Euclid, [Ohio] in 1968, building it into
today's Ganley Auto Group with 32
dealerships in northeastern Ohio.
Source: The Columbus Dispatch
Honda to Expand Hybrid
Lineup to Compete With Toyota
Honda Motor Co., Japan’s secondlargest carmaker, plans to expand the
number of hybrid vehicles it offers
domestically to compete with Toyota
Motor Corp.’s best-selling Prius. The
carmaker will bring out a hybrid version
of the Fit car next year and the hybrid
CR-Z sports coupe in February, Chief
Executive Officer Takanobu Ito told
reporters today in Tokyo. “Applying the
hybrid system to smaller vehicles will
help Honda boost sales,” said Yoshihiro
Okumura, who helps manage the equivalent of $365 million at Tokyo-based
Chiba-gin Asset Management Co.
“Once the U.S. market starts to pick up,
they’ll be well-positioned.” Source:
Bloomberg
North Miami Lexus Dealer Piles
on the Perks
A North Miami luxury car dealer aims
to entice customers with what may be
the most expensive dealership ever built
in South Florida.Haircuts, manicures,
workout sessions -- even boutique shopping -- are available at the country's
largest Lexus store under a single roof.
The unexpected amenities are designed
to entice customers into the showroom
at a time when the car market faces the
most difficult challenges in a quartercentury. "In tough times, you need even
more drawing power from the dealership," said Paul Taylor, chief economist
with the National Automobile Dealers
Association. "The costs are high but in
the long term they should pay off."
Source: The Miami Herald
Kia Introduces Its First Hybrid
Car With LPG Engine
Kia Motors Corp., South Korea’s second-biggest automaker, began selling its
first hybrid car as customers opt for fuelefficient vehicles. Seoul-based Kia aims
to sell 2,000 units of Forte liquefied
petroleum gas-electric hybrid model
domestically this year, the company
said in an e-mailed statement today.
Sales may rise to 5,000 units in 2010.
Kia plans to introduce a gasoline-electric hybrid midsize sedan in 2011 and
to develop a plug-in hybrid vehicle by
2013, the statement said. Source:
Bloomberg
[Auto Dealer] Schmitz Wins
Mayor's Seat
[Mike Schmitz, owner of Mike Schmitz
Automotive Group in Dothan, Ala.,]
breezed into the mayor’s seat Tuesday,
capturing more than 86 percent of the
vote and easily winning every polling
place in the city’s six districts, campaigning on a platform of consensusbuilding, industry recruitment and
attention to supporting education.
Schmitz, who will officially take office
Oct. 1, said he plans to concentrate on
the financial health of the city during his
first days in office. Source: Dothan Eagle
(Dothan, Ala.)
CFO Says Ford Plans to Refresh
90% of its Car Lineup by 2012
Ford Motor Co. plans to refresh up to
90 percent of its vehicle lineups in
North America, Europe, Asia Pacific
and Africa by 2012 to help it increase
sales ... Ford Chief Financial Officer
Lewis Booth said here Thursday. Booth
told reporters that vehicles are like
doughnuts -- they don't get better with
age. "We're going to have fresh products," Booth said. "I don't know -- what's
the world's best doughnut? (The vehicles) are going to be the Krispy Kremes
of the world." By 2014, the average
Ford vehicle's age will be shrunk by 20
percent, he said. Source: The Detroit
News
Chevrolet Volt Said to Get 230
Miles Per Gallon in City Driving
General Motors Co. expects its Volt
electric car to earn a fuel-economy rating of at least 230 miles per gallon for
city driving, more than four times that of
Toyota Motor Corp.’s Prius hybrid.
“Many Chevy Volt drivers may be able
to be in pure electric mode on a daily
basis without having to use any gas,”
Chief Executive Officer Fritz Henderson
said in a statement today. The automaker is counting on unproven technology
to leapfrog the Prius, the world’s bestselling hybrid, which starts at $22,000.
GM Vice Chairman Bob Lutz said in
May that the Volt would probably cost
about $40,000. Source: Bloomberg New
25
ATLANTA
ATLANTA JUNIOR
JUNIOR GOLF
GOLF
35
ENJOYS A GREAT
th
SEASON
More than 1,200 members and families took part in Atlanta Junior Golf’s (AJG) 35th season of hosting affordable golf tournaments for youth in and around Metro Atlanta. With
support from outstanding partners like MAADA, AJG was able to grant 25 scholarships
to juniors who otherwise would be financially unable to participate in summer golf programs. Almost 100 tournaments will make up the 2009 schedule with events running from February to December. By season’s end,
more than 6,000 rounds of golf will have been played. Events take place across the northern portion of the state from Dalton to Augusta
and Columbus to Athens, with Team Atlanta traveling more than 5,000 miles to battle the Kauai Junior Golf Association in a Ryder Cup
style event later this fall.
During the 2009 season, AJG hosted
four Season-Ending Championships culminating with the 54-Hole Grand
Championship at Callaway Gardens
Resort in Pine Mountain, GA. Matthew
McKagen (Powder Springs) and Isabella
Skinner (Cumming) took home the overall
Boys and Girls titles respectively and will
win Player of the Year honors for their
divisions. As if the multiple weather
delays were not trying enough on the
players, it took McKagen three suddendeath playoff holes before he defeated
second place finisher Cody Sapp
(Sharpsburg) and claimed the coveted
Giddings Cup. Jacob Harper (Valley,
AL) secured the 18-Hole Open Boys 1314 title, finishing the tournament 6-underpar after a second round 65 (-7). Harper
won every event he played this summer
and defeated the field in his division at
the Grand Championship by 17 strokes.
Ryan Stachler (Milton) won the 18-Hole
Boys 12 & Under division, clearing the
field by just 4 shots at the end of the
championship. Stachler’s win at the event
marked his seventh of the summer. Each
will earn Player of the Year honors for
their division.
Each year, AJG recognizes one junior’s
extraordinary performance on the golf
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course and awards this individual with
the association’s highest honor, the
MAADA Award. For the third time in the
last four years the award goes to a very
deserving player from the Girls division.
Isabella Skinner, just 13 years old, is the
2009 MAADA Award winner. Her outstanding season included four wins, two
seconds and a third
place finish during the
Summer Series. Her
win by 15 shots at
the Grand
Championship found
her at the top of the
Player of the Year
Standings in the 18-Hole Open Girls 7-18
division with 865 points.
The Atlanta Junior Golf Association is a
non-profit, tax-exempt organization under
Section 501 (c)(3) of the Internal
Revenue Code and gains its funding
through memberships, sponsorships and
contributions. Contributions to the association are thus tax deductible by individuals and corporations alike. The Atlanta
Junior Golf Association is governed by a
Board of Directors who are leading area
business people, golf enthusiasts and golf
professionals. Members of the Board
serve as volunteers and help guide the
activities of the organization.
Isabella Skinner Girls
Overall Champion and
MAADA Award Winner
SCHEDULE OF CLASSES
SEPT 28 – OCT 9
SERVICE
PROFESSIONAL LUBE/SAFETY INSPECTION & ELECTRICAL TECHNICIAN
OCTOBER 8
SALES
PERSONAL BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT
OCTOBER 9
SALES
HANDLING INCOMING SALES CALLS
OCTOBER 19-23
SALES
PROFESSIONAL SELLING SKILLS
OCTOBER 12
BODY
PROFESSIONAL DETAILING
OCTOBER 27-29
BODY
SPIES HECKER LEVEL 2 PAINTER TRAINING
NOVEMBER 3-4
SERVICE
SERVICE ADVISOR TRAINING
NOVEMBER 9-20
SERVICE
PROFESSIONAL LUBE/SAFETY INSPECTION & ALIGNMENT TECHNICIAN
NOVEMBER 10
SALES
PROFIT BUILDING PRESENTATIONS
NOVEMBER 12
SALES
NEGOTIATING FOR GROSS
NOVEMBER 16
SALES
PROFESSIONAL SELLING SKILLS
NOVEMBER 24
SALES
LEASING
DECEMBER 7-18
SERVICE
PROFESSIONAL LUBE/SAFETY INSPECTION & BRAKES TECHNICIAN
DECEMBER 7
MANAGEMENT
USED VEHICLE MANAGEMENT
DECEMBER 8
SALES
SELLING USED VEHICLES
DECEMBER 14-18
SALES
PROFESSIONAL SELLING SKILLS
All Atlanta classes will take place at 440 Interstate North Parkway. Classes are subject to change.
For registration or more information, please call 770-916-1741.
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