RobertHutson.com by Thomas Ieracitano

Twitter

want a website or an email like this ? go to http://123BrandMe.com

SYNC Steps Up to the Plate with Fantasy Baseball Updates Available Hands-Free from Ford

2011-06-20T06:48:00.001-07:00

SYNC Steps Up to the Plate with Fantasy Baseball Updates Available Hands-Free from Ford

Ford SYNC®, the company's award-winning hands-free in-vehicle connectivity technology, offers access to an on-demand weekly fantasy baseball update through available Traffic, Directions and Information Services

Drivers can get a list of weekly hitting and pitching leaders in both the American League and National League using simple voice commands

SYNC Services is an off-board network of voice-requested features, connected via a customer's cellphone, including directions, traffic, business search, weather, news, sports scores, stock quotes, horoscopes and movie listings - all free for the first three years of vehicle ownership

DEARBORN, Mich., June 16, 2011 - With baseball season in full swing, die-hard fantasy team fans who are also Ford owners can get weekly player updates in their vehicle on-demand and hands-free through Ford SYNC® with Traffic, Directions and Information Services.

Using a properly paired Bluetooth®-enabled phone with an active SYNC Services account, Ford owners can receive weekly player updates to find out who's hot and who's not. Once connected to Services, the driver simply says "Sports," then "Baseball" then "Fantasy Update." The weekly leaders in both the American League and National League are then read out aloud, along with hitting statistics including batting average, home runs, RBIs, stolen bases and runs scored. Pitching statistics include records, saves and strikeouts.

"It's been estimated that nearly 7 million people play fantasy baseball, and all of them scramble to get any kind of information about the very best players they should be putting in their lineups," said David Gersabeck, SYNC Services product manager. "This is all about giving our customers what they want. The Fantasy Update feature on SYNC gives our customers fantasy baseball updates quickly and concisely using easy voice commands."

No longer do fantasy baseball players need to pore through pages of statistics and articles to find out who they should be adding - and dropping - from their fantasy team. SYNC Services users simply press the voice button and say the command "Services" to access a wide range of cloud-based on-demand voice-activated features and information, including turn-by-turn navigation, business search, traffic, news coverage, sports reports, weather forecasts and even horoscopes and stock prices. The most recent additions to the Services network include movie listings and travel information, offering a direct connection to 150 airlines, 50 hotel chains and 11 of the largest rental car companies in the U.S.

SYNC Services also offers portability because the service is mated with the user's Bluetooth-enabled mobile phone, not the vehicle, and therefore can be used in select 2010 model or newer Ford and Lincoln SYNC-equipped vehicles.

Vehicle owners even can dial up SYNC Services when on the move outside the vehicle, accessing the voice-command portal, which provides free access to information that network service providers usually charge additional fees for.

Press release from Ford.

Thank you,
Thomas Ieracitano

Twitter

want a website or an email like this ? go to http://123BrandMe.com

Ram Trucks Plays Cowboys and Pickups in Latest Ads

2011-06-16T05:10:00.000-07:00

From: Mike Levine

Sent: Tuesday, June 14, 2011 11:56 AM

Subject: Ram Trucks Plays Cowboys and Pickups in Latest Ads

There's a new set of Western-themed truck commercials in town that aim to promote the tough attributes of Ram pickups. Giddyap!

"The brand's outstanding craftsmanship and beliefs are delivered in this campaign by using the rustic 'Old West' as the perfect juxtaposition of past and present American values; a time when hard-working and well-crafted manmade machines were a must," said said Olivier Francois, Chrysler's chief marketing officer and CEO of the Chrysler brand.

Francois came to Chrysler via Fiat, where he was responsible for the global marketing of Fiat's brands, including Fiat, Alfa Romeo and Lancia. Known for bold ad campaigns in Europe, Francois approved the well-received "Imported from Detroit" campaign for Chrysler that kicked off last January during the Super Bowl with a TV spot that featured Eminem.

Last month, the Ram brand unveiled its new tagline: Guts. Glory. Ram. So, it's not surprising Francois is pushing Old West imagery for its trucks.

The first four spots are:

"Code of the West"

It's the Ram truck counterpart to Chrysler's Eminem commercial. The one-minute ad ties in Ram trucks with the "Code of the West". If you're an honorable cowboy, you should be driving a Ram.

Apparently bad guys drive Ford F-150s, including what appears to be a brief cameo by actor Walton Goggins, aka Detective Shane Vendrell from "The Shield."

"Cummins Standoff"

This spot highlights the heavy-duty heritage of the proven Cummins engine, which was first used in 1989 Dodge three-quarter-ton and one-ton pickups. The 30-second ad shows other Cummins-powered vehicles have the Ram HD's back in a high-noon showdown with the Ford F-Series Super Duty.

"RamBox Locking"

What does one do when the bad guys roll into town? Warn the town, protect the family, hide away in a secret place and store the valuables — and, there is no better place for the town's courageous blacksmith to stow his precious tools than in his lockable and waterproof RamBox.

"Letterpress"

There's no truck shown in this commercial. The ad was filmed inside an actual letterpress that's meant to convey the same mechanics and precision that exists inside the soul of Ram.

Which is your favorite new ad for Ram Trucks?

Check out my photos on Facebook

2011-06-15T07:40:00.001-07:00

facebook

Hi Blog,

Thomas Ieracitano is inviting you to join Facebook. Once you join, you'll be able to see updates, photos and more from all of these friends ...and share your own!

Thomas Ieracitano

3121 friends · 92 photos · 1 note · 486 Wall posts

Join Facebook

allblogs@ieracitano.com was invited to join Facebook by Thomas Ieracitano. If you don't want to receive these emails from Facebook in the future or have your email address used for friend suggestions, you can unsubscribe. Learn More about this email. Facebook, Inc. P.O. Box 10005, Palo Alto, CA 94303

Check out my photos on Facebook

2011-06-15T07:27:00.001-07:00

facebook

Hi Blog,

Thomas Ieracitano is inviting you to join Facebook. Once you join, you'll be able to see updates, photos and more from all of these friends ...and share your own!

Thomas Ieracitano

3 friends

Join Facebook

How Clean Is Your Driving License

2011-06-14T07:38:00.001-07:00

How Clean Is Your Driving License
June 14th, 2011

When you pass your driving test and get your driving licence you will no doubt be feeling very proud and happy and there are few things in life which will give you the same feeling. The problem is that for some people having a clean driving license is not something they experience for long.

Not having a clean driving licence can be a major issue for some people; in fact it can affect your car insurance quotes and your ability to get a job or to rent a car.

Some job application forms will ask you to list any endorsements on your driver's licence and this can be a question that will throw you. You may have had points on your licence in the past but assume they have expired; if you are mistaken but do not mention these points then you could be in trouble later on if you are found out.

It is better to make a point of checking your licence before applying for any jobs so that you are not left feeling very embarrassed down the road. Failing to disclose endorsements on a job application could lead to dismissal for deception which is something no honest person wants in their past employment record. However there is more to check than just penalty points.

Many people are driving around with an invalid licence but are totally unaware of this fact. It is important that you notify the DVLA if you have changed address or if you have any changes in your personal circumstances; this is also something that many people are unaware of. If you are reaching the age of 70 any time soon you will be sent a letter notifying you of your need to apply for an extension.

Knowing what your driving licence says about you is very important these days. More and more companies are now checking licenses thoroughly so it's wise to stay one step ahead of the game.

Get all the information you need about driving tests, licences and legal requirements for driving by visiting our site at licence check.

Thank you,
Thomas Ieracitano

229.251.2462

Twitter

want a website or an email like this ? go to http://123BrandMe.com

SEM SEO Backlinks, a HomeNet Group discussion

2011-06-11T10:12:00.001-07:00

SEM SEO Backlinks, a HomeNet Group discussion

ekephart
Posted: Monday, November 30, 2009 7:15:39 PM
Rank: Member
Groups: Member

Joined: 11/30/2009
Posts: 9

WWW.YOUTUBE.COM/SUNSETHONDA

LET ME KNOW SOME FEEDBACK. THANKS!
Back to top

idickey@davedennis.com
Posted: Monday, November 30, 2009 8:11:10 PM
Rank: Green Pea (less than 10 posts)
Groups: Member

Joined: 10/17/2009
Posts: 1

Great video!
Back to top

thomas
Posted: Thursday, December 03, 2009 9:14:00 AM
Rank: Seasoned Veteran
Groups: Member

Joined: 9/1/2009
Posts: 49

That is cool !

Thomas Ieracitano
http://DigitalCarGuy.com
Back to top

ekephart
Posted: Thursday, December 03, 2009 11:56:13 AM
Rank: Member
Groups: Member

Joined: 11/30/2009
Posts: 9

THANKS EVERYONE. MORE TO COME EVENTUALLY.
Back to top

ekephart
Posted: Thursday, December 10, 2009 3:57:29 PM
Rank: Member
Groups: Member

Joined: 11/30/2009
Posts: 9

everyone be sure to check out our latest videos. also, as far as the youtube marketing strategy, how effective is it for everyone else?
Back to top

ekephart
Posted: Thursday, December 10, 2009 3:58:00 PM
Rank: Member
Groups: Member

Joined: 11/30/2009
Posts: 9

www.youtube.com/sunsethonda
Back to top

bmoulton
Posted: Thursday, December 10, 2009 5:14:40 PM
Rank: Green Pea (less than 10 posts)
Groups: Member

Joined: 7/22/2009
Posts: 4

Yeah that is not bad, I can see that working
Back to top

bondys1
Posted: Monday, February 15, 2010 11:42:52 AM
Rank: Seasoned Veteran
Groups: Member

Joined: 8/21/2008
Posts: 28

what software do you use to create your videos at Sunset Honda ? Very Cool Stuff!
Back to top

thomas
Posted: Wednesday, February 17, 2010 2:39:19 PM
Rank: Seasoned Veteran
Groups: Member

Joined: 9/1/2009
Posts: 49

http://www.youtube.com/roberthutson

It helps with your seo and sem

Thomas Ieracitano
http://DigitalCarGuy.com

Back to top

ekephart
Posted: Wednesday, February 17, 2010 3:23:12 PM
Rank: Member
Groups: Member

Joined: 11/30/2009
Posts: 9

I use the basic windows movie maker. its free to download. i just upgraded my camera to a hd handheld, so it shoots in hd so the film quality will be a little better.

thomas wrote:

http://www.youtube.com/roberthutson

It helps with your seo and sem

Thomas Ieracitano
http://DigitalCarGuy.com

For those of you who are interested in SEO/SEM the following might be useful.

Thomas is correct - independent sites which offer value to the consumer like these YouTube Video hubs are important pieces of the "SEM puzzle". I would suggest that you tone the "keyword stuffing" down on that Youtube page though. There are creative ways to engineer those key phrases into content which can appear pertinent and intended for the user, even if it really isn't. ;)

The SEO-centric goal of these independent sites or "MicroSites" is to manufacturer backlinks to your website. Backlinks are simply links located on a website independent of yours which link to your website. Google sees these links as an "endorsement" or a "vote". The number of "votes" your website receives in conjunction with other factors determine your sites "PageRank". Pagerank is a rating which scales from 1-10; 1 being the worst and 10 being the best. Sites like CNN.com have a PageRank of 10 because they are well known reputable resources.

A hypothetical example of an extremely powerful backlink would be a link to your dealership from the CNN.com homepage. Because CNN has a PR of 10, a link directly from their homepage would be seen as a huge endorsement for your website. Your site's PageRank is one factor that determines where your website shows up when users conduct searches on Google.

SEO/SEM is founded on a basic principal and that is:
Google and other Search Engines want to deliver the highest quality results and ensure the searcher has the best possible web surfing experience. If you build your website in a organized, easy to follow manner and provide quality content to the user, you're already ahead of the game.

A great quote from SEOBook:
In using a marketing based approach you build up many signals of trust and many rankings as a side effect of doing traditional marketing. If people are talking about you and like your products then you are probably going to get some free high-quality links. And this leads us to the paradox of SEO: "the less reliant your site is on Google the more Google will want to rely on your site."

If you have questions or would like more information feel free to contact me directly at mscalcione@homenetauto.com or post here on the forums.

Thank you,
Thomas Ieracitano

Twitter

want a website or an email like this ? go to http://123BrandMe.com

EPA Debuts New Fuel Economy Labels

2011-06-08T12:33:00.001-07:00

From: Mike Levine

Sent: Wednesday, May 25, 2011 11:35 AM

Subject: EPA Debuts New Fuel Economy Labels

The EPA has revealed all-new fuel-economy labels designed to help car and truck buyers determine new vehicle efficiency and operating costs in a world of burgeoning propulsion choices.

The redesigned labels are expected to provide the public with information on fuel economy, energy use, fuel costs and pollution. They are roughly split into three design groups to help buyers compare energy use and cost between conventional fossil-fuel-powered and new-technology vehicles that use electricity and clean fuels. The three groups are:

Conventional internal-combustion fuels: gasoline, diesel and E85 ethanol, where fuel economy is displayed in miles per gallon (mpg)
Advanced technology vehicles: compressed natural gas, electricity or hydrogen, where fuel economy is displayed in miles per gallon equivalent (MPGe)
Plug-in hybrids: vehicles that straddle both of the previous areas will display both MPGe and mpg ratings

Major design elements of each label include:

Estimates on how much consumers will save or spend on fuel over the next five years compared to the average new vehicle.
Easy-to-read ratings of how a model compares to all others for smog emissions and emissions of pollution that contribute to climate change.
An estimate of how much fuel or electricity it takes to drive 100 miles.
Information on the driving range and charging time of an electric vehicle.
A QR code that will allow smartphone users to access online information about how various models compare on fuel economy and other environmental and energy factors. This tool also will allow consumers to enter information about their typical commutes and driving behavior in order to get a more precise estimate of fuel costs and savings.

Automakers may voluntarily adopt new fuel-economy labels for 2012-model-year vehicles. Starting with 2013 model year, the labels will be required.

Diesel vehicle

E85 ethanol label that compares E85 driving range to using gasoline

Compressed natural gas vehicle like the GMC Savana van with fuel economy displayed in MPGe

Parallel (blended) plug-in hybrid vehicle like the Toyota Prius Plug-in or PHEV Ram 1500

Series (range-extending) plug-in hybrid like the Chevrolet Volt

Full electric vehicle like the Nissan Leaf

Hydrogen fuel-cell vehicle like the Honda FCX Clarity

Plug-In Rams Will Protect and Serve as Police Patrol Trucks

2011-06-08T12:30:00.000-07:00

From: Mike Levine

Sent: Thursday, May 26, 2011 12:36 AM

Subject: Plug-In Rams Will Protect and Serve as Police Patrol Trucks

Chrysler and the U.S. Department of Energy have delivered the first 10 Ram 1500 plug-in hybrid electric pickup trucks to Yuma, Ariz. for testing in the region's extreme summer climate. Fittingly, they'll also be used to put the heat on criminals.

Eight of the experimental trucks will be modified and used as patrol vehicles by the Yuma Police Department, according to the YumaSun newspaper.

Jerry Geier, Yuma's police chief, said he's "really looking forward to the trucks ... getting them outfitted and out on patrol and putting them to use."

The trucks have several advantages over conventional police cars. Besides getting at least 32 miles per gallon in the city, after depleting its battery's charge, the 5.7-liter Hemi V-8 and electric motors are rated at a combined 399 horsepower. The PHEV Rams can also generate 6.6 kilowatts of electricity to provide emergency power when needed, such as for spotlights at an accident.

The remaining two PHEV Rams will be used by Yuma's Utilities Department for customer service, such as water hookups, shutdowns and meter reading.

[Source: YumaSun]

Mopar Ram Runner Kit Visual Guide

2011-06-08T12:29:00.000-07:00

From: Mike Levine

Sent: Thursday, May 26, 2011 6:15 PM

Subject: Mopar Ram Runner Kit Visual Guide

Mopar has released the full specs for the bolt-on Ram Runner off-road conversion kit that promises to turn a stock Ram 1500 half-ton into a high-speed desert pre-runner.

The Ram Runner details come just in time for this weekend's kickoff of the 2011 Traxxas TORC off-road race series.

Ram Trucks is the official vehicle of the TORC series and a Mopar Ram Runner is serving as the official pace truck. The deal puts five PRO-class drivers at the wheel of a Ram truck during the 14-race season.

If you can't wait for the race to come to a track near you, here's how you can turn your Ram 1500 into a hardened race truck.

[Sources: Mopar, Ram Trucks, Photo: Pat Schutte / TORC]

Fw: Fiat expanding beyond Chrysler-paired dealerships

2011-06-08T12:26:00.000-07:00

From: Chris Shunk

Sent: Wednesday, June 01, 2011 11:59 AM

Subject: Fiat expanding beyond Chrysler-paired dealerships

Filed under: Car Buying, Chrysler, Fiat

2012 Fiat 500c - Click above for high-res image gallery

Fiat dealerships aren't popping up quite as quickly as the original plans showed they would, but the retail outlets could get a push now that the automaker is looking outside of the Chrysler family. Automotive News reports that Fiat is now offering franchises to non-Chrysler dealers for the first time. There are currently 59 Fiat dealers nationwide, and the automaker plans to open 130 stores by the end of 2011

At one point, there were reportedly 130 Chrysler dealers that had been approved for a Fiat store, but many deals fell through for various reasons. A Chrysler spokesperson tells AN that letters of intent have already been sent out to seven non-Chrysler dealers.

While opening up the franchising process will likely speed up the pace of adding Fiat stores to the U.S., there are still many hurdles for the Italian make. For starters, the 500 is currently the only Fiat available in the U.S., and it could sit alone on the show floor for at least another year. And so far, Fiat has insisted that new franchises will only be awarded to those with plans to build a standalone store.

Though it doesn't sound like a great situation to us, we're guessing there are at least 71 more entrepreneurs willing to sign on the dotted line to gain another foothold in the car business.

Fiat expanding beyond Chrysler-paired dealerships originally appeared on Autoblog on Wed, 01 Jun 2011 10:59:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments

Ford F-150 V-6 Engines Outselling V-8s

2011-06-08T12:25:00.004-07:00

From: Mike Levine

Sent: Wednesday, June 01, 2011 1:01 PM

Subject: Ford F-150 V-6 Engines Outselling V-8s

For Ford, six is greater than eight. In May, the company sold more F-150 full-size pickups with V-6 engines than traditional V-8 power plants.

The new 3.5-liter EcoBoost twin-turbo gasoline direct-injection V-6 engine made up 41 percent of F-150 retail sales in May, up 4 percentage points from April. Sales of the new 3.7-liter naturally aspirated six-cylinder were 14 percent of retail, for a total F-150 six-cylinder engine share of 55 percent, beating sales of F-150s equipped with the new 5.0-liter V-8 and 6.2-liter V-8 mills.

What's stunning about this news is the extremely high take rate for Ford's new six-cylinder engines. Toyota's and GM's V-6 sales are in the single-digit percentages.

What's likely driving the small-displacement adoption in Ford's big trucks? Gas prices are more than a dollar higher than last year's prices, at $3.77 a gallon for regular octane fuel, according to AAA's Daily Fuel Gauge Report.

A two-wheel-drive EcoBoost F-150 carries EPA ratings of 16/22 mpg city/highway but can also tow up to 11,300 pounds when properly equipped — the same as the Ford F-150's large-displacement 6.2-liter V-8 that's rated at 13/18 mpg. That makes the EcoBoost attractive to new-truck buyers looking for the right combination of power and frugality.

EcoBoost is also priced aggressively. It's $1,750 more than the F-150's entry-level 302-horsepower, 3.7-liter V-6, $750 more than the midrange 360-hp, 5.0-liter V-8 and $1,245 less than the premium 411-hp, 6.2-liter V-8.

[Source: Ford]

May 2011 Top 10 Pickup Truck Sales

2011-06-08T12:25:00.002-07:00

From: Mike Levine

Sent: Wednesday, June 01, 2011 1:36 PM

Subject: May 2011 Top 10 Pickup Truck Sales

Top 10 Pickup Truck Sales in May 2011


Rank	YTD Sales	YTD vs. 2010	Year-Over-Year	Monthly Sales	Last 12 months

1	Ford F-Series	+10.6%	May 2011	42,399	Coming Soon
	214,461		May 2010	49,858

2	Chevrolet Silverado	+10.6%	May 2011	28,409	Coming Soon
	150,206		May 2010	33,690

3	Ram Trucks	+31%	May 2011	20,117	Coming Soon
	90,536		May 2010	17,298

4	GMC Sierra	+25%	May 2011	10,753	Coming Soon
	55,221		May 2010	11,305

5	Toyota Tacoma	+5.2%	May 2011	9,091	Coming Soon
	44,764		May 2010	8,630

6	Toyota Tundra	-11.6%	May 2011	4,307	Coming Soon
	33,233		May 2010	8,491

7	Ford Ranger	-2.6%	May 2011	5,713	Coming Soon
	23,544		May 2010	6,651

8	Nissan Frontier	+22.6%	May 2011	4,674	Coming Soon
	19,010		May 2010	3,739

9	Chevrolet Colorado	+34%	May 2011	2,944	Coming Soon
	13,104		May 2010	2,535

10	Nissan Titan	-24%	May 2011	1,160	Coming Soon
	7,231		May 2010	2,063

Ford Announces New 8-Speed Transmission, Split Cooling System Technology

2011-06-08T12:25:00.000-07:00

From: Mike Levine

Sent: Thursday, June 02, 2011 12:32 PM

Subject: Ford Announces New 8-Speed Transmission, Split Cooling System Technology

Ford says it plans to offer new eight-speed automatic transmissions across its vehicle lineup that offer improved fuel economy and ultra-precise shifts.

The gearbox will allow Ford to continue its effort to downsize engine displacement without affecting performance, said Joe Bakaj, Ford's vice president of global powertrain engineering.

"The eight-speed will offer 2 to 6 percent better fuel economy" compared with today's six-speed transmission, like that found in the Ford F-150, Bakaj said. "It will have a wide ratio spread, so customers can run a shorter gear [than today] pulling away from a stop."

The eight-speed will also feature what Ford says is the industry's first torque input sensor. The sensor will measure torque coming into the transmission, enabling faster gear selection, reducing gear hunting and helping smooth out shifts.

"The transmission knows how much torque is needed and will be able to variably control pressure on the clutch packs to deliver smooth shifts," Bakaj said.

Hydraulic actuators that control line pressure applied to clutch plates during shifts will be directly integrated into the transmission case instead of embedded in a separate assembly that's bolted inside the housing, like today's Ford transmissions use. The integrated construction promises tighter component fit and less component flexibility which can stress the sensitive parts.

Bakaj didn't say which cars and trucks will get the new transmission, but we imagine it will be a perfect match for the Ford F-150, which currently uses a six-speed 6R80 automatic gearbox.

Ford also announced a so-called split cooling system that allows the cylinder block to warm up before the cylinder head, improving engine mileage and efficiency. The system saves fuel during cold weather or short trips because oil and engine fluid viscosity rises as temperatures fall, so more work and more fuel is required to overcome friction in the powertrain.

"It's actually a single cooling loop with multiple circuits," said Brett Hinds, manager of Ford EcoBoost engine development. "We [variably] block coolant to the radiator [when the engine is cold] to warm up the engine block sooner while still allowing coolant to flow to the heads [which sit on top of the engine block over the cylinders]."

The split cooling system will debut on Ford's new 1-liter three-cylinder EcoBoost engine coming to Ford's small cars, but in a case of trickle-up engineering, it will migrate to other vehicles.

Spied! Ram 2500 Heavy Duty with RamBox

2011-06-08T12:24:00.001-07:00

From: Mike Levine

Sent: Wednesday, June 01, 2011 6:05 PM

Subject: Spied! Ram 2500 Heavy Duty with RamBox

Photos by Brian Williams for Brenda Priddy & Company

Judging by these photos just snapped by our spies, plus word from our sources, Ram is set to broaden the availability of its innovative RamBox storage feature to its heavy-duty pickups.

RamBox debuted on the 2009 Dodge Ram 1500 with the 5-foot-7-inch cargo box. It offers 8.6 cubic feet of dry lockable side-saddle space, with room to squeeze a 4-by-8-foot sheet of plywood between the bed walls.

What's unique about the availability of the RamBox for the single-rear wheel Ram Heavy Duty 2500 pictured here is its availability with the 6-foot-4-inch cargo box. We estimate this will increase secure cargo capacity to about 9.75 cubic feet per side. Heck, we might even be able to fit in it.

The 2011 Ram 1500 Outdoorsman added the availability of a $205 gun rack/fishing rod combo holster that fits in the half-ton truck's unique optional RamBox side-saddle cargo box storage bins. The Mopar RamBox Holster can secure two rifles or shotguns, or it can rotate 90 degrees to hold up to six fishing rods.

Current pricing for the RamBox starts at $1,895. Pricing for the 6-foot-4-inch version is unknown. We expect it to be available next year for the 2012 Ram HD pickups. Allpar reports that Ram 1500 half-tons with the longer box will also have the higher interior volume RamBox.

Our sources also say that Chrysler is working on a RamBox for dual-rear wheel models, too.

Keith Shetterly

2011-06-07T07:18:00.001-07:00

Thank you,
Thomas Ieracitano

Twitter

want a website or an email like this ? go to http://123BrandMe.com

Keith Shetterly

From the Mouse Click to the Driver's Seat

Posted: 25 Mar 2011 10:16 AM PDT

By Keith Shetterly, keithshetterly@gmail.com
Copyright 2011 All Rights Reserved
Dealer floor traffic has tracked steadily downward since 1995, while Internet shopping has concurrently risen—and that drop in floor traffic and rise in Internet shopping has dramatically sharpened in both directions since 2005. So, in the last six years, shoppers have confirmed that if you're waiting for the "UP Bus" and watching the lot through the window, you're just a dinosaur waiting to be encased in rock.
And, yet, so many dealerships populate their sales floors and thinking with just that strategy! We no longer get them at the door and take them to the driver's seat, customers are interacting with us first from their mouse click—and we have to engage them there, where they are, in order to get them into the driver's seat later. And that takes a lot more "doing" on a dealer's part than any sales manager's preparation of whatever ads used to be put in the newspaper.

For example, Social Media is still a new Internet "undiscovered country" for most dealers. I was recently struck by two rather-successful industry consultant icons and their different assessment of the vehicle sales impact of social media: One thinks it's the next great thing, and one thinks it will never be a lead generator. For the next couple of years, I'd have to say I agree with them both.
The easiest way to currently get direct impact from social media is not in leads, but instead in using it to get attention from interesting content (funny videos to pass around to friends, not still pics of your inventory!) and then also to create back links to your website. That's not lead generation, that's shopper direction, and it shows up, for example, in higher organic ranking in search engines—which leads even more shoppers to find you! And shopper direction is all what SEO and PPC (some call SEM) really are, purposed efforts to promote your dealership's website for shopper inventory review and ultimately lead submission (via forms, email, chat, or phone). In that way, social media is not a lead generator but certainly is "the next great thing" for sales enabling. For now.
And understand that we no longer so easily restrict the information about the vehicle, as with the fuller bloom of the Internet now our shoppers control it—really, the OEMs have made sure of that, and we have followed right along because competition made it necessary. Any efforts online to restrict information (for example, empty email responses) just frustrate shoppers, creating opportunity for competitors. Control of information is another thing altogether, and that has always been a hallmark of good car sales because it means a conversation that is sales enabling and still is. For example, on the phone: "Yes, we have the car, but I have several others to choose from that might save you even more money. And with the differences in options, the ride of each really needs to be evaluated in a test drive. When can you come in, this afternoon or this evening?" This still works very well in a conversation.
And also beware of giving too much information: Internet or phone responses that are full of answers to questions but are without enticements for the customer to write back (or, better yet, call back) do not yield conversations. And conversations are still what lead to visits and sales! So, what dealers need online is their inventory to be easily and quickly found on the Internet, to then provide website motivation for customers to interact (Make an Offer forms, Email Us, Facebook, Chat, etc.), and to then use that interaction to create conversations which provide avenues to sales. Really, the whole conversation part of car sales hasn't changed—it's just that the Internet has changed how and when people decide to actually visit your lot. And, you need to get that conversation started to get that visit!
Vehicle shoppers, via the Internet, are maturing their purchase decision on their own much further down the sales funnel than ever before. And every step in that maturation has to include enticements, incentives, and information control (NOT restriction) from the dealer aimed at continuing the maturation to a sale. That is why the lot traffic has trended downward for 16 years: "Window" shopping is all done on the Internet now, and the folks arriving on your lot--though there are fewer--are more ready to buy than ever before.
Now you can see why the floor and Internet traffic have proceeded in the last sixteen years as they have: How do we get folks from the mouse click to the driver's seat? We accept the change the Internet has brought us—that shoppers are further along in the sales process and more educated than ever when they contact us or come in!—and we use all the tools, from email to the phone to social media, to get better at what is still as true it has always been: Conversations lead to sales.
So, everybody: Get clicking, get emailing, get calling, get talking--and get selling!

Click here to return to the Table of Contents.

Visit Automotive Digital Marketing Professional Community

The Five Mystical Ways of Digital Kung Fu 數位功夫的五種神秘的方式

Posted: 09 Mar 2011 07:15 AM PST

By Keith Shetterly, keithshetterly@gmail.com
Copyright 2010 All Rights Reserved
1.
"Quiet Panther"
安靜的每週獅
Websites Should Be Seen and Not Heard
You wouldn't set off loud sirens just as a customer opens the door of a brick and mortar business—so don't do it on the Web! Remember, customers with jobs don't need the "Boss I'm Web Shopping Instead of Working" alarm to go off at their own desk. Use sound where it makes sense, but let the shoppers choose when to turn it on: Make friends with your site, not unemployment!
2."Running Tiger"
執行老虎
Driving Traffic to Your Website is More Than Just Meta Tags and Page Titles and Ad Spends
Don't expect your current success via yesterday's SEO to last—are you creating and posting online video on your site? Do you YouTube? Are you pursuing back-links from Social Media? Do you blog? Have any micro sites? The Internet isn't a RonCo "Set It and Forget It" appliance, so don't treat it that way. Stay on top of it! And are you thinking of PPC? Any effort for search engines not including PPC is leaving money on the table—PPC is proven, measurable, and very valuable. Use it smartly!

3. "Dancing Monkey"
跳舞猴子
Live Chat to a Dead Head is Only Good at Concerts
The mega fans of the Grateful Dead should never provide live chat services—are you checking what you're getting with your online chat service? Make sure they answer well and successfully set appointments by "mystery chatting" them yourself. And do it often. And if you're not using chat or not considering it, you're missing a very valuable sales conversion tool—you worked hard to get the shopper to your site, so start the sales engagement there!

4."Lightning Snake"
閃電蛇
Hosting Short Videos Means Never
Having to Say We Suck
Twenty seconds is a long time on the Internet. Don't be afraid to edit down your customers' video testimonials before you post them, or better yet tell them briefly how to "get to the meat" when they talk. Even the most positive but too-long testimonial says "We Suck!" out in the wilds of the Internet. And also get any product video down to the "Quick and Powerful" level. And one more thing: Be sure to scroll your website and phone number across the bottom of all videos—don't waste those precious few seconds of a customer's attention by not doing the right self-promoting.
5."Knowing Crane"
知道蒼鷺
The Buzz of Social Media Might be From the Chainsaw You're Taking to Your Business
You need to get past buzz words with Social Media, and in a hurry--you shouldn't just "buy services" for this, you need to understand and plan what you're doing. Do you know how to monetize Tweet for your fixed ops, how to respond to issues, and how to create business for yourself on Facebook and other Social Media? You would laugh at a dork who walked into a party and shoved his business car rudely under everyone's nose—so don't be that dork in Social Media! Learn how to interact or you'll get ignored, or, worse, derided in business-killing ways. And Online Reputation Management is a modern and very real business need, encompassing both Social Media and the Internet at large (can you say "Google Business Reviews"?). Do you manage your Facebook fan pages several times a day? Do you watch Twitter for your business' name—what are people saying about you? And there's so much more!

Click here to return to the Table of Contents.

Visit Automotive Digital Marketing Professional Community

You are subscribed to email updates from Keith Shetterly
To stop receiving these emails, you may unsubscribe now. Email delivery powered by Google

Google Inc., 20 West Kinzie, Chicago IL USA 60610

What is a Vehicle Identification Number?

2011-06-01T10:23:00.001-07:00

What is a Vehicle Identification Number?

A vehicle identification number (VIN) is the DNA of your car. Each character and sequence has a specific meaning and each VIN is specific for one vehicle only.

Here is an example of a VIN: 1HGCM82633A004352. I know what you're thinking, "Yikes!" But it's really not so bad if you know what you're looking at.

Vehicle Identification Number's were first used in 1954 and were not standardized until 1981. Every VIN is 17 characters long and tells where a vehicle was made, when it was made, and other characteristics of the vehicle.

From Wikipedia, following is a chart that explains what each character means:

Character 1: The country the vehicle was made in or where final assembly took place.
Character 2: The vehicle manufacturer, Ford, Chevrolet, etc.
Character 3: The vehicle type or manufacturing division.
Characters 4 - 8: The Vehicle Descriptor section. Model, body style, engine type, transmission, etc.
Character 9: The check digit used to detect invalid VIN's using a formula developed by the DOT.
Characters 10 - 17: Vehicle Identifier Section.

Character 10: The vehicle's model year identified by either a number or letter.
Character 11: The vehicle assembly plant.

Characters 12 - 17: The vehicle's production or serial number. It could indicate the sequence that a vehicle followed through the assembly line.

How is this information useful? It can insure that when you buy a new car, the dealer can't change two almost identical vehicles before you pick it up.
It can also be used by mechanics to identify replacement parts.
The registry of motor vehicles also uses it when registering a new vehicle.

If you're curious to find out any of this information on your vehicle, there are many websites that will give you the actual codes and their meanings.
Simply go to your search engine such as Yahoo! or Google and type in VIN or vehicle identification number.

You can actually have some fun doing this and learn more about your car than you thought you knew.

Thank you,
Thomas Ieracitano

Twitter

want a website or an email like this ? go to http://123BrandMe.com

What's in a VIN?

2011-06-01T10:21:00.001-07:00

There are only a handful of times vehicle owners must know an auto's Vehicle Identification Number (VIN): when buying or selling a car, applying for insurance or registering a vehicle with the state Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV). Other than that, few people pay much mind to the series of numbers and letters on a vehicle's dash.

But because there are those among us who are experts at manipulating a vehicle's VIN to conceal its true identity, it pays to know what's in a VIN. Law enforcement officials in particular should be familiar with the data a VIN contains as well as the methods crooks use to alter or obliterate this information.

What's in a VIN?

A VIN is a series of numbers and letters that represent coded forms of vehicle information. The coded data found in this series adds detailed vehicle information to what is already found in the DMV's license plate database.

VINs for vehicles manufactured between 1958-1970 may have 11 numbers and letters or less, while all automobiles manufactured in North America since 1971 contain a series of 17 numbers and letters.

Sgt. William Smylie, whose career in vehicle theft investigations with the Miami (Florida) Police Department spanned nearly three decades, describes the elements of a 17-digit VIN as follows:

World Manufacturer Identifier (WMI). This information is found in the VIN's first three characters. The first character identifies the nation of origin. For instance, Canada is a 2; while the United States can be 1, 4 or 5; and Japan is a J. The second digit indicates the corporate manufacturer, such as Ford, General Motors, Toyota and so on. These numbers or letters may vary according to the place of manufacture. So, for instance, a General Motors vehicle, built in Canada would have a VIN that starts with 2G, while a VIN for an import from Japan, such as a Toyota vehicle, might begin with JT or 1T, depending on whether it was produced in Japan or the United States. The third character indicates the type and model of the vehicle, such as Chevrolet or Dodge.
Digits four through nine. The VIN's next five digits give information on various components of the vehicle such as body style, engine type, transmission and drivetrain category. The ninth character is a number known as the "check" digit. This number is part of a mathematical formula, which when applied tells investigators whether the VIN is authentic. Each character in the 17-digit VIN is assigned a corresponding value and weight. The first eight characters' values are added together, as are the last eight. The total sums are then divided by a specified number, which gives a remainder that should equal the check digit's value.
Vehicle Indicator section. This is the last eight characters (of a 17-digit VIN). The character in position 10 indicates the vehicle's model year. The codes alternate between numbers and letters according to the year in which the vehicle was produced. All VIN's use numerals from 1-9, and all the letters of the alphabet except I, O and Q. Therefore a vehicle built in 1971 would be a "1" while a vehicle manufactured in 1979 would have a "9" in the 10th position. A vehicle produced in 1980 would have an "A" in the 10th position and so on. (Each year after 1980 is assigned a letter of the alphabet with the exception of I, O and Q until it reaches Z, then the 10th position reverts back to numbers.)

Where's the VIN?

Before 1967, a VIN could be placed almost anywhere on the vehicle. After 1968, North American manufacturers were required to place the code in an area visible from outside the vehicle. This data string is usually found on the left-hand side of the dash next to the vehicle's lower edge. However, in some older vehicles, the VIN may be on the right side, and in some European models, such as BMW, it may even be situated on the steering column.

Article link; http://www.officer.com/article/10248861/whats-in-a-vin

Thank you,
Thomas Ieracitano

Twitter

want a website or an email like this ? go to http://123BrandMe.com

New Car and Used Car Buying Guide

2011-06-01T06:24:00.001-07:00

New Car and Used Car Buying Guide

Welcome to the world's best free car buying guide for buying new cars, used cars, auto leasing and avoiding car buying scams.You'll laugh, you'll cry, you'll buy a car. There are copycat sites with similar names who paraphrase our content, but we are the original and the best. This 100% FREE site is about truth, but few people want you to know the truth about buying cars and SUVs.

Your Host: Jeff Ostroff shows you how to haggle your best fair profit offer on new cars and determining dealer cost for new autos.

Read our new buying guide for Hybrid cars: All About Hybrid Vehicles, Hybrid Theory of Operation, Pros & Cons
New chapter for people with bad credit: Bad Credit Auto Loans, Tips and Scams To Avoid
Short on time? Read: Buying a New Car in 5 Quick Steps (Click Here!)

Carwoo is a nationwide negotiating service. A huge benefit they offer is keeping your personal information secret from the dealership until you are ready to finalize your new car purchase. With the normally $79 "plus" plan that I would recommend (especially with a discount to $44.10 for our visitors) Carwoo sets up a reverse auction for you so you will always get the best price. The free basic plan lets you negotiate without revealing your contact information. Click here for more details about CarWoo.

Check out our new car dealer ratings & reviews page. Is your local new car dealership listed? Check Before you shop. Click Here!

People Keeping Cars Longer: CarBuyingTips.com user data shows that due to the economy, people are keeping their cars longer and more people are buying used cars instead of new cars. It's a good idea to protect your investment in an older auto with an extended warranty. Learn what to look for in an extended warranty and how to avoid getting scammed in our chapter How to Buy and Extended Warranty and Avoid Scams.

Our $avOmeter Blasts through the $12 million savings level!
Savings reported by our visitors passes this important milestone, confirming the quality of free car buying education you receive here. Recently visitors are reporting savings of $2000 to $6000+ off MSRP on even moderately priced vehicles. Click here to see our savings database.

CONSUMER ALERT: With the credit markets seizing up like a bad Yugo motor, a lot of people think it is impossible to get a car loan, but that's not true! Be sure to read our car loan tips page to learn how you can get financing in this tight credit market.

Quick Start New Car Buying Guide: How To Save $2000-$4000 When You Buy A New Car, Truck, SUV or Minivan.

Top 4 New Car Buying Tips
1) Get Your Credit Report Verify your credit score is above 680 or you'll pay high APR. Click here to learn more.	2) Get New Car Loan Approval In 1 Hour Get low APR car loans online before buying a car. Click here to learn how.
3) Get Free New Car Price Quotes Use online new car buying services to save cash. Click here to learn how.	4) Get New Car Extended Warranty Quotes Online auto warranties can be 60% cheaper than dealers. Click here to learn more.

The Way To Save Cash On A Car or SUV Is With Competing Bids
We'll review auto buying sites like Yahoo!Autos, Cars.com, InvoiceDealers, Edmunds.com, MyRide.com and CarsDirect to learn what dealers pay for new cars, trucks, SUVs and minivans, and how you can save the most money. These sites offer you free new car price quotes and new car dealer invoice prices. Competitive automobile quotes helps keep new car dealers in line.

Take advantage of historic rebates and incentives!
Because of sluggish auto sales, manufacturers are offering larger than usual consumer rebates and secret factory to dealer cash incentives to unload cars. Rebates change daily, so don't ask me why it's different when you look up new car rebates. If you've been waiting to buy a new car and get a great deal now is the time. Even Honda which normally does not offer incentives, is getting in the game. Make sure you check FightingChance.com and Edmunds.com for the latest incentives to use in your negotiations. Many cars have $2,000-$5,000 factory to dealer cash incentives. If you are unaware of the current rebates, you'll be leaving money on the table. Dealers will often give up most or all of their factory to dealer incentive, passing the savings to you. These incentives combined with our other car buying tips, will often result in deals below invoice pricing.

Read our new guide First Time Car Buying Tips For Teens & Safe Teen Driving. This is required reading for all young adults buying autos.

Where to get new car invoice pricing and rebate information
After successfully using consumer advocate tools like the FightingChance New Car Buying Info Package, our visitors are happy to fill our $avOmeter Database with their savings on their new car. You can get new car rebate information, secret factory to dealer incentives and new car dealer invoice pricing from FightingChance. The market sales intelligence they provide for your new car is priceless.

link to this page; http://www.carbuyingtips.com/

Thank you,
Thomas Ieracitano

Twitter

want a website or an email like this ? go to http://123BrandMe.com

What to Know Before You Go Car Shopping

2011-06-01T06:21:00.000-07:00

What to Know Before You Go Car Shopping

Photo courtesy Edmunds.com. Taken by Scott Jacobs

The test drive plays a pivotal role in car buying.

Before you start thinking about fun things like whether you want a convertible or a sports car, you need to do some self-examination. First and foremost, you need to examine your budget. You should set a reasonable price range for the car and begin to eliminate cars that are out of that price range. As a potential car buyer, you need to be realistic, don't fantasize about a $45,000 car when your budget will just barely support a $22,000 price-tag. Also, remember that trying to figure out a way to buy a car that is outside your price range is really not a good idea. After all, it's not much fun to have a car if you can't afford to go places in it.

How Dealers Profit

There are three main ways that dealers profit from you. Don't be taken for a ride!

The negotiating process for the price of the trade-in.
The negotiating process for the price of the new car.
Scams in the business office after negotiations are done.

Source: CarBuyingTips.Com

You also need to know about your own credit history. If there's something that you think the dealer will ask, that's certainly something you should be prepared to answer. Many of the promotions that you see on television are reserved just for people with excellent credit. So having a copy of your own credit report is important. There are a variety of places to obtain a copy of your credit report. All of the three large national credit bureaus -- Equifax, Experian and TransUnion -- offer single reports and packages from their Web sites. A copy of your report costs $9 plus any taxes, shipping and/or handling charges. You can even get 3-in-1 reports, showing your credit history as reported by all three major credit reporting agencies. For example, the 3-in-1 package available from the Equifax Web site currently costs $29.95.

Finally, you need to know what your automobile needs are:

Do you need to haul heavy equipment? You may want to think about a pick-up truck.
Do you have a sizeable family or head up a carpool? You may want to think about a minivan, wagon or large sport utility vehicle (SUV).
Do you live in an area where you need four-wheel drive? You may want to think about an SUV with all-wheel or four-wheel drive.
Do you travel far or use the car rarely? If you log a lot of miles, you may want to research cars that get good gas mileage, like a hybrid car.
Do you have a towing requirement -- perhaps you need to tow a horse trailer or a boat? You may want to consider a heavy-duty pick-up truck or an SUV with a towing package.

There's a vast amount of choices for today's car buyer. Knowing what your automobile needs are is the easiest way to begin eliminating some of those options. Eventually, with some additional research, you should be able to narrow the field down considerably.

When you figure out what car you want (or what cars you want to check out up-close-and-personal -- think "test-drive"), there are some things you want to learn about the car(s) so that you can get the best deal possible when you're ready to buy. You will need to know the average price of the car, so you won't overpay. You can get a good idea of the base price (the price of the car without any special options) by visiting different dealerships and comparing prices and by using the Internet to get price quotes. You should also get an idea of how much the dealer will add on for various options like air conditioning, a cd player or anti-lock brakes. If you can, try to find out what the dealer price is and negotiate up from that figure. According to ConsumerReports, it's actually a lot better to do it that way as opposed to working from the sticker-price down.

In addition to visiting dealerships to do your research, you should also be reading car reviews in magazines and online. You can learn which cars are given high marks for safety, which cars get the best gas mileage, and so on. Once you've narrowed your list down to a few possibilities, you should read as many reviews on those makes and models as you can. Some good places to look for both professional and consumer car reviews are:

MotorTrend magazine
ConsumerGuide.com
Automobile magazine
Car and Driver.com
Edmunds.com
CarReview.com

Another good way to find out about a car is by simply asking your family, friends, co-workers and neighbors. Among all these people, you're bound to find someone that drives or has driven the make or model you're researching.

Finally, if you plan to trade in a car you already own, you want to know the price of your trade-in. Remember that some car dealers make big money paying you way too little for your trade-in. Do your homework and check out what publications, such as the N.A.D.A. Official Used Car Guide, the Kelley Blue Book and the Consumer Reports Used Car Buying Guide, list as the market value of your trade-in. Keep in mind that these estimates are based on cars in good condition with an average of 12,000 miles per year. So, if your car has been driven less than or more than that, the price could go up or down accordingly. If you have enough information, no one will be able to take you for a ride!

link to this article; http://auto.howstuffworks.com/buying-selling/car-buying3.htm

Thank you,
Thomas Ieracitano

http://auto.howstuffworks.com/buying-selling/car-buying2.htm

Twitter

want a website or an email like this ? go to http://123BrandMe.com

How to Buy a Car

2011-06-01T06:19:00.000-07:00

How to Buy a Car

by Allison Klein

Inside this Article

Car Buying and the Internet

Photo courtesy Edmunds.com. Taken by Scott Jacobs
Let your fingers do the walking so your feet don't have to! Use the Internet to help put you behind the wheel of your very own vehicle.

Whether you're buying new or used, there's no doubt that the Internet is a great tool for your car quest. If you are buying a new car, you can research the kind of car you want, the options you need, the price of the car and the price of the additional options. If you've done your homework, you'll be able to walk into a dealership armed with loads of valuable information.

When you're just starting out, a good first step is to go to the manufacturers' Web sites to check out the cars and the available options. You can usually find local dealers and request quotes or see the Manufacturer Suggested Retail Price (MSRP). Once you've narrowed your choices, you can check out an array of other Web sites for more pricing information:

Make sure you go to more than one pricing site to get the best idea of the average price.

In addition to using the Internet to research the car you want to buy, you can also use it to figure out your finance options and select a warranty for your car. Sites like E-Loan and Lending Tree offer online auto loans. A warranty is a contract that guarantees maintenance if your car has any mechanical or other problems. Remember that warranties are another way for dealers to get more money out of your bank account, so know what kind of warranty you want and how much you are willing to pay for it.

Odometer Fraud

The odometer lets you know how many miles the car has driven. A used car's mileage affects its selling price. For instance, the more miles the car has logged the lower the cost of the car. Because high mileage can decrease the selling price, some unscrupulous people practice odometer fraud. Although it is a crime to try to "roll back" or change the odometer reading, that doesn't stop people from doing it.

One of the most useful sites on the Internet is Car Buying Tips.com. This site offers up just about everything you need to know about buying a new or used car. The tips are invaluable for anyone who wants to make sure they don't overpay for their new ride. One of the best things about the site is that it deconstructs various dealer scams. If you know the dealer's agenda before you walk in the door, you'll be able to spot if someone is taking advantage of you. We're certainly not saying that all car dealers are out to dupe you, but you have to be careful and be prepared. Remember, an ounce of prevention can save you thousands of dollars in the end.

Now that you know where to start looking for information, let's take a closer look at what you should know before you go shopping.

http://auto.howstuffworks.com/buying-selling/car-buying2.htm

Thank you,
Thomas Ieracitano

Twitter

want a website or an email like this ? go to http://123BrandMe.com

Buy a Car Online for Less

2011-06-01T06:16:00.001-07:00

SMARTMONEY AUGUST 9, 2010

Buy a Car Online for Less

By STACEY L. BRADFORD

THESE DAYS, THE BEST way to purchase a new car might be to skip the dealership and head online.
While the advantages might not seem obvious at first, auto experts agree that shoppers can save time and money by going online. Perhaps more important, the entire process is a lot more pleasant: No more wrestling with tough sales teams.
You can purchase new and used cars online. People who've purchased new models say it's remarkably easy. Most sites will forward your request for a free quote to a dealership's Internet sales department. These people make their commissions based on volume rather than price. They understand the importance of offering a fair price to move the sales process along quickly.
While a dealer may laugh if you offer $500 over invoice price, if you go to the dealer s Web site you may have better luck getting the deal you want.
Those looking to purchase a new car online typically field multiple offers at a time a detail not lost on the dealerships. They know that if they want your business, they'll have to offer you a competitive price. Of course, there's always the opportunity to try to haggle it down even more.
In addition to the sales price, you can work out all the smaller details online as well, including aftermarket products (like rust proofing and extended warranties) and financing. (Auto experts always recommend lining up your financing with an independent lender. Read our story for tips on how to do this.) By arranging everything upfront, you can all but avoid the finance-and-insurance manager.
These are the best salespeople in the business, and can squeeze an extra couple of hundred dollars out of almost anyone.
There are also plenty of sites that deal with used cars, which we'll detail below. Ready to give online car buying a spin? Here's how to do it right.
Start Off the Old-Fashioned Way
As glorious as the Internet is, there are some things it can't offer, like a first-hand experience of how a particular model handles. So as soon as you know which model and features you're interested in, go down to your local dealer and kick the tires. Take the car out for a test drive and make sure you love it.
The Price Is Right
Once you've read all the reviews and taken your future car out for a test drive, it's time to research prices. On sites such as Edmunds.com and CarsDirect.com, you can compare the sticker price with the invoice price, and also see if the manufacturer is offering any incentives. Edmunds.com also provides users with the True Market Value of every vehicle on the market. This is an average price for what other consumers in your area are paying. You shouldn't have to pay more than this. If buying a used car, the industry standard for pricing is Kelley Blue Book.

Web Site What It Does
MyRide.com Coaches its dealer network to offer the best price out of the gate. Searches its database to find the best deals on used cars in your area. Boasts approximately 400,000 used vehicles on its site and allows you to search an additional 3.5 million used vehicles from across the web. AutoTrader.com This automotive marketplace allows you to see actual prices and inventory for both new and used cars in your zip code. Boasts three million new and used vehicles. CarsDirect.com You never have to haggle or step foot in the dealership again. This web site offers a low price guarantee and many of its partner dealerships will even deliver the car or truck to your door. eBay Motors Largest online automotive marketplace. Claims an automobile sells every minute on its web site. The majority of the vehicles are used. Edmunds.com Provides consumers with the True Market Value of every vehicle on the market. This is the average price consumers in your area are paying for a specific vehicle. The web site's Local Car Dealer tool puts you in touch with the Internet managers at local dealerships, which tend to offer lower prices than the salespeople you'll find on the showroom floor.
The Best Sites for New Cars
Each site works a little differently. If you use Edmunds.com or MyRide.com, local dealers will e-mail you free price quotes. There's no obligation to buy, and consumers should feel free to ask for a lower price. It's going to be tough to get a car for under invoice unless it's last year's model and the dealership needs to unload it to make room for newer vehicles.
CarsDirect.com acts more like a broker. It has relationships with dealerships that agree to charge the web site's low-price guarantee. (If you find a lower price within three days of the sales transaction, CarsDirect will match it.) Even though your purchase is made through a dealer, the entire transaction feels like it's conducted through CarsDirect.com. Most of the company's partner dealerships will even deliver the car to your front door.
If you want to see cars that are actually sitting on lots, go to AutoTrader.com. Here, dealerships list their inventories. This is helpful if you're looking for a quick sale, or if you want to see which vehicles are overstocked in your area (potentially giving you an advantage during negotiations). Just keep in mind that AutoTrader.com only matches buyers with sellers. It's up to you to secure a good price.
If you're feeling a bit sporting, you could always roll the dice and try bidding on a car using eBay Motors. For the savvy, good deals abound. EBay claims to be the largest online automotive marketplace, with one vehicle selling every minute. Just be careful not to get caught-up in the bidding process and wind up overpaying for a car.
The Best Sites for Used Cars
All of the aforementioned sites sell used cars, both from individuals and from dealers, with the exception of MyRide.com, which lists price quotes for used vehicles sold in dealerships. AutoTrader.com and eBay, however, excel in this arena, say experts.
The advantage of looking online vs., say, the local newspaper, is that you get to search and compare prices for thousands of cars in your area and can scan multiple pictures that help give a sense of the car's overall condition. And buyers tend to get better prices when they use the Internet to purchase a vehicle than they'd get from a dealer's lot.
Experts recommend limiting your search to vehicles within 20 or 30 miles of your home. This way you can easily test-drive them and get them inspected by a mechanic you trust. It's also crucial that you ask to see service records, and run a vehicle history report from Carfax or Experian. A vehicle history report will tell you if the car has been salvaged, flooded or in an accident.
Also, be sure to ask for the vehicle identification number if the owner won t hand it over, walk away. Chances are he or she has something to hide, such as so-called title washing. This is the practice of taking a flood or salvage vehicle across state lines and getting a new title for it.
Finally, don't fixate on getting the absolute lowest price possible. It s not worth your time to fight over $50. If you shop online know you can quickly come up with a price that will knock the socks off half the people walking the lots.

link to this article; http://www.smartmoney.com/spend/autos/buy-a-car-online-151-for-less-17102/

Thank you,
Thomas Ieracitano

Twitter

want a website or an email like this ? go to http://123BrandMe.com

Buy a Car Off the Internet?

2011-06-01T06:05:00.001-07:00

Buy a Car Off the Internet?

August 23, 2010 65 Comments and 301 Reactions

New here? Get more useful information by subscribing for free to the RSS feed. Let's dig in.

The other day, I bought a 2010 Camaro SS off the Internet. More specifically, I bought it from Aaron Smith of Motorphilia. They have an interesting business model. But how I got on Aaron's radar is every bit as interesting a story as the fact that I bought this car, without kicking the tires. And I have some ideas for car dealerships and others who want to understand how a $40,000 product can be sold virtually (oh - and thanks to Aaron Smith's efforts, I didn't pay $40K for the car: he found me a great deal).

It Started With a Blog Post

A few weeks back, I wrote a post about how car dealership websites suck. I was frustrated, because I wanted to comparison shop and found that the dealerships within 50 miles of me (and there are many) all had horrible websites with really difficult navigation, and a lack of useful information. Worse still, they weren't exactly doing much to bring me in for a visit. But I'll get back to that. First, just realize that I wrote this post.

The post populated on Facebook. Aaron Smith from Motorphilia saw the note in his stream and dropped me a line (FOUR MINUTES AFTER THE POST WENT LIVE). He said, "Hey, saw you were looking for a new Camaro. I found a few you might want to hear about. Interested?"

Lesson #1: The people who LISTEN for business beat the people waiting around for business to find them.

Actually, it Started a Year Before All This

In April 2009, I visited GM headquarters. I got to drive a Cadillac CTS and a CTS-V, but then I got to play with the Camaro RS (the littler engine version of the SS). It wasn't even out on the market yet. I felt amazingly blessed.

I should put an aside in to say that I'm not much of a car guy, really. Or I wasn't. I've never owned a "cool" car. I've owned all (but one) GM cars since I stared driving, though, so it wasn't much of a stretch to get interested in a Camaro. And why? Because the newer model looks like the Batmobile, and I'm a Batman kinda guy. (Okay, I know someone will say the Corvette is more like the Batmobile, but they're like an entirely different tribe of people, Vette types, and that's not my thing.)

But Buying A Car Off the Internet?

I admit that it's a little weird to buy a car off the Internet. If I hadn't met Aaron a few times in person (he even gave me a ride around Austin in a Prowler), I might have been a bit less likely to trust a website-based car sale. But, again, when you read Motorphilia's business model, it feels like they're the kind of relationship you want to have.

If I didn't know Aaron, I'd recommend that he put a few pictures of himself and/or his staff on the site. We relate to pictures. In fact, there's a lot of "we" language on the site, and normally, without any sense of who "we" is, that's a potential turnoff. However, and here's the next big lesson:

Lesson: Aaron Smith's @motorphilia efforts in social media are warm, friendly, and always on.

Aaron and team know the value of social media. He's active on Facebook, on Twitter, on their blog, and in several other locations, as well. It's the exact opposite of the mainstream local dealership model. Instead of waiting for people to show up for test drives (and/or sending out flyers and other dead tree products and local commercials), Aaron's team invests time and effort into human-based connections that they hope to translate into sales.

Trust and Buying Something Sight Unseen

I admit that looking at photos of a car that I intend to buy is like moving into a house that you've only seen remotely. It's spooky. It's not how things are done. I further admit that I am a bit strange, in that I buy many things off the Internet, so I'm not your typical mainstream buyer. Finally, I will cop to the admission that I knew that if something went wrong, that I'd raise holy hell about it, and that felt like a great insurance policy. But since I dared to do it, I can vouch for the service.

It Requires a Bit of Awareness and Conviction

I already knew that I wanted a Camaro. I already knew the rough price of the car I wanted. I knew that I didn't want to haggle (my last five cars were Saturns because they sales method is: 'here's the price, no matter who you are.' And all of this really suited the buying scenario of an online purchase. There may or may not have been negotiating room in the price, but I've got to be honest: Aaron found me a car that was $4500 less expensive than the three I'd found within 20 miles from my house (and the one he found me had tons fewer miles - only 1100).

If you needed lots of test drives, or if you wanted to really negotiate and do a lot of hand-holding and tire-kicking, then online obviously wouldn't be a good fit. Also, I can't advocate taking up a dealership's time on test driving, only to buy somewhere else. That wouldn't be the right thing to do.

What Does This Say for Dealerships, Though?

Local car dealerships find themselves in a potential bind. What used to be a sure thing is now far from it. Many car manufacturers had to thin out their dealership relationships over the last few years. Local print and TV media have been decimated making it harder to get a local dealership's ads seen. Location and proximity help keep some customers at hand, but it clearly didn't work for me. Will the rest of the Netflix generation feel that way, too?

And if local dealerships keep avoiding the social web, how many more buyers like me will they miss?

Since writing the first post over a month ago, I never once heard from a dealership within 100 miles of me. I heard from one other online dealership, but that's it. So, no one from the local world claimed my $40,000. It went to Texas.

Obviously, we won't all just buy on the net. We won't all forego test drives. We wont have such an affinity for a product that we'll buy it without a lot of comparison shopping. But there are signals here to consider, and there are opportunities to grow. What follows are a few potential takeaways, and then a couple of videos I shot with thoughts about the car.

Takeaways for Car Dealerships

Make your sites more mobile-friendly. Flash doesn't cut it in the smartphone era.
Add listening tools to your marketing efforts.
Have a social presence, so you can respond and invite in potential buyers.
Work with the manufacturers' social media people, like Christopher Barger at GM and Scott Monty at Ford (and your manufacturers of choice).
Look for alternatives to the current business models, as sales won't rush up on gimmicks and discounts alone.
Consider the after-sale. I just bought a Camaro SS. Do you doubt that I'm prime for aftermarket and/or related offers? Heck, I couldn't even find my tripometer reset until this afternoon. I'd be a perfect candidate to build a deeper relationship with, and you'd have a sales funnel extension.
Equip your buyers with social extenders. People don't buy cars fast enough for you to build a single relationship. Seek the referral, and the share. Not one local dealership had a Facebook Like button next to each make/model.

The rest, I'll let you figure out. Or, you can work with me. I might even have some experience in this field. : )

Now, the Videos

I've never been much of a car person. I'm not one for spending lots of money. I'm definitely not one for spending money on myself (unless it's for business materials). I bought the car because I won't benefit from a cool car when I'm 70. I bought it because I haven't really celebrated my last several years' hard work in any tangible way. I bought it because I wanted my own Batmobile. Here are a few videos related to the experience:

On buying a car through Motorphilia:
(apologies for my hair. It was still wet.)

My first night drive in the Camaro:

Thoughts on Buying a 2010 Chevy Camaro SS:

Thanks for indulging me. It was quite an experience, and I've been dying to tell the story, but had to wait until the car arrived, and/or until all the bits lined up. I haven't ever had a second car for my family, so this will also open up some opportunities in logistics. And hey, it's a darned fun car to drive.

Thank you,
Thomas Ieracitano

Twitter

want a website or an email like this ? go to http://123BrandMe.com

Part One: Internet vs. Traditional Car Buying

2011-06-01T06:03:00.001-07:00

Part One: Internet vs. Traditional Car Buying

How Much Can the Internet Save You?

Published: 11/15/2002 Updated: 04/30/2009 - by Philip Reed, Senior Consumer Advice Editor, Edmunds.com

Save

On-line vs. traditional: Which do you prefer - walking onto a car lot and going eye to eye with the salesman? Or will you get a better price through the Internet department?

There are two entrances into today's new car dealership.

The first entrance is the traditional one where customers walk onto the car lot, wait for a salesman to approach them, hear the sales pitch and then hash out a deal in a sales office.

The new entrance leads into the "virtual dealership." Shoppers can read car reviews, scope out photos and price their dream cars - all on the Internet.

Which of these two paths to new car ownership result in a lower price for the consumer? And, which of these two approaches will be the most pleasant buying experience for shoppers?

This article has two parts. The first will gather the opinions of several Internet car salespeople and describe the Internet sales experience for shoppers. The second article will test these opinions in real-world shopping conditions. Taken together, they should give you, the consumer, the most up-to-date information about your best way to buy your new car.

The Creation of the Internet Department

Traditionally, dealers have sought to maximize their profit by keeping most of the figures in a deal hidden. In this way dealers charge customers whatever they can convince them to pay for a car. Because of the complexity of a transaction filled with many variables (trade-in value, interest rate, different loan terms, multiple fees) buyers often didn't even know how much they are really paying for the car.

But in the late 1990s, Web sites such as Edmunds.com began publishing the invoice prices of cars while also reaching a larger segment of the car-buying public. This neutralized the car salesman's most powerful weapon: confusion. A smart shopper could find the invoice price of the car he wanted to buy, add a 2-3 percent profit and make a take-it-or-leave-it cash offer. Car salesmen hated dealing with this type of buyer because their profit was lower.

But rather than lose this buyer all together, some dealerships began creating "Internet departments." With an Internet department, informed shoppers could bypass the traditional salespeople standing outside the dealership. (One Internet saleswoman called these salesmen "the vultures.") Instead, shoppers could contact Internet salespeople, either by phone or e-mail, and quickly get a bottom-line price. If the price was good, they bought the car. If it wasn't, they got another quote from another dealership. This reduced the haggling.

Even today, however, many people don't trust the Internet. They don't believe the car-buying process can be that easy.

Who is the Internet Saleperson?

The Internet salesperson might have once been a traditional car salesperson, but his computer skills and ability to correspond via e-mail, monitor Web sites and grasp the psychology of on-line buyers made them a natural for this position. In other cases, the Internet sales manager might also double as the dealership's fleet manager.

For an Internet department, it is more important to sell a lot of cars than it is to maximize profit on individual cars. Therefore, the initial price quotes from an Internet sales manager are often very close to the absolute lowest selling price for a given vehicle.

A Typical Internet Experience

Edmunds.com maintains a fleet of test cars, some of which we purchase ourselves. When shopping for a 2002 Nissan Altima, we searched for the exact car we wanted on the Internet. We located a car, with the options we wanted, at Lew Webb's Irvine Nissan and sent a request for a price quote to the dealership via e-mail.

A short time later, Internet Sales Manager Marj Aldoph wrote back, describing the options on the car and the color. She also wrote: "Your preferred Internet price is $27,417 plus tax and license." We compared the price to the Edmunds.com True Market Value^® price and saw that her price quote was even lower. We bought the car at that price.

After the sale was finalized, we asked Aldoph if we could have gotten a better deal on a new car if we just walked onto the lot. "I would never walk onto a lot to buy a car," she replied. "I don't want to go through all the hassle." Besides that, she said, the sales team will start by trying to sell the car at sticker price. Plus, they will try to make more money on the back end, such as higher finance charges. "[In the Internet department] we are straightforward and disclose everything. Nothing is pushed onto a client."

Denise Justice, the Internet and client service manager for Rusnak Auto Group in Pasadena, Calif., said, "I like to be up-front with all my customers. I show them all the numbers. I don't try to hide things or put extras into the contract at the last minute. I don't want any misunderstandings."

When Rusnak wanted to develop its Internet department, it recruited Justice from Nordstrom because of that company's reputation for customer service. Now, Justice uses her skills to sell 15 to 20 cars a month (more than most car lot salespeople), often to customers who never physically come into the dealership.

"The Internet customer doesn't want the traditional sales pitch," she said. "They don't want to sit down and do the four-square [a worksheet used by salesmen for negotiating]. They won't play that game where the salesman starts high and goes low. They've already done their homework and, in some cases, they know more about the car than I do."

Justice said that women, in particular, prefer car shopping on-line because many Internet sales managers are women. "Women buy from me because I'm easy to talk to," she said. "I'm not like some men who won't give straight answers or may be intimidating."

However, the Internet can be a grind for those brave enough to work in this department. One Las Vegas Internet manager told us that he gets hundreds of e-mails a day, everyday. "They expect a reply almost instantly or you've lost their business. I spend a lot of time on-line, just going through my e-mail."

Justice said she works on salary with some commission. How much of what she makes is dependant on the scores on her "CSI" surveys (customer satisfaction index). "If I get dinged by even one person, for one point (getting a 4 out of 5 rather than a 5 out of 5) it can cost me $1,500," she said.

Moving Metal the Old Way

The traditional car salesperson greets "ups" (customers who walk onto the lot) and personally leads them through the buying process. Car salesmen employ a variety of psychological tactics to excite the buyer, hurry them toward a commitment to buy and then sell the car at the highest possible price. Often, car salesmen are told they should "never leave any money on the table" - in other words, they should take as much money as they can from the buyer.

While the Internet clearly offers advantages to many consumers, some buyers are still more comfortable buying the traditional way. They want the sales pitch, they want to test drive the car and get a "walk around" from an experienced sales professional. Dealership sales managers still firmly believe in this approach to selling - trying to turn everyone into a "today buyer." These veterans tell trainees "the feel of the wheel will seal the deal." Their pep talks center on trying to "excite" buyers and maintain "control" over the buyer.

However, as consumers learn more about the car-buying process and our society becomes increasingly mobile, loyalties to the neighborhood dealership are disappearing. As a car buyer, knowing you got a good vehicle at a fair price - all without battling a pushy salesman for several hours - isn't asking too much. In the end, time is money and cash is king.

COMING NEXT: Edmunds.com goes car shopping. An editor will get a price the traditional way from a car lot salesman, then solicit a quote through the Internet department. How do these prices compare? Find out in Part Two.

View more Car Buying and Leasing articles

Thank you,
Thomas Ieracitano

Twitter

want a website or an email like this ? go to http://123BrandMe.com

CarsDirect is the best place to buy new cars and used cars online

2011-06-01T06:02:00.001-07:00

CarsDirect is the best place to buy new cars
and used cars online!

CarsDirect.com has been rated the #1 site for buying new cars online by Forbes, Time, PC Magazine and PC World, among others.

We offer low, no-haggle prices and have a huge selection of new and used cars for sale. To find the CarsDirect price for any new vehicle, begin by selecting the make at the top of this page.

If you choose to buy a new car online through CarsDirect, a Vehicle Specialist will contact you quickly and help you through the entire car buying process.

If you prefer to buy your next new car from a dealer, we will match your needs with a member of our certified dealer network near you. Your VIP dealer representative will work with you to find your vehicle and negotiate a low price.

Searching for cars for sale on many used car websites can be a challenge. You can search and buy using our intuitive used car search section. We offer a huge selection newer model year pre-owned cars. Finding the right used car for sale has never been more convenient.

Thousands of happy customers buy cars through us every month. Who knew it was so easy to buy new cars online?

Thank you,
Thomas Ieracitano

Leasing or Buying a Car Resources on the Web

Twitter

want a website or an email like this ? go to http://123BrandMe.com

Buying a Car on the Internet

2011-06-01T06:01:00.001-07:00

Buying a Car on the Internet

If you're thinking about buying a car over the Internet, then you're going to be pleasantly surprised. Buying a car on the World Wide Web is a fairly simple process. It also eliminates a lot of the unpleasant experiences often associated with a visit to the local car dealership.

Advantages of Buying a Car Using the Internet

If you happen to sell cars for a living and you're honest in your dealings with customers, then you shouldn't be offended by any of the following statements we're going to make in this publication. That's because we're not talking about salespersons and dealerships that treat their customers fairly.

Buying a Car at a Dealership

Additional Resources

We're talking about individuals selling cars that give car dealers a bad name. For some of us, this is what we actually experience when we bought a car in the past:

Bait and Switch Tactics - working with a salesperson to purchase one type of car, only to find that salesperson is now trying to get you to buy another car.
Haggling - while some people might actually like the idea of negotiating with a salesperson in the hopes of striking the best purchase price on a new car, to many of us that entire process is pretty upsetting.
Hard Sells - if there is one thing that any salesperson learns through experience it is that you need to close the deal. Some salespersons simply don't know when to give up, and high-pressure sales tactics, which occur at some car dealerships, are annoying to virtually everyone.

Buying a Car Online

The nice thing about buying a car over the Internet is that all of the negative face-to-face interactions are eliminated. You can research your car from the comfort of your own home, and you can take your time making a decision. One big advantage of buying a car this way is there's a lot of information right at your fingertips.

Buy a Car Online in Four Simple Steps

For anyone convinced that buying a car over the Internet offers some big advantages, we've outlined a "how to buy a car online in four simple steps" below:

Conduct research to find the car you think you want to buy.
Test-drive several of the cars you've identified in your research.
Research cars again to make sure you're making the right decision.
Comparison shop new car dealers over the Internet.

Later on, we'll be talking about websites you can visit to buy a car online. But for now we're going to explain how to conduct your research, test-drive a car, and how to make fair comparisons. This way you can be sure you're getting the best deal.

Researching a Car over the Internet

We've covered researching a car elsewhere in this publication in much greater detail than explained below. The important part of this first step is to figure out what features you need in a car, and which cars provide you with those features.

Some of the more important factors to consider when researching a car include:

Budget - perhaps the single most important consideration is how much car you can afford to buy. We have some great car loan calculators that can help to simplify this step.
Use of Car - are you playing taxi driver to your kids and their friends, or are you looking for basic transportation to and from work? This is the "practical" part of car research.
Reliability and Safety - for many people a car must not only be able to move us from point A to point B, but it also needs to provide us with reliable and safe operation.

Test Driving a Car You're Thinking about Buying

If you think you can buy a car only using the Internet, then we have some bad news for you. Even if you think a certain car will meet all your needs, you have to test drive the vehicle. The last thing you want to do is to pick up your car and discover that it has a blind spot that makes you nervous when you drive, or the interior color didn't look like the pictures you saw.

If you're not an "average" person with respect to height or weight (many of us are not average), then it's important to make sure you have enough room in the vehicle to drive or sit comfortably.

Unless friends or relatives own all of the cars you're thinking about buying, then you have to visit a car dealership to conduct your test drives. Since you're thinking about ultimately buying the car over the Internet, you need to be careful about working too closely with a salesperson. If you do, they might try to claim you owe them a sales commission.

Keep in mind that even if you buy a car online, the dealership might be the same one you visited when you test drove the car; especially if there aren't many competing dealerships in your area. If that's true, then the dealership might owe a sales commission to someone if you've been working with them on a regular basis.

Researching a Car: Again

Now that you've narrowed down the field of cars that you can afford, meets your list of requirements, and you enjoy driving, it's time to double back on your car research. This is especially true if you're having trouble deciding between two makes / models.

Here we are talking about customer satisfaction ratings, fuel economy, safety and reliability. You can probably go back to some of the same sources you used earlier, but the information you're looking for may be a bit different. Taking one last look at what others are saying usually helps to solidify a decision.

Comparison Shopping for Cars over the Internet

The final step in our four step process is comparison shopping. This involves not just comparing offers, but also evaluating those offers versus the car's invoice price. Here's where the Internet really comes in handy when buying a car.

There are some websites that will actually quote you a price for a new car without any questions asked. Other sites want you to provide them with some of your contact information before sending you a quote. We're going to finish this topic up by listing some of the major players in this market, and what you can expect as far as the car purchasing services offered by their websites.

Kelley Blue Book

Kelley Blue Book built its reputation on its used car pricing expertise; the KBB of today offers new and used car buyers much more. Services you'll find at KBB include:

New Car Pricing
Used Car Trade In Values
Side by Side Car Comparisons
Ratings and Reviews
Buying Advice
Financing and Insurance Tools
Used Car Listings
Dealer Price Quotes (requires information before quote)

MSN Autos (Formerly Carpoint)

MSN Autos also allows you to research cars and make side-by-side comparisons. MSN's approach is to leverage the power of its entire network. Some of the information, such as financing and advice, is not as focused on cars as the information you'll find elsewhere.

The total array of services offered exclusively by MSN Autos includes:

New Car Pricing
Side by Side Comparisons
Ratings and Reviews (from Consumer Reports)
Buying Advice
Dealer Price Quotes (requires information before quote)

Edmunds

Edmunds is another website dedicated to car buying and research. Edmunds has some unique approaches to the logical ways people buy a car, such as sorting cars by price. Other services include:

New Car Pricing
Side by Side Car Comparisons
Ratings and Reviews
Buying Advice
Used Car Listings
Dealer Price Quotes (requires information before quote)

CarsDirect

One of the unique features of CarsDirect is that they provide price quotes without requiring you to supply any of your contact information. That's a big plus if you're just trying to get a feel for how much you can get off the MSRP (or sticker price).

Perhaps the most comprehensive approach to buying a car over the Internet, services offered by CarsDirect include:

New Car Pricing
Used Car Trade In Values
Side by Side Car Comparisons
Ratings and Reviews
Buying Advice
Financing and Insurance Tools
Used Car Listings
Dealer Price Quotes

About the Author - Buying a Car on the Internet

Thank you,
Thomas Ieracitano

Twitter

want a website or an email like this ? go to http://123BrandMe.com

Impact Local Search with the New Bing Business Portal

2011-06-01T05:42:00.001-07:00

Impact Local Search with the New Bing Business Portal

Microsoft set out to change the way users interact with search engines when they released Bing over two years ago. Now as Bing continues to grow its market share, the company has greatly overhauled their local search platform. The brand new Bing Business Portal is a fresh take on the company's previous clunky interface that is packed full of exciting new features to help local business grow online.

This new portal is geared toward providing the business with all the necessary signals that all the Search Engines are interested in. This new portal should be optimized along with Google Places, Facebook Places, Yahoo Local, and other geospecific services.

Local search optimization is a thriving topic for small business owners. No longer does your business just need a website to compete. Companies that have a "brick and mortar" or physical location need to be aware of how the major search engines view both their website and their location. You can get started with the Bing Business Portal by searching for your listing. Creating a listing for your business is an easy process that begins with verification. Verify ownership of the business listing by phone or if that option is not available, Bing will send a PIN through postal mall.

The Bing Business Portal is full of features including the ability to add not only logos and photos, but detailed features and unique information about your business. Bing allows the business owners and marketing agents to customize the listings by adding links to Facebook and Twitter pages. All of the information added is designed to increase the relevancy for Bing as it matches your listing with the users.

Bing is also aware of the growing number of mobile phone users that are accustomed to looking for local businesses while on the go. Similar to the Bing application for smartphones, this new Business Portal will create a mobile website for your business. A unique feature of the Bing Business Portal is the ability to create deals and coupons along with QR codes to aid in offline promotion. These deals can be customized with unique categories of discount coupons, rebates, and will be seen on the mobile Bing site (m.bing.com). Business owners even have the ability to publish deals directly to their Facebook pages. Restaurants and bars can create custom mobile menus, upload PDFs, and link to existing online menus.

Business owners will be able to pick and choose from all the publishing options in the preview section of the portal. Check out your Bing listings, your mobile website, and any additional features before releasing them to the world. Bing notes that some of the content may be reviewed prior to publishing, but doesn't say if that review will be by human or machine.

It will be interesting to see how much support Bing is able to provide their small business owners. A common complaint from users of Google Places is lack of help available to owners. As part of the BETA, the new Bing Business Portal incorporates comic book styled help for individual sections of the process. This is likely to help differentiate Bing from the more text heavy help sections of Google, while still providing the answers. Only time will tell if business owners and the search traffic will flock to this new portal, but it's certainly a sign that Bing will continue to evolve in hopes of becoming the preferred search option for users.

MEET THE AUTHOR

Kevin Doory, Online Strategist

Kevin became part of the team at Groove Commerce in September of 2010. He brings years of hands-on experience with search engine optimization and pay-per-click marketing for both in-house and agency capacities. Kevin garnered a wide range of experience in managing clients, streamlining processes, and developing analytics-driven strategies while helping to build search departments from the ground up in multiple industries.

Go Like Hell book about Ford beating Ferrari at Le Mans being turned into a movie

2011-05-31T05:39:00.001-07:00

**Report: Go Like Hell book about Ford beating Ferrari at Le Mans being turned into a movie**

by Jeff Glucker (RSS feed) on May 31st 2011 at 7:59AM

Ford versus Ferrari? These two car companies seemingly have nothing in common today. Back in the 1960s, however, things were a bit different. Ferrari ruled the world of Motorsports, and Ford was vying for a piece of that international glory.

Starting in 1960, a Ferrari won the 24 Hours of Le Mans six years in a row. Ford wanted to put a stop to that, and in 1966, the Blue Oval entered the winning GT40 Mk II, which ended Ferrari's amazing streak. That was just the beginning, however, because a Ford GT40 would go on to win at Le Mans for the next three years.

The story about these battling automakers was captured in a book written by A.J. Baime, called Go Like Hell. This book takes readers into the heart of the road racing war that was waged over 50 years ago.

Now, the story has captured the attention of Hollywood. Director Michael Mann is in talks with 20th Century Fox to turn Go Like Hell into a movie. This presents us with some interesting questions. Most notably, we wonder which actors will be cast to play the various roles of larger-than-life motorsports icons. Have you got a good idea of who might fit a specific part? Sound off in the Comments.

[Source: HollywoodReporter.com]

Thank you,
Thomas Ieracitano

Twitter

want a website or an email like this ? go to http://123BrandMe.com

First Drive:2012 Fiat 500C

2011-05-25T10:17:00.001-07:00

First Drive: 2012 Fiat 500C

by Jonathon Ramsey (RSS feed) on May 25th 2011 at 11:57AM

Pop-top Cinquecento Makes For A Sunny Disposition

2012 Fiat 500C - Click above for high-res image gallery

What price the sun? That's the question Fiat is asking potential buyers of its new 500C. All else remaining (mostly) equal, would $4,000 come between you and the chance to have bright, unfiltered Helios riding shotgun? Or, using forty Benjamins to mark your steps, would you gladly throw the money down and do a Tarantella from the $15,500 Fiat 500 to the $19,500 Fiat 500C?

While logic doesn't own a car in this segment, we can say this: Having spent an afternoon whooping it up in the 500C through the winding lanes of upstate New York, wallet aside, when compared to the hardtop model, the 500C is all gain and just a pinprick of pain.

Let's set the scene by returning to that statement about logic. Specifically, its absence. Trawling the comment sections of various web sites, it's common to find people deprecating the 500C's price. And to some extent, that surprises. The $19,500 Fiat 500C has two additional seats and a whole lot more cargo room than the $23,110 Mazda MX-5 Miata, and the primary complaint about the Miata is that it's "gotten so big." Think on that for a moment. The "largest" issue about a ladybug-sized two-seater is that it's grown (marginally, at best), but for some reason, the $3,610-less-expensive 500C - which gets better gas mileage - has been priced by rogues and blackguards. The Mini Cooper Convertible is $6,055 more than the Fiat. The Fiat is a smaller car and feels smaller inside than the Mini, but in a number of metrics, it actually has more interior space. Yet the Mini is most often dinged not for its price, but... for not having enough space.

The runabouts in this segment have little overt interest in logic, so they don't take straight shots at the price line. Nevertheless, the segment works, so it's in Fiat's favor to portray the 500C as an unqualified bargain.

It is true, though, that the 500C is not exactly a convertible - the firm gave the 500 hatch a
reverse mohawk (Nohawk? Hawkmo?), making it more than a targa, less than a full-on droptop. Instead of calling it the 500 Cabrio, it should really be called the 500 Sunshine.

There are 53 pounds separating the Cabrio from the hatch, due to the top mechanism, bracing in the new windshield header and brackets between the rear wheel housings and underbody, along with thicker C-pillars and a spar under the parcel shelf. Yet because it's more like an altered 500 than a topless Cinquecento, the 500C doesn't take an axe to the body of qualities we like about the hatch. You can truly use the hardtop as a base for figuring out if you want to spend the extra money. Until you put the top down, the 500C barely looks any different than its sibling from the outside, and even inside, the two-layer top, which isn't trussed-up with external ribs or bracing, doesn't distort the experience.

Press the 'open sesame' button once and the top slides back to the Spoiler position, gathered at the top of the C-pillar. A wind deflector stands at raked attention from within the trough of the windshield surround, projecting beyond and eliminating buffeting. Push the button again and the top slides all the way open, gathering in folds above the rear parcel shelf. You can then pull the wind deflector down and latch it in place with a plastic slider. Even with air flowing all the way through the cabin, the two front seats remain serene enough for conversational tones and phone calls. Rear visibility, on the other hand, does take a hit thanks to the top stack: You can make out the color of the roof of the car behind you, but not much else. It's not bad at all, though. You can see there are cars behind and the two-piece driver's side mirror has an acutely convex outer unit for additional blind spot visibility.

The sliding top also gets major points for functionality. You can open it all the way up while driving at speeds up to 50 mph, and if you just want to get to Spoiler, you have that power up to 60 mph. You can stop it at any point along the track by pressing the 'open' button again. If you want to access the 5.3 cubic feet of trunk space when the top is all the way open, tap the trunk release and the top slides up to the spoiler position, then the trunk unlatches. You have to press the 'open' button again to get the top back down. Closing is a two-touch affair, with the top stopping automatically a few inches from complete closure so that you can get your - or your child's - fingers out of the way. (Scroll down and watch the Short Cut video below to see how it all works).

The minuscule weight increase allows the manual-transmission-equipped 500C to remain in the same test weight class as the hatch, maintaining the same fuel economy ratings of 30 miles per gallon in the city, 38 on the highway and 33 combined. The automatic transmission moves up a class, so while the auto-equipped hatchback is rated 27 city, 34 highway, the Cabrio is rated 27 city, 32 highway and 29 combined.

We're only guessing, but it's possible that the 500C's sliding roof arrangement has been used not only to evoke the 1957 Cinquecento, but to keep from burying the efforts of the 1.4-liter MultiAir Turbo under the additional stiffening a traditional convertible would need. You get 101 ponies and 98 pound-feet to pull 2,416 pounds (that's the manual - the automatic is 2,486 pounds), and they work hard - and you will, too - to do it. Peak horsepower doesn't arrive until you're 400 revs shy of the 6,900-rpm redline, while peak torque shows up at a much-more-decent 4,000 rpm. Keep matters above 3,500 rpm if you want to feel the spirit, and even on the highway, you'll need to drop down to third, not fourth, for any menacing incline.

On the other hand, the driving experience is unchanged, and the best way to describe it is "Weeeeeee!" That was the punctuation used by my co-driver - twice - when making passing maneuvers on the George Washington Bridge, and the utterance is perfectly applied. In a rare case of the U.S. getting a sportier suspension than our Euro brethren, the independent Machperson struts with a stabilizer bar up front and twist beam, coil-spring rear suspension give the 500C a surprisingly supple ride. After bouncing around in a minivan over New York City's Cambodian roads, the 500C's manners were comparatively gracious and forgiving. And not only does it smooth out even sharp, nasty bumps, but when the curves come a-callin' it settles in gamely for vigorous vectoring. The Sport button makes a noticeable difference in throttle response and steering, but when you're at eight-tenths in standard mode, going to 8.4-tenths is a difference in degree, not kind.

That brings us back to the competition. Fiat brought a Mini Cooper S Convertible for some back-to-back action, and when it comes to NVH, ride and handling the 500C takes the Mini to the woodshed, gives it a pasting and steals its lunch money.

Fiat says the 500C "delivers leading interior sound quality (quietest at 45 mph, 70 mph and lowest powertrain noise)." We can't verify the exact numbers, but driving both cars (equipped with auto 'boxes) on the same stretch of road, it's immediately and achingly apparent which one is superior; the Fiat made more engine noise under acceleration, but once at cruise was hushed. The Mini's exhaust droned into the cabin when at constant speed, and even with the top up the rear danced around like the latter half of one of those two-man horse costumes. Traversing an ill-paved expansion joint that had turned into an expansion canyon, the Mini crashed over it while the 500C produced a muted 'thump-thump.' Let's be honest, though - the Mini pays a price for being a true convertible and nearly 400 pounds heavier. But if you want to talk about ride, the conversation is already scripted.

The only misgiving we had about the 500C was the interior on the Pop trim (the entry-level spec), and in case you forgot, it's $6,055 less dear than the Mini. It isn't that the Mini is less plasticky, it just does much better things with plastic, which we'd expect. The bigger issue is that other cars costing $19,500, or less, also do much better things than the 500C. The interior looks great in photos and from ten feet away, but to sit in it is to experience the least cute thing about the car. Still, it's the same interior as in the hatch, so if you like that then you'll like this.

Later in the day, we spent an hour in the top-tier Lounge trim - the Cabrio doesn't offer the hatchback's Sport trim - and although it appeared that Kanye West got hold of the Ivory dash palette of the $26,050 tester, its embellishments raise the bar nicely. The big seats aren't hugely bolstered, but have just the right firmness for long-term comfort; they're the same units as in the Pop, but trimmed in leather (a cost option) they look properly stylish. In addition to the extra gear that comes standard on the Lounge, like climate control and the Bose premium sound system, it just looks like we'd want this car to look. If you can find the extra $4,000 to spend, you should spend it here.

Speaking of options, we didn't keep track of how many times we heard or read the word "personalization," but it got thrown around like AR-15 rounds on 'free fire.' Offering 14 exterior colors, three cloth top colors, 12 interior options, 21 graphics packages and 50 accessories, there are 500,000 unique possibilities for your 500C. That's one of the things buyers in the segment have come to expect, but it's also a lure for those who are still wary of a new brand with a new car in a new land. Fiat sweetens the bait with its Forward Care program that provides a four-year/50,000-mile bumper-to-bumper warranty, four years of unlimited roadside assistance, and a three-year/36,000-mile maintenance program that includes wear-and-tear items and trip-interruption reimbursement. That's a long-winded English translation of Fiat trying to say, "You can't lose."

The Fiat 500 has that whole 'cute' thing positively nailed. The 500C holds on to the best of the hatch, and in making the sun god your co-pilot, it swings another impossibly cute hammer at another impossibly cute nail. The long-term prospects will be for time to decide, but our quick assessment is that Fiat's pretty close. As far as we can tell, the only thing you have to lose is your toupee.

Thank you,
Thomas Ieracitano

Retailers turn to Facebook to sell their wares

Twitter

want a website or an email like this ? go to http://123BrandMe.com

Fw: An Important Message from FordDirect

2011-05-21T09:18:00.000-07:00

From: FordDirect

Sent: Saturday, May 21, 2011 10:01 AM

To: thomas@roberthutson.com

Subject: An Important Message from FordDirect

This email contains important information about FordDirect.
View eMail with Images | Important: Please add email@forddirectemail.com to your safe list.

As Chairman of the FordDirect Board of Directors, I have been a part of this exciting joint venture with Dealers and Ford Motor Co. since the beginning. In Q1 this year FordDirect had its best quarter ever with sales from your FordDirect Internet referrals representing 21.7% of total Ford Motor Company retail sales.

The Board and the FordDirect leadership team are working on some exciting new initiatives to help drive Dealer profitability and even more sales for Ford and Lincoln Dealers. This is your company and we remain dedicated to serving as your trusted advisor and developing innovative, industry-leading digital solutions that give Ford and Lincoln Dealers a competitive advantage.

As part of our growth plan, I am excited to announce the appointment of Stacey Coopes as FordDirect Chief Executive Officer.

Stacey has been an integral member of the leadership team at FordDirect for the last five years and most recently served as executive vice president of marketing and technology for FordDirect. She has been the driving force behind many of the technology innovations that have launched on Ford and Lincoln websites and has supervised all lead generation for FordDirect. Stacey knows how to bring value to Dealers; more than 275,000 new vehicles were sold by dealers from FordDirect Internet referrals in 2010 alone. To learn more about Stacey, click here.

The Board is very appreciative of the entire FordDirect management team and recognizes the solid results that they have delivered. Leo Hillock will continue managing FordDirect's Dealer relations and development department; Valerie Fuller will continue managing FordDirect's products and services; and Ted Vincent will continue as FordDirect's chief financial officer.

If you have any questions, please call your FordDirect Regional Operations Manager at 866-550-7812, option 1.

Sincerely,

Bill Keith
Chairman of the FordDirect Board of Directors
and Dealer Principal of Freehold Ford and Steamboat Motors

Products & Services

Targeted Marketing Search Engine Marketing DealerConnection

DealerConnection Premier Customization SalesPoint Pre-Owned Vehicle Marketing

New Vehicle Marketing Call Tracking Call Track-10

Tier II Digital Marketing Services DealerConnection Premier Advanced Inventory Service

FordDirect.com 4 Parklane Blvd Suite 675 | Dearborn, MI | 48126 | USA
If you no longer wish to receive any email communication, click to unsubscribe | update profile
Copyright © 2011 DealerDirect, LLC doing business as FordDirect. All rights reserved.

No virus found in this message.
Checked by AVG - www.avg.com
Version: 10.0.1375 / Virus Database: 1509/3651 - Release Date: 05/21/11

--7mSxxoktnDA2=_?:--

Retailers turn to Facebook to sell their wares

2011-05-17T03:35:00.001-07:00

By Bruce Horovitz, USA TODAY

More of the world's biggest marketers are selling their stuff at the place where consumers hanker to hang out: Facebook.

An Express ad touts the retailer's friendliness to Facebook users.
Think of it as the ultimate convenience for a mobile generation that considers it seriously inconvenient to leave Facebook - even for a moment - in order to go to a retailer's website. Now, marketers from Express to J.C. Penney to Delta Air Lines are steering those purchases to their Facebook pages.
Within a few years, social media gurus say, the very notion of shopping on a retailer's website will become dated. "Expecting people to come to your website is expecting them to make an extra effort," explains Janet Fouts, a social media coach. "They're already on Facebook."
The numbers are dazzling. Facebook has roughly 500 million users - 250 million of whom are on the site every day. The average user has 130 friends. Each month, people spend a total 700 billion minutes on Facebook.
"It's social networks like Facebook that are the center of people's lives," Fouts says. "It's where their friends are. It's where they play games. And it's increasingly becoming where they shop."
Facebook executives say it's critical to make Facebook stores friendlier than websites. "Retailers who provide deeply social shopping experiences will see the most success," says David Fisch, director of commerce partnerships.

Among the most recent to make the Facebook e-commerce move is Express, the apparel chain. About two weeks ago, it started selling its entire line via its Facebook page. An inventory calculator tells consumers if the item is available.
"Clearly, we won't be the last to do this," says Lisa Gavales, chief marketing officer at Express.

Others in the hunt:
•J.C. Penney. The retailer rolled out a Facebook shopping app shortly before Christmas. The commerce tab on its Facebook page provides a "full shopping experience" without leaving Facebook, spokeswoman Kate Coultas says.
•1-800-Flowers. Nearly two years ago, 1-800-Flowers was among the first retailers to open a store on its Facebook page. "We're always looking to embrace new waves of commerce," President Chris McCann says.
•Delta. Since August 2010, Delta has been selling airline tickets from an e-commerce store dubbed Ticket Counter on its Facebook page.
•GameStop. Early last month, the video game retailer launched a storefront on Facebook.

http://www.usatoday.com/money/industries/retail/2011-05-10-retailers-turn-to-facebook_n.htm?sms_ss=email&at_xt=4dcc4a1ef43e11c5%2C0

Thank you,
Thomas Ieracitano

Twitter

want a website or an email like this ? go to http://123BrandMe.com

High Gas Prices; Raise Your Gas Mileage MPG

2011-05-17T03:22:00.001-07:00

High Gas Prices; Raise Your Gas Mileage MPG

Gas Prices are continuing to rise at an alarming rate and we have no choice, but to continue paying at the pump. There are a few simple inexpensive things we can do to insure we are getting the best Gas Mileage possible.

The easiest and cheapest thing we can do to increase Gas Mileage is to check the tire pressure in our tires. Make sure you have equal amounts in all tires so that your car is not pulling. DO NOT OVER-INFLATE your tires. Inflate your tires to the manufacturers suggested tire pressure.

Get a tune up on your car, truck, or SUV and you will be surprised at the increase in fuel mileage. Getting your spark plugs and wires changed, air filter changed, fuel filter, and even an oil change can help your car get better Gas Mileage. Most of these things can be done yourself, but if not, the savings will outweigh the cost over time.

If you have other ideas to increase Gas Mileage, please post under comments so that we can all benefit.

Thank you,
Thomas Ieracitano

Twitter

want a website or an email like this ? go to http://123BrandMe.com

Best Buy considering EV sales?

2011-05-09T14:45:00.001-07:00

Best Buy considering EV sales?

by Zach Bowman (RSS feed) on May 9th 2011 at 3:31PM

According to Automotive News, Best Buy has its eyes on jumping into EV sales and service. The consumer electronics giant has been peddling Brammo electric motorcycles for years now and has recently parleyed that experience into garnering contracts to be a distributor and installer of EV chargers for the likes of the Ford Focus Electric and the Mitsubishi i-MiEV. Now the suits in charge apparently want to take the next step by offering full electric vehicles alongside Blu-Ray players and big-screen TVs.

The chain has over 1,000 stores that could effectively educate buyers on the products and service them should anything go awry. Right now, Best Buy is said to be in talks with a few EV startup companies, though the retailer hopes to expand those discussions to larger automakers, as well. The idea is that some dealers would rather outsource the hassle of instructing buyers on the intricacies of EV ownership rather than go through the trouble of educating their entire sales process on tasks such as pairing a smart phone.

Is this just another step in the inevitable march of the vehicle from transportation to appliance? Maybe, but it could also be a move toward a genuinely educated and capable sales staff that's invested in your comprehension of the product.

[Source: Automotive News ? sub. req.]

Thank you,
Thomas Ieracitano

Twitter

want a website or an email like this ? go to http://123BrandMe.com

Compare the automotive industry from only a year ago to today or from ten years ago to today

2011-05-09T07:55:00.001-07:00

Digital Finesse

Posted by Lizelle Landino on April 28, 2011 at 7:07am
View Lizelle Landino's ADM blog

Compare the automotive industry from only a year ago to today or from ten years ago to today and we all will have the conclusion and understanding that this industry is ever changing and evolving. No longer is the car standing on the lot at a dealership a guarantee for a sale and no longer can you just stare out the window of a dealership waiting for business.

Digital shopping and digital living has created a very unique challenge for dealers. It now makes your competition a huge factor on your dealer success. Tools like social media, link building, seo, sem, video optimization actually takes much visibility away from a dealer because they now have to compete for online presence. The biggest mistake car dealers make is using the social media sites as a sales tool. Facebook, twitter etc are wonderful tools to connect and reach out to individuals but its not a sales tool. Why are you trying to sell a car on twitter? If you utilize these wonderful tools and finesse the art of social media correctly , you will gain the respect and trust that will make you a SUPER STAR! How is that? My advice for success and digital sales finesse is very simple and I call it Relationship selling 101. Change your thought process on what social media can offer you. All these tools have the most effectiveness and presence when all you are trying to do is build, gain and master relationship selling and conversational connections.

You are trying to gain and not lose twitter followers and facebook friends correct? Do NOT list your inventory or sales pitches on there but master the conversation and media presence in a unique but tactful way. What can you do on the social media aspect that will make you stand out and have people wonder " Wow I wonder who that person is or what that person does for a living". Its Tactful advertising that promotes a product nobody knows better than you - the product is YOU. Dare to be different and unique - Establish your "it" factor - Interest and intrigue people - gain the relationship because the SALE is next.

"Instead of giving myself reasons why I can't, I give myself reasons why I can"

Thank you,
Thomas Ieracitano

229.251.2462

Twitter

want a website or an email like this ? go to http://123BrandMe.com

Ford wages average $8/hour higher than non-union and foreign rivals

2011-05-09T06:54:00.001-07:00

Ford wages average $8/hour higher than non-union and foreign rivals

by Aaron Richardson (RSS feed) on May 9th 2011 at 9:29AM

In the run up to the next round of negotiations between Ford and the United Auto Workers, the automaker has said it pays workers an average of $8 more per hour than its foreign and non-union rivals. By and large, foreign automakers with U.S. factories employ non-union labor, which helps keep labor costs reigned in.

According to the Blue Oval, its cost of labor has risen to $58/hour, while its competitors average $50/hour. The wage gap has persisted even after Ford negotiated concessions with the UAW that cut labor costs by $500 million in 2009.

Ford says it will be impossible to sustain a competitive business if it can't close the gap. Worse, Dearborn says the differential could eventually prevent the creation of new jobs. The company's $58/hour wage rate is a three-dollar hike over last year, thanks in large part to $5,000 profit sharing checks Ford cut each of its workers this year.

According to a company spokesperson, its wage rate would be closer to $56/hour without the profit sharing initiative.

[Source: The Detroit News]

Thank you,
Thomas Ieracitano

229.251.2462

Continue reading Consumer Reports: Most car buyers not looking to downsize

Twitter

want a website or an email like this ? go to http://123BrandMe.com

Fw: Video: Driving the Mopar Jeep JK-8 Pickup Truck in Moab

2011-05-06T14:01:00.000-07:00

From: Mike Levine

Sent: Thursday, April 28, 2011 6:05 PM

Subject: Video: Driving the Mopar Jeep JK-8 Pickup Truck in Moab

Video produced by Dan Sanchez and hosted by Mark Williams for PickupTrucks.com

We've already written about our time behind the wheel of the Mopar Jeep JK-8 project truck at this year's Easter Jeep Safari in Moab, Utah. Now, we've got video of the Jeep pickup you can build in your garage.

Fw: High-Res Photos of Ram's Long-Hauler Released

2011-05-06T13:56:00.002-07:00

From: Mike Levine

Sent: Monday, May 02, 2011 5:14 PM

Subject: High-Res Photos of Ram's Long-Hauler Released

Today, Chrysler released a few high-resolution images of its Ram Long-Hauler concept truck that we reported on earlier. Among the photos is a shot of the interior and Long-Hauler badging on the seat.

With a midship fuel tank combined with a frame-mounted tank and an optional bed-mounted auxiliary tank, the Long-Hauler's total fuel capacity is 170 gallons (revised from the 160-gallon figure we initially reported).

Interior items designed to help the driver monitor vehicle performance include a rear axle temperature gauge and exhaust gas temperature and boost gauges housed in the center console.

The concept truck will be going on a national tour for the next eight months — starting this weekend at the Kentucky Derby — to gauge public interest. The images, along with the tentative show schedule, are below.

May 5-7
Kentucky Derby
Louisville, Ky.

June 10-11
Turbo Diesel Register Rally
Columbus, Ind.

July-August
Rodeo Circuit

Aug. 31-Sept. 2
Farm Progress Show
Decatur, Ill.

Sept. 13-15
Husker Harvest
Grand Island, Neb.

Sept. 19
NTEA New Product Conference
Dearborn, Mich.

Oct. 18-20
Sunbelt Expo
Moultrie, Ga.

Nov. 29-Dec. 1
National RV Show
Louisville, Ky.

Fw: GM Donating Chevy Trucks and Money to Tornado Relief Efforts

2011-05-06T13:56:00.001-07:00

From: Mike Levine

Sent: Tuesday, May 03, 2011 9:57 AM

Subject: GM Donating Chevy Trucks and Money to Tornado Relief Efforts

A dozen Chevrolet Silverado crew-cab pickup trucks and $100,000 are headed to the southeastern U.S. to help in places hit hard by devastating tornadoes last week, thanks to a donation by General Motors and the General Motors Foundation.

The 12 pickups, plus a GMC Savana full-size van, are due to arrive today at Tuscaloosa Chevrolet in Alabama, the hardest-hit state. From there, they will be distributed to United Ways in western and central Alabama for use in local relief efforts. The General Motors Foundation is providing a $100,000 grant to the American Red Cross.

"Chevrolet has a strong commitment to its communities, and we are working with our dealers, our employees, and relief agencies to help people in the southeast recover from the storms," said Alan Batey, vice president of Chevrolet sales and service. "The Silverado crew cab is a real workhorse, and we know these trucks will find many uses carrying people and hauling supplies as these communities rebuild."

In addition to those donations, GM's OnStar is providing crisis-assist services for subscribers in affected states, which provides free hands-free calling minutes and directions. OnStar is also providing six months of free service and 1,000 hands-free calling minutes for each of the donated Silverados.

The total Chevrolet, GM Foundation, and OnStar contribution is estimated to exceed $500,000.

Fw: Rising Fuel Prices Create Rising Demand for Ford F-150's EcoBoost V-6

2011-04-28T07:10:00.000-07:00

From: Mike Levine

Sent: Thursday, April 28, 2011 2:01 AM

Subject: Rising Fuel Prices Create Rising Demand for Ford F-150's EcoBoost V-6

Ford's all-new 3.5-liter EcoBoost V-6 isn't just a high-performer on the road. The fuel-efficient engine is also tearing up the sales charts faster than expected.

Sales of the 365 horsepower, 420 pounds-feet of torque gasoline twin-turbo direct-injection six-cylinder are 35 percent of all 2011 Ford F-150 half-ton pickup sales in April and currently account for 40 percent of new orders from Ford dealers, according to Ford powertrain spokesman Richard Truett.

What's likely driving the rapid adoption – much quicker than we originally estimated – of EcoBoost's small-displacement GTDI technology? Fuel prices are more than a dollar higher than last year's prices and rapidly approaching $4 a gallon for regular octane fuel, according to AAA's Daily Fuel Gauge Report.

A two-wheel drive EcoBoost F-150 carries an EPA rating of 16/22 mpg city/highway but can also tow up to 11,300 pounds when properly equipped – the same as the Ford F-150's large-displacement 6.2-liter V-8 that's rated 13/18 mpg. That makes EcoBoost very attractive to new truck buyers looking for the right combination of power and frugality.

EcoBoost is also priced aggressively. It's $1,750 more than the F-150's entry-level 302 hp 3.7-liter V-6, $750 more than the midrange 360 hp 5.0-liter V-8 and $1,245 less than the premium 411 hp 6.2-liter V-8.

Consumer Reports: Most car buyers not looking to downsize

2011-04-27T14:33:00.001-07:00

From: Chris Shunk

Sent: Monday, April 18, 2011 8:01 PM

Subject: <i>Consumer Reports</i>: Most car buyers not looking to downsize

Filed under: Car Buying

Back in 2008, gas prices soared past $4 per gallon and car buyers clamored for more efficient forms of transportation. But once fuel became affordable again, we're guessing there were quite a few Honda Civic and Chevy Cobalt owners who longed for their old SUVs. The price of gas is skyrocketing yet again, but it appears that customers aren't inclined to make that mistake again.

Consumer Reports recently polled 911 new car-buying adults to gauge the size of their next vehicle, and 56 percent responded that their next car or truck will be the same size as the one it replaces. The poll shows that a quarter of the respondents did plan to downsize, but another 19 percent were inclined to buy bigger the next time around. And if you're 18-34, you're more likely to up-size your next vehicle, in part because younger buyers will in many cases own a smaller vehicle because they are typically cheaper to purchase. This demographic also falls into the heart of family starting years, so children could be driving the growth.

Among those who wanted to downsize, 92 percent were looking for improved fuel efficiency, while 71 percent wanted less expensive repair costs and 67 percent were concerned about the environment. Improved reliability and a lower purchase price are also factors. Unsurprisingly, 80 percent of those who wanted a larger vehicle were looking for more space, while comfort came in second at 72 percent. Safety, reliability and lower maintenance and repair costs were also factors.

Hit the jump to read over the Consumer Reports press release, and let us know in the poll below whether you plan to up-size, downsize or retain the status quo when you buy your next vehicle.

View Poll

[Source: Consumer Reports]

Consumer Reports: Most car buyers not looking to downsize originally appeared on Autoblog on Mon, 18 Apr 2011 19:01:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments

Fw: Report: Austin police looking to stockpile Crown Vics ahead of model's phase-out

2011-04-27T14:31:00.000-07:00

From: Chris Shunk

Sent: Wednesday, April 20, 2011 8:31 AM

Subject: Report: Austin police looking to stockpile Crown Vics ahead of model's phase-out

Filed under: Car Buying, Sedan, Government/Legal, Ford

The age of the Ford Crown Victoria cop car is almost at an end, but law enforcement in Austin, Texas wants one more crack at the old standby. Actually, the police are asking city council for $4.5 million to buy 176 Police Interceptor squad cars at an average price of $25,568.

Why the mad rush to buy 176 vehicles when all the new cop cars are on the way? Police officials tell the Austin Statesman that the department already has parts like computer mounts and light bars that fit on the Crown Vic, and a new model would call for a fresh batch of parts. Further, automakers haven't yet set official prices for the new models, and new models like the Taurus-based 2012 Police Interceptor and Chevrolet Caprice haven't been extensively tested in the streets. And the department has already determined that the Dodge Charger isn't the answer, saying that the back seat is too cramped for passengers and the trunk too small for computer equipment.

Assistant Police Chief Sean Mannix says that the department typically buys vehicles every year, but this allotment should last five years, adding "this will last us while we are determining what the next model will be." We're sure Ford will be more than happy to fill the order, and we'd also wager that the Austin police department won't be the only municipality to ask for one more big order of Crown Vics. Hat tip to Marcus!

[Source: Austin Statesman]

Report: Austin police looking to stockpile Crown Vics ahead of model's phase-out originally appeared on Autoblog on Wed, 20 Apr 2011 07:31:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

Fw: How We Dyno Tested Ford's 3.5-liter EcoBoost V-6 and 5.0-liter V-8 Engines

2011-04-27T14:26:00.000-07:00

From: Mike Levine

Sent: Monday, April 25, 2011 10:21 PM

Subject: How We Dyno Tested Ford's 3.5-liter EcoBoost V-6 and 5.0-liter V-8 Engines

By Greg Whale and Mike Levine, Photos by Greg Whale

In response to reader comments about observed low-end power output (or rather, the lack of measured output below 2,000 rpm) during our earlier dyno test of Ford's all-new 3.5-liter EcoBoost V-6, we've rerun the test.

This time, we combined engineering resources from Ford and our friends at K&N Engineering. Ford graciously flew in an engineer from Dearborn, Mich., to participate in the testing at K&N's headquarters in Riverside, Calif.

We also made sure we had two 2011 F-150s to compare on the same day on K&N's SuperFlow chassis dyno – an EcoBoost V-6 and a 5.0-liter V-8. Both trucks were 145-inch-wheelbase models with four-wheel drive and 3.73 rear axles. The EcoBoost F-150 ($41,300) was a SuperCab FX4 with a 6.5-foot cargo box and 4,650 miles on its odometer. The 5.0 F-150 ($40,715) was a SuperCrew with a 5.5-foot cargo box and 3,130 miles. All the tires were identical: Wrangler SR-A P275/65R18 114T.

The SuperFlow eddy-current dyno is different from the Dynojet inertia-type dyno we've used in the past. Whereas an inertia dyno measures engine power at a vehicle's rear wheels based on how fast it can spin heavy drums, an eddy-current dyno adds the ability to simulate a load on the trucks by using electro-magnets to add resistance to drum spin, as if they were pulling a trailer.

EcoBoost 3.5-liter V-6 F-150 on the Superflow dyno.

Both trucks were run in two-wheel drive, lashed down securely on the SuperFlow's four spinning rollers.

Conditions were favorable the entire day. It was cloudy with a light drizzle. The temperature in the dyno cell was 68 degrees, barometric pressure was 29 inches and humidity was 45 percent. K&N used industry-standard SAE correction factors to determine the power ratings from both trucks, which account for environmental factors at the time of testing.

To keep both trucks cool, we used seven fans: three in the forward room wall, two squirrel-cage fans aimed at the radiator, one squirrel targeted at the EcoBoost's turbo intercooler in the lower bumper and one directly under the right side exhaust.

EcoBoost on the Dyno

The EcoBoost gasoline twin-turbo direct-injection engine required more than six hours to test properly on the dyno because measuring its low-end power output was difficult.

At first, we encountered an issue accurately reading engine rpm on the dyno, even after the Ford engineer identified a specific wire for the dyno to "listen" to. Eventually, Ford and K&N decided to use vehicle speed to determine power output because the Ford engineer could receive the same data on his laptop that was plugged into the truck's onboard diagnostic system as K&N measured with the dyno.

Both trucks were run in "2" gear on the dyno from a rolling start all the way to redline.

The GTDI truck was run with the F-150's six-speed automatic transmission set in the "2" gear position. Ford's engineer believed that 1st gear in the EcoBoost F-150 was too short to make low-end power, though there was lots of high-end power, 2nd was just fast enough to get the cams moving while 3rd tended to get the emissions catalyst too hot, which started to affect backpressure reducing power. K&N has also run a similar 2nd gear setup testing a 3.5-liter V-6 EcoBoost Ford Taurus with front-wheel drive.

Multiple combinations of throttle tip-in, inertia and time-per-pull and load tests were tried. Too much eddy-current dyno load to help the engine's twin turbos build boost early started to smoke the tires. Tipping into the accelerator too quickly didn't agree with the dyno, tripping a mode where the dyno reduced its load on the truck. Starting from a 9 mph rolling start at 1,400 to 1,600 rpm got around the dyno load reduction issue but didn't allow time for the 3.5's intake manifold air pressure to build to the desired level (48 inches, according to published output data compared with about 37 inches measured on the early rolling starts) until around 2,500 rpm.

Manifold pressure is measured like barometric pressure. It describes how much air will be mixed with fuel in the cylinders. The greater the air pressure, the more fuel and air can be mixed during combustion to provide extra power.

There was also the delicate balancing act of trying to keep the torque converter from slipping at low rpm under heavy load, so full power could be sent from the engine to the rear wheels, and keeping other engine power management variables, like cam and spark timing, in their sweet spots.

The torque converter in an automatic transmission takes the place of a clutch in manual transmission. It smoothly transitions gear shifts and disconnects the driveline from the engine at stops, so the engine doesn't stall. The TC has to be locked to push full power from the engine to the rear wheels.

EcoBoost's advertised power runs are started from a rolling start with engine speeds as close to idle as possible, according to Ford.

Finally, after 10 setup runs circling the optimal dyno technique, we were able to reliably measure power output below 1,000 rpm all the way up to engine redline around 6,000 rpm.

The Superflow dyno data was exported "as is" or we would have plotted both engines on the same graph as we've previously done for easier comparison.

Peak horsepower was measured at 302.7 hp at 5,203 rpm, and peak torque was measured at 360 pounds-feet at 2,900 rpm. A steady-speed load test measured 400-plus pounds-feet of torque at the rear wheels.

After all the dyno finessing, our impression is that EcoBoost may not grunt out its full torque potential at low rpm in lower gears in full auto shift mode. It may do this so it doesn't overwhelm a driveline component if a tire slips and then finds traction again. We might see full torque only at higher speeds, as we did in our original dyno runs on the Dynojet. However, we're not saying that EcoBoost doesn't make its published torque on the road in the real world because we've consistently seen EcoBoost F-150s outperform closely configured 5.0-liter F-150s when we've put both against the clock measuring zero to 60 mph times empty and pulling a heavy trailer (with identical and different rear axles). But in our tests, we've also repeatedly clocked the 5.0 with faster zero to 20 mph starts before EcoBoost really turns on the power from 20 mph to 60 mph. Slower zero to 20 mph times could also be caused by turbo lag, not torque management.

Ford's engineers say EcoBoost's torque is not limited at anytime.

We're also publishing Ford's engine dyno data (measured at the crankshaft instead of the rear wheels so you won't see parasitic losses from the drivetrain) for all of its 2011 engines, provided by the company. These are the same graphs Ford is using in its advertised power and torque figures. They were measured on an engine dyno according to the Society of Automotive Engineers International's J-1349 standard, which many vehicle manufacturers follow to rate engine numbers. SAE J-1349 requires the presence of an independent witness to be certified. It also uses simulated engine calibration and exhaust back pressure data from a chassis dyno to run the test, so the engine is tested as if it were in a vehicle.

2011 Ford F-150 engine dyno data, as reported by Ford following SAE's J-1349 standard.

5.0 on the Dyno

The 5.0 required significantly less time and effort to "hook up" on the dyno.

Three runs were conducted within an hour of completing EcoBoost testing. Peak horsepower was measured at 285.5 hp at 5,913 rpm, and peak torque was measured at 284.9 pounds-feet at 4,290 rpm. That's about 10 to 12 percent less power and torque than we observed on the Dynojet.

Why the drop in power and torque from our original 5.0 dyno session a few weeks ago? It's possibly due to several factors, including wholly different dynos were used, we didn't run the 5.0 on the Dynojet with a load on its rollers and it took six hours to dial-in the GTDI truck for best power. The same setting was copied for the 5.0, which might not be ideal for a naturally aspirated engine.

Throughout the tests, the 5.0 demonstrated a healthy torque curve that looks broader and less peaky than the EcoBoost, though at a lower level of power. It also shows off the engine's ability to steadily wind up power all the way up to redline.

We continue to be big fans of the 5.0 as an excellent all-around engine. We think this is supported by the on-road data we collected during our full drive test and earlier Dynojet session at K&N.

Summary

We look forward to seeing other magazines and enthusiasts test their EcoBoost V-6 and 5.0-liter V-8 F-150s on chassis dynos around the country. We think they may also encounter some of the same challenges we had trying to find the best way to test a rear-wheel-drive twin-turbo gasoline direct-injection engine. We have no doubt that the EcoBoost engine is delivering the power. It's measuring it accurately, especially at lower RPMs, that's tricky.

Regardless of where peak power output was measured on the dyno, both the 5.0-liter V-8 and EcoBoost V-6 are incredible performers on the highway. They are engines the F-150 has long deserved to have. To determine which is best for you, be sure to read our in-depth road tests of both engines. And if you think one engine has an advantage over the other, it's good to know that F-150 buyers have this kind of choice in capable half-ton powertrains.

The 5.0-liter V-8 F-150 on the Superflow dyno.

Special thanks to K&N Engineering and Ford Motor Company for providing the trucks, facility and assisting with this test.

CarMax EasyShop - Is this the FUTURE of car buying?

2011-04-23T08:34:00.001-07:00

CarMax EasyShop - Is this the FUTURE of car buying?

You didn't miss the announcement of CarMax EasyShop did you?
Watch the car max video click here.

CarMax has just dramatically changed car buying with their new CarMax EasyShop. The service has been launched first in Raleigh and Fayetteville NC.

ShopEasy allows you complete more of the car shopping process at the convenience from any computer before arriving at the store and IMO, it's looking slick!

Our good friend Brian has been talking about full transactional online car buying for years here on DealerRefresh and just published an article - Seeing Your Dealership As Consumers See It.

As dealers, most of us quickly nudge our shoulders at this while thinking to ourselves - "this will never work", customers want to touch and feel a purchase of this size. Yes, there's a lot of truth in that. The percentage of consumers that are willing to buy a car sight unseen (other than photos) is very low BUT climbing. And it happens on eBay every day. Though I'll agree eBay is a much different marketplace - but is it really?

I'll be the first to admit, I was a shoulder nudger not too long ago (only a couple years ago). I'm no longer.

More and more people are going to demand this way of shopping and buying their next vehicle. The traditional new car sales "professional" as we know it today WILL DIMINISH!. It's going to happen - guaranteed!

Will it take awhile? Yes, I believe it will BUT also I believe every dealership website should consider allowing the customer the option of BUYING online now. Even if most of the transaction still happens at the dealership, a solid online buying process takes the customer down the road of the purchase. It's not only a differentiator but it's (can be) an engaging pre-closing tool.

How powerful is it to get a customer 30% - 40% - 60% down the road of the sale before even stepping into the dealership? This happens many times over the phone and via email every day but it's usually a complete pain in the ass to deal with. What happens when the customer can do it at their own convenience?

A solid shopping cart on your dealership website can increase engagement, time on site, branding, positive customer experience, finance, and an actual purchase -- the list goes on.

BUT WHAT ABOUT THE TRADE-IN? Let's admit, it's the one step in the process that nix the full online buying process. Though, or the time being I think CarMax has done a great job incorporating and explaining this into the EasyShop process. Plus, due to their already superb branding and marketing, everyone already knows the trade-in process at CarMax is effortless.

Even with the trade-in being an issue - it's only a matter time of before we get this ironed out -- think...KBB/AutoTrader TIM

So what do you think..Is this it the future of car buying?

http://forum.dealerrefresh.com/f43/carmax-easyshop-future-car-buying-1727.html

Thank you,
Thomas Ieracitano

Twitter

want a website or an email like this ? go to http://123BrandMe.com

Your business is under attack and it's time to strike back

2011-04-20T07:32:00.001-07:00

Your business is under attack and it's time to strike back.

Every day is a battle for online leads and brand awareness. Your competitors are using new online tools such as social media and search engines to advance on your customers. Your customers are rating your company and killing your reputation. You might even be your own worst enemy if you're simply not in the online marketing war.

You need your own specialized, covert digital force to give you air cover. A team that will support your ground troops. A team that will scout new social media marketing tactics and then leverage them to give you an edge.

We are that team. You will get an unfair digital advantage so you can maximize social media, dominate the search engines, protect your reputation and capture more sales.

If you would like more information about leveraging social media for mobile devices please contact TheDigitalCarGuy.com .

Thank you,
Thomas Ieracitano

229.251.2462

Twitter

want a website or an email like this ? go to http://123BrandMe.com

Leverage Mobile Devices with Facebook Deals

2011-04-20T07:31:00.001-07:00

Leverage Mobile Devices with Facebook Deals

posted by Glenn Jimerson

March 31, 2011

When was the last time you left the house without your mobile phone? Today's consumer has more access to information than any group in history. In an instant, a person can grab a map to your business, peruse your reviews, and see deals your competitors are offering all from their smart phone. The dealership that successfully leverages mobile technology has an advantage in today's market because many companies are not aware of its potential. In this article we'll discuss how you can use mobile devices to help drive more customers to your showroom.

There are several players in the mobile space such as Facebook Places, Gowalla, Foursquare, and Google Latitude. These services enable people to broadcast to their social network where they are by "checking in" to a location. People are starting to make checking in a part of their daily routine. They check into restaurants, night clubs, and stores they frequent. For this tutorial we are going to focus on Facebook's popular Places service.

The first thing you need to do is claim your Facebook Places location. You can do that by following the instructions on Facebook's help page.

Facebook allows businesses to offer special "Deals" to people who check into their locations. This is indicated on their phone by a little yellow icon. When they select your dealership they will see an offer like this:

Offering Deals is useful for three reasons:

You create an incentive for an in-market customer to engage with your Facebook page. This engagement will allow you to reach them long after they have left the dealership.
Whenever a person redeems a deal, the details are posted to their Facebook "Wall" which in turn appears on their friend's "News Feed". This acts as a peer endorsement of your dealership as well as increases the visibility to potential new customers.
You can easily track the impact of this campaign.

Now that we know some of the benefits, it's time to follow Monte Hall's lead and "Let's make a deal". Once you have control of your Places location, navigate to the Admin area of your Facebook page and select "Deals" on the left-hand side. Click the link "Create a Deal for this Page >>". There are 4 different deals you can offer. The type of deal you select is important depending on your strategy.

Individual Deal

An individual deal works like a traditional coupon. Someone checks into your business and shows their phone to the service adviser or farther down the line at the cashier's desk.

An individual Deal is a great, straight-forward way to incentivize customer engagement with your social media account.

Friend Deal

A friend deal is only triggered when the number of people you specify check into your location. For example, you can create an offer that says check in with 3 friends and receive a $5 gift certificate to Starbucks.

The friend deal would be most beneficial for the new and used sales side of the business. People often bring friends and family when they go car shopping. Offering a Friend Deal leverages the social network of several people by incentivizing all of them to check in. So, the benefits of a Friend Deal are:

With multiple people checking into a location you've expanded the number of people who will see this announcement on Facebook.
The multiple check-ins creates greater social proof/reinforcement of the person's endorsement of your dealership. Think of it like a movie recommendation. If one of your friends says a move is good you'll consider watching it, but you may not take action since you aren't yet convinced it's worth the time. If 5 of your friends tell you a movie is good then you have multiple points of social proof backing up the claim which can tip the scales.

Loyalty Deal

As the name implies, you can offer a special deal for people who visit your location more than once. For example, on the 5th check-in receive 50% off your oil change. A popular tactic is to scale the value of the reward based on the number of check-ins. One thing to keep in mind is to take a look at their buying history to ensure they are indeed a loyal customer and not someone gaming the system.

Charity Deal

A Charity Deal is a powerful tool that can be used to reach a broad audience. For instance, some people wouldn't specifically shop at your location just because of a small monetary gesture like a $5 discount. But they would be willing to consider your establishment if that $5 was going to charity.

Take the recent disaster in Japan as an example. Everyone is touched by the post tsunami disaster they are enduring. This would be an excellent time to offer a deal where you will donate $5 to the Red Cross for every check-in. The customer, who previously did not distinguish between your service center and your competitors, now has an added incentive to choose you. Additionally, you can publically display your commitment to charity.

Tweak your Deal Settings for Maximum Control

Regardless of the type of deal you select, you can dictate the start and end date of the offer. You can also specify how many deals you are willing to honor. For example, can set the maximum number of redemption's to 500. Setting a cap is important if you are offering a steep discount or high dollar promotion. Limiting redemption's will ensure you won't lose your shirt if the viral nature of the campaign grows too fast. Finally, you can keep people from gaming the system by restricting the frequency of redemption. You can allow a customer one Deal redemption every 24 hours. Or, you can restrict it even further to one redemption per person for as long as the offer exists.

The Art of the Mobile Deal

Now that you know how to use each Deal, you can customize it for for your specific needs. If this is your first Deal, go with an Individual Deal. Friend Deals and Loyalty Deals require more leg work to administer. Finally, make sure to time Charity Deals for maximum exposure and the amount of good you can do for the cause.

The mobile phone is a powerful tool in the social media marketing space. Using Facebook Places is just one way to harness the power of mobile devices and social networks to drive real customers to your door. Companies that embrace this technology will have a clear advantage over the competition. The ability to reach a socially connected on-the-move customer base should not be underestimated. A person can reach out to the entire world from any place there is cell phone coverage. Give that person a reason to talk about you. Offering a Deal on Facebook Places is a great way to start.

If you would like more information about leveraging social media for mobile devices please contact TheDigitalCarGuy.com .

Thank you,
Thomas Ieracitano

229.251.2462

http://www.autodealermonthly.com/63/4029/ARTICLE/Five-Rules-of-Service-Customer-Engagement.aspx

Twitter

want a website or an email like this ? go to http://123BrandMe.com

Business Development Centers Can Maximize Service Appointments

2011-04-20T06:33:00.000-07:00

Five Rules of Engagement for Service Customers

We started the New Year with the fewest number of new car dealers in decades. I believe the number is somewhere north of 18,000. This of course means there are now fewer dealers to provide warranty services as well as maintenance and mechanical repair services for customers. The question is will dealers aggressively go after customers or simply stand by waiting for them to show up? The latter option will most definitely provide the aftermarket competition with a significant pay raise. What is your marketing plan?

It's not good enough to just say, "Get more customers in the door." The basic principle for you to consider is what are you going to do with the customers when they do come in the door? The answer lies within the rules of engagement. These are basic rules that have been around for a very long time, yet some of them are either not being followed properly or not being used at all.

With that being said, what are the rules, and more importantly, why are they not being followed?

Rule #1: Offer an appointment to 100 percent of the incoming service calls. This certainly sounds simple enough, right? Why wouldn't you want to offer an appointment to every customer? Research shows that service advisors do not offer an appointment to 57 percent of their customers who are calling about a service concern or need. So, you initiate a marketing plan, the plan works well and the phones start ringing. Your service advisors answer the calls and six out of 10 callers are not given the opportunity to say "yes" to an appointment! Why?

The answer is your advisors have not been properly trained on how to sell appointments. This is why you should phone shop every advisor or start listening to recordings of incoming calls. The best solution is to take the incoming calls away from the service advisors and hire an appointment coordinator (with no bad habits) to take all incoming service calls.

Rule #2: Conduct a vehicle walk-around with the customer. This process is well received by the vast majority of your customers, yet far too many service advisors wait for the customer to come to them for the write-up. Why? Again, they probably have not been properly trained or, forgive me for being blunt, they are lazy!

Your service advisors must go to the vehicle with the customer, walk around the vehicle looking for obvious signs of needed maintenance, note any damages found and make service recommendations to the customer (wiper blades, light bulbs, alignments, tires, etc). It's also called selling. Your service advisors need to get the mileage reading anyway, so why not get the customer involved? Many service advisors consider themselves to be clerks versus salespeople. If you would like to know whether you have clerks or salespeople, just ask your advisors, or of course, you could track their performance every day.

Rule #3: Present a maintenance menu at the time of write-up. Nothing new here! Gosh, I even had menus to present back in the '70s when I was a service advisor. If you present menus in finance to increase your gross per retail unit, then why would you not present menus in your service department to increase your sales per repair order (RO)? Your F&I customers are not aware of all the products and services you may offer, so you present them with a menu.

The same holds true for your service customers, since most of them have no clue whatsoever about preventative maintenance requirements and/or recommendations. Clerks do not like presenting menus since it seems like they are trying to sell something, which of course clerks do not do. Professionally trained service advisors (salespeople) know that it is in the best interests of the customers to ensure their vehicles are properly maintained. In doing so, these salespeople will increase your hours per RO by about 0.3 hours.

Rule #4: Complete a vehicle health check (VHC) with every RO. Most dealers complete an inspection of some kind on every used vehicle before it's retailed. Why? My belief is that they want to make sure the vehicle is safe and reliable for their customers. They also would like to maximize their gross per retailed unit, and they value their reputation in the community. When the inspection is completed, the used car manager usually has the final say on what repairs will be made and approves the final cost.

Sound familiar? If so, then I'm sure you will agree that it's equally important for dealers to establish this rule for all of their service customers. After all, isn't it important to ensure the customers are driving safe and reliable vehicles? Wouldn't every dealer like to maximize their gross per RO and have a reputation in their community for providing excellent service? The process is the same for the service customer as it is for the used car manager. Inspect the vehicle, advise the customer on what's needed and present an estimate to the customer. Then, let the customer have the final say on what repairs or services need to be completed and approve the final cost.

Sounds like a simple plan to me. So, why do so many dealers fail to complete a VHC for their customers at no charge? Answer: the technicians do not want to perform the VHC because the service clerks won't sell (don't know how or don't want to) the recommended repairs or services. Properly present the results of the VHC to every customer, and watch your sales increase by another 0.7 hours per RO.

Rule #5: Conduct an active delivery of the vehicle back to the customer. "Mr. Customer, you're all set. The cashier has your keys and your final bill. Have a nice day." Have you ever heard that in your store? Is it the cashier's responsibility to explain the work that was completed and what the final costs are? I hope you said "No." Another way of explaining active delivery is valet service. Always bring the vehicle to the customer and never send the customer out the door to search for their vehicle.

The service advisor should review the three Cs on the RO (condition, cause and correction) with the customer, explain the costs and set their next appointment. If you are interested in saving some money, you might even consider eliminating the cashier's position and let the advisor perform that function too during the active delivery. Rule #5 will definitely have a positive effect on your CSI and owner retention

It is vitally important that every employee in your dealership understand what a "rule" is. Here is Dictionary.com's definition of rule: "A principle or regulation governing conduct, action, procedure, arrangement, etc." Now that I have identified the five rules of engagement for your service team and customers, don't you think it's about time you held everyone accountable for following the rules?

Vol. 8 Issue 2

re-posted from

Thank you,
Thomas Ieracitano

Twitter

want a website or an email like this ? go to http://123BrandMe.com

Six Ways to Know If Your Teen Is Ready to Drive

2011-04-18T08:59:00.000-07:00

Six Ways to Know If Your Teen Is Ready to Drive

Saturday, April 16th, 2011

Before your teen asks you about getting a driver's license, parents can feel more comfortable addressing the issue if you consider the following six ways to know if your teen is ready to drive.

1. Good judgment is important. - Is your teen generally responsible? Does he or she show good judgment? This is important because of the necessity to make sound decisions during unpredictable situations that occur while driving - either from other drivers, passengers, pedestrians or other sources. If your teen lacks good judgment, experts recommend that you delay your teen getting a driver's license until he or she shows more signs of maturity. If you can delay your teen's driving until 17 or 18 instead of 16, this can make a huge difference.

2. Ability to resist peer pressure. - Can your teen resist peer pressure? Statistics of teens drinking and driving should be enough to frighten you. This is all the more reason why you want to ensure your child is able to resist challenges to drink and drive, to drive fast, take chances, stay out past curfew, and do other things that put your child and others in danger. Check out your teen's friends. Do they have good standards? Are they responsible? Do they behave well around your teen? If so, your teen probably behave in a similar manner. These are positive indicators that your teen may be ready to drive - if all other factors are appropriate.

3. Willingness to obey state driving laws - and your rules. - How receptive does your teen seem to be about obeying state driving laws? What about your rules? If your teen pledges to abide by the driving laws and your rules - and you believe he or she is sincere - that's a good start. Motor vehicle crashes are the leading cause of death in teens. Each year, nearly 6,000 teens are killed and approximately 300,000 are injured in crashes. Become familiar with your state's graduated licensing system, one of the few things that have been proven to save teen lives.

4. Comfortable behind the wheel. - No doubt your teen has sat behind the wheel already, pretending to be driving, or asking if he or she can back the car out of the garage. The question is does your teen seem comfortable behind the wheel?

5. Understand what safe driving means. - Allstate Foundation research found that teens differentiate "good" and "safe" drivers. Teens consider a "good" disconnect in what teens think safe driving really is. Teens consider a "good" driver one who can handle a car at high speeds, while they believe a "safe" driver obeys all the rules. Which does your teen believe? Far too many teens are killed each year because they drive recklessly. Before you permit your child to get a driver's license, you should know if he or she understands what safe driving really means.

6. Ability to handle stress. - Along with good judgment, ability to resist peer pressure, willingness to obey driving laws and your rules, understanding what safe driving means and being comfortable behind the wheel, your teen also needs to be able to handle stress. How well does your teen handle anger or fear? These events elicit quick responses that can tell you whether or not your teen is ready to drive.

After going through these six ways to know if your teen is ready to drive, you should have a better idea if now is the time - or if holding off another year or so may be the wiser choice.

Thank you,
Thomas Ieracitano

229.251.2462