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 | | | February 01, 2008 | | |  Ford Plans to Pump up Incentives
Ford Motor Co. will sharply increase incentive spending this year to counter aggressive pricing by competitors. The exact cost of the new incentives is not clear, but dealers said it would amount to several hundred million dollars.
Detroit Free Press, January 31, 2008
| | | |  Is the Genesis a New Beginning for Hyundai?
Hyundai is trying to shrug off its bargain basement image in the United States as a budget producer and looking to move into the more profitable luxury car segment.
MSNBC, January 31, 2008 | | | |  More Automakers Join Superbowl Ad Blitz
Familiar names like General Motors Corp. and Toyota Motor Corp. plan to advertise during the game and will be joined by Audi and Hyundai, which are spending millions -- $2.7 million for every 30-second spot.
Detroit Free Press, January 31, 2008 | |
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| | | WHAT'S SIGNIFICANT THIS WEEK IN THE NEWS | | | Unsafe Treads on Roads Result of Poor Truck Tire Maintenance
The Tire Retread & Repair Information Bureau (TRIB) responds to motorist inquiries about unsafe tire treads on US roads. They advise that these treads are the result of poor tire maintenance of new and retreaded tires, not faulty retreading. A free information booklet is available at www.retread.org.
| | | | Look Out, China -- Here Come the Japanese Big Three!
China becomes the next playing field for Japanese automakers, after North America where they currently sell more than half of their wares. With US market decline and the yen getting stronger, Toyota, Honda and Nissan may well push harder into the Chinese marketplace. Chinese buyer habits are changing, and Japanese automakers are ready to pounce. | | | | Hybrid Sales Jumped 34% Last Year
U.S. hybrid sales jumped over 34% last year to 338,851 units, says CNW Marketing Research. They're still a niche, but hybrids could start to dominate in five or ten years if the current rate of growth keeps up. In fact, only sales of small "budget cars" grew faster than hybrids in 2007.
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| Women Are Leading in Dealerships | | As the managements of dealerships and OEMs continue to realize just how women buy vehicles and the degree of influence, the more women will be moved into leadership roles at all levels of the automotive market. |
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|  Never Deny the Importance of Follow-up It can be a challenge to make all the follow-up calls you need to make in a week, given all the other business details you have to handle. Even if you can find the time and resources to make the calls, by the time you get to the tenth call, does it really have the same impact or sincerity as the first call? What about message delivery preference? Some customers prefer a phone call follow-up, others prefer an email or text message and still others a letter or postcard.
Advantages of automated follow-up
With an automated follow-up system in place in your dealership, you can be assured that every customer and prospect receives the very best communication, with the tone and the words you choose. Many follow-up systems can deliver your messages in your own voice or in the voice of anyone you choose to designate; and it will automatically send email or text messages, or generate a letter or other mailer, for every occasion in which customers touch your dealership.
Building relationships
In the car business, too often we focus on the sale. We wave goodbye to the newest purchaser and rub our hands eager for the next up. Yet, salespeople who want to build a satisfied customer following, service directors who want to build their shop’s customer-pay volume, and dealers, know that follow-up is a vital part of building and sustaining a successful business.
Not only does follow-up like this complete the relationship cycle for you, it provides valuable customer feedback. Use this feedback to improve your systems and processes even more and watch your CSI truly excel!
Al Babbington is the CEO of OneCommand. He can be reached at 800-464-8500 or visit www.onecommand.com for more information.
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|  Check Out the Latest in Web Solutions Dealerskins provides beautiful, powerful, distinctive automotive Web solutions. Our expertise comes from real-world dealership experience. In fact, our founders designed, built, and used the first Dealerskins Website while working at a top-50 dealership group. They realized that automotive dealers require high-caliber, dynamic websites that meet car buyers’ needs. Today, we’re still focused on helping dealers use their websites to sell more cars.
Stop by booth 5555N for a visit--we love to talk shop!
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Credit Card Charges in the Merchant Account at Your Dealership
All dealers - particularly if they have high usage from customers using a credit card to pay charges in the service department or part of a part of an F&I solution to sell a car – are concerned about the transaction fee on Visa, Mastercard, Amex or Discover. Why are credit card fees so high? Is there a better solution? What are the alternatives? Click on the image to find out some answers to questions and to gain some solutions to reducing, if not eliminating, the high cost of processing credit card transactions in your dealership. | | |  | | 
|  WORKSHOPS ON SUNDAY AT NADA
Three Business Development Workshops at NADA to put on your schedule: Closing, Profitability, & Dealer Marketing Negotiating Techniques for Different Customers and Buying Styles
Speaker: Marc Smith
Track(s): Business Development - Finding and Keeping Your Customers
Sunday, February 10, 2008
ROOM 302 S
11:00 AM -12:15 PM
Who's Driving Profits? What The Emerging Multicultural Consumer Means to Your Business
Speaker(s): Jerry Dillard, Jody DeVere, Karen Payton, Larry Moskowitz, Sil Gonzales, Warren Brown
Track(s): Business Development - Finding and Keeping Your Customers Sunday, February 10, 2008
ROOM 3008 W
11:00 AM -12:15 PM
Low-to-No Cost Marketing: Proven Ways to Increase Profitability
Speaker: Scott Toland
Track(s): Business Development - Finding and Keeping Your Customers Sunday, February 10, 2008
ROOM 300 S
3:30 PM - 4:45 PM |  | | 
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Auto University President Ted Ings Workshop Speaker for Third Year "10 Strategies for Satisfying Consumers in 2008"
President Ted Ings will be a workshop speaker
at the 2008 NADA in San Francisco – February 9th
through 12th, 2008. The focus is on Profitability for dealerships.
The workshop schedule:
• Saturday, February 9th, at 11:00 am
• Monday, February 11th, at 10:30 am
• Tuesday, February 12th, at 11:00 am
All three sessions will be held in Room 123,
North Exhibit Level
Dealers can schedule a meeting with Ted and
team to discuss any training or coaching needs
for your dealership.
Read more at Auto University. Or shawn.ryder@autouniversity.com">email.
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Choosing Your DMS
What You Need to Know
Friday, February 8, 2008
Grand Hyatt San Francisco
Attend this panel discussion and learn whether you're choosing the right DMS partner including how to boost your return on investment from your dealer-management system.
Moderators: Wayne Fortier of Dixon Hughes PLLC and Cliff Banks of Ward's Dealer Business
Who will be on the panel: Representatives from ADAM, ADP, ARKONA, Auto/Mate, Automotive Computer Services, AutoSoft International, Digital Motorworks, Microsoft, PBS and Reynolds & Reynolds.
Fee: $49 (while seats available)
Questions: Call 877.357.2727
Register at registerdsg@dixon-hughes.com">www.dixon-hughes.com
Learn more at www.wardsauto.com | 
Used Vehicles Key to Dealer Success in 2008
Get a step-by-step guide to increasing used vehicle profits at this NADA Convention workshop
Experian Automotive and Bank of America present a workshop entitled, "Five Secrets to Increasing Your Used Vehicle Profits"
The three-member panel includes:
Doug Sellers, Southeast dealer center director for Dealer Financial Services, Bank of America
Melinda Zabritski, Director of Automotive Credit for Experian Automotive
Peter Margaros, Director of Sales for Experian Automotive
The research and strategies presented will provide analysis, expertise, insights and processes to build a successful used vehicle program. Learn how to better understand the market, gain deeper insight into the dynamics of the used vehicle finance market, align lenders to their used vehicle strategy, better evaluate and stock vehicles that are most likely to sell, and create an objective plan that will lead to used-vehicle profits.
The Workshops will be in Room 113 N. Exhibit Level
Sunday, Feb. 10, at 3:30 p.m.
Monday, Feb. 11, at 10:30 a.m.
Tuesday, Feb. 12, at 11 a.m.
More information:
www.nada.org
www.experianautomotive.com
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