OCTOBER/NOVEMBER 2010
Nevada
DEALER NEWS O F F I C I A L P U B L I C AT I O N O F N I A DA N E VA DA
AUCTIONS WAIT AND SEE FOR GREEN CARS ALSO Learn to Hunt in Your Backyard! PLUS Independent Auctions: The Dealer’s Friend
DALLAS, TEXAS Permit No. 2079
PAID
PRSRT Standard U.S. Postage V I S I T
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OCTO-
SECURITY ALERT
URGENT MESSAGE FOR ALL AUCTION MEMBERS Manheim Corporate Security
TO: CC: FROM: STATUS: ISSUE:
Date: Aug. 18, 2010
All GM’s and AGM’s All Front Office Managers and All Security Managers Alan Walker, Director Corporate Security High Importance Interstate Suspect Alert #3
Suspect: PRICE, Shawn D. - Black Male Adult, 5ft 11 ins tall 230 lbs. D.O.B. 09/13/74 (It is believed this suspect is the same person who was using the name, Marcus EDWARDS and a fake IL DL pictured in prior alerts)
Our Interstate Suspects have struck again. The suspect listed above is using a fake Wisconsin Drivers License as identification. He stole 3 vehicles from Nashville Auto Auction TN in the evening of Monday August 16th. The gate releases had been left at security after 3 separate phone calls had been placed to the front office requesting No Sale releases. His description matches the person who is responsible for vehicle thefts from our auctions in Fredericksburg VA, Manheim PA and Atlanta GA. This is preventable; if you have all personnel who receive phone requests for No Sale Releases from an individual they do know, confirm the request with the Dealership/Owner using contact info from our records.
INSIDE
MAGAZINECONTENTS
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Regulations and More Regulations Auctions Wait and See for Green Cars Learn to Hunt in Your Backyard! Independent Auctions: The Dealer’s Friend
CERTIFIED MASTER DEALERJ PROGRAM: Dealers who demonstrate commitment and support the principles and ethical business standards of the CMDB designation complete a fourday seminar that addresses Business Management, Merchandising, Financial Management, Human Resources, and Business Planning. Northwood University provides the instructor and awards 4 Continuing Education units for this course.
NEXT CLASS OCTOBER 28-30, 2010 VISIT NIADA.COM FOR MORE INFOMATION
ADVERTISERSINDEX
EASE OF USE, MORE FEATURES DEFINE NEW NIADA WEBSITE NIADA.com will unveil a brand new website in early October that’s easy to navigate and offers many new technologically-advanced features for dealer members. Among them: 1. The entire NIADA membership roster is now included on the home page via
a state map, and dealer members can opt-in to add more contact info to their online membership listing. 2. All state magazines published by NIADA can now be viewed inclusive of advertisements. The magazines also will be archived on the site. Plus, those same state associations will have direct links from their websites to our site promoting readership of their particular state magazine. 3. NIADA National Corporate Partners (NCP) will now have the ability to add a company or product-specific video next to their NCP description. Phase 2 of the new website, set for completion in November, will include a new virtual expo section within the Convention & Expo area of NIADA.com whereby companies can pick and choose their booth locations and complete all forms, paperwork and payment online. Dealer attendees also will be able to register online for our annual convention in this section of our site. Also set for phase 2 is the creation of a new social networking area for dealer members to voice their questions, issues, concerns and more to other dealer members via blogs and other popular tools. The goal of our site’s social networking area is to be directly linked to the existing dealer social network at www.auttr.com.
ADESA ........................................................................7 AutoTrader.com .......................................... Back Cover Cars.com ............................................Inside Front Cover Lobel Financial Corporation..........................................9 Manheim Advantage ..........................................10, 11 NIADA.TV ..................................................................12 SmartAuction................................................................5 Western Funding ..........................................................8 Western General / Protective..............Inside Back Cover NATIONAL INDEPENDENT AUTOMOBILE DEALERS ASSOCIATION WWW.NIADA.COM • WWW.NIADA.TV NIADA HEADQUARTERS: 2521 BROWN BLVD. • ARLINGTON, TX 76006-5203 PHONE (817) 640-3838 FOR ADVERTISING INFORMATION CONTACT: TROY GRAFF (800) 682-3837 OR TROY@NIADA.COM. THE NEVADA DEALER NEWS IS PUBLISHED BI-MONTHLY BY THE NATIONAL INDEPENDENT AUTOMOBILE DEALERS ASSOCIATION SERVICES CORPORATION, 2521 BROWN BLVD., ARLINGTON, TX 76006-5203; PHONE 817-6403838. PERIODICALS POSTAGE PAID AT DALLAS, TX AND AT ADDITIONAL OFFICES. POSTMASTER: SEND ADDRESS CHANGES TO NIADA STATE PUBLICATIONS, 2521 BROWN BLVD., ARLINGTON, TX 76006-5203. THE STATEMENTS AND OPINIONS EXPRESSED HEREIN ARE THOSE OF THE INDIVIDUAL AUTHORS AND DO NOT NECESSARILY REPRESENT THE VIEWS OF NEVADA DEALER NEWS OR THE NATIONAL INDEPENDENT AUTOMOBILE DEALERS ASSOCIATION. LIKEWISE, THE APPEARANCE OF ADVERTISERS, OR THEIR IDENTIFICATION AS MEMBERS OF NIADA, DOES NOT CONSTITUTE AN ENDORSEMENT OF THE PRODUCTS OR SERVICES FEATURED. COPYRIGHT © 2010 BY NIADA SERVICES, INC. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
STATE MAGAZINE MANAGER/SALES: Troy Graff • troy@niada.com EDITOR: Mike Harbor • mharbour@niada.com SERVICES ART AND PRODUCTION MANAGER OF STATE ACCOUNTS: Christy Haynes • christy@niada.com PRINTING: Nieman Printing
DON’T FORGET TO VISIT OUR WEBSITE FOR IMPORTANT INFO:
WWW.NIADA.COM
FOR INFORMATION ON HOW TO BECOME A MEMBER PLEASE CONTACT CINDY SIRKEL. cindy@niada.com • 800-756-4232
GO TO WWW.NIADA.COM AND BROWSE THE NEW WEBSITE TODAY!
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DEALER NEWS
Regulations
AND MORE REGULATIONS When Congress passes a bill and the president signs it into law, that is just part of the story, and the devil is almost always in the details. The de-
tails come in the rules and regulations that federal agencies are required to develop to implement the laws. In other words, the federal agencies take the legislation, interpret it and write rules designed to blend the requirements of the new law into existing rules and to advise the affected entities of the actions they are to take to comply with the new law. In some instances, they have a good deal of latitude in interpreting a law, so required implementation action may not always agree with an entity’s early understandings of the law and what is to be expected of them. Be that as it may, the rules are written and the affected entities attempt to comply. There is always a time lapse between when a law is written and when the rules become effective. Attempts are generally made to develop the rules and make them available for public input in a timely fashion. Given a time frame for pubic input and consideration of the comments received and possible rules revisions based upon those comments, it sometimes takes months or even years after a bill becomes law before compliance is required. Generally, the more complicated the law, the longer the time before compliance is required. For instance, compliance with the rules written for the “Financial Services Regulatory Relief Act of 2006” has been set as Jan. 1, 2011. That’s when several new forms, including the privacy notice (from the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act) and the risk-based pricing disclosure notices (from the Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions Act) are set to become mandatory. Model forms have been developed and adopted by the agencies the use of which is not mandatory, but when used in their businesses, provide a “safe harbor” for dealerships. These new forms are in a tabular format (rather than paragraphs of text) divided into questions on the left-hand side of the page followed by answers on the righthand side, and use supposedly consumerfriendly terminology. These changes reflect a conscious decision on the part of the financial services regulatory agencies to adopt a disclosure style intended to simplify consumer disclosures. Unfortunately for dealerships, this sim-
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plification means the disclosures are being made for the benefit of the consumer receiving them, not the dealership that has to use and explain them to customers. Dealerships will face significant operational challenges in implementing the new forms. These challenges include adapting to the new style of disclosures, customizing them to their needs, timing the switchover to the new forms, and maintaining their regulatory safe harbor. The use of this new form style will also involve the risk-based pricing disclosure that comes from the Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions (FACT) Act and is also effective Jan. 1, 2011. This disclosure must be given when lenders use consumer reports in connection with extensions of credit where the interest rate is materially less favorable. Automotive Dealer Resource (ADR) staff is working to develop the model privacy form for use by dealerships that will preserve the safe harbor format. We will keep you posted on our progress. CONSUMER FINANCE PROTECTION BUREAU
Now comes the recently enacted 2,000plus-page law to further regulate financial institutions and, although most dealerships are excluded from regulation by the new Consumer Finance Protection Bureau (Buy Here-Pay Here dealers are not excluded), the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) which writes rules for all dealers has been given extended powers under this law. Bearing in mind the president specifically identified dealerships as significant contributors to consumer misery in the financing of motor vehicles, it will be interesting to see what comes out of the FTC offices. Financial transactions falling under the agency's jurisdiction would include mortgages, credit cards, student loans, auto loans, payday loans and more. The devil will be in the details on this law, too, as the various agencies attempt to write the thousands of pages of rules required before the law can be implemented. Although Congress established specific time frames for implementation, and authorized an additional 800 employees to get the job done, it’s difficult to believe rules and regulations will be developed to require compliance in less than three years; it’s likely to take much longer. We shall see.
THESE CHANGES REFLECT A CONSCIOUS DECISION ON
THE PART OF THE FINANCIAL SERVICES REGULATORY AGENCIES TO ADOPT A DISCLOSURE STYLE INTENDED TO SIMPLIFY CONSUMER DISCLOSURES.
GREENCARS
B Y
J I M
S T I C K F O R D
Auctions Wait and See When it Comes To Green Cars While the idea of “green” vehicles is becoming more accepted by both dealers and the public, this newfound popularity hasn’t yet translated into major initiatives by the larger auctions.
David Munnikhuysen, vice president of strategic initiatives for Manheim, said demand for green cars is a combination of dealer need and media attention. “If hybrids are selling well on the newcar retail side because of gas prices, then demand for late model hybrids is up on
THESE TECHNOLOGIES ARE AT THE MERCY OF OUTSIDE FORCES. THEthe whole-
l e IMPORTANT THINGs aside, FOR THE AUCTIONS
IS TO BE READY AS THESE NEW TECHNOLOGY CARS HIT THE WHOLESALE SIDE OF THE MARKET.
Munnikhuysen said. “If the cost of gas is stable and settles at a range where the public is more comfortable, then the demand for high-mileage green cars isn’t there.” When it comes to green cars, the auctions are very dependent on the trends that affect the price of gasoline, Munnikhuysen said. When the price of gas goes up quickly, they see an immediate demand for high-mileage cars. When the price of gas drops, they see a corresponding drop in demand. This applies to all sort of green cars, Munnikhuysen said, not just hybrids. He noted what Volkswagen has done with its diesel Golfs and Jettas. Demand for these vehicles follows the same fuel cost trends as hybrids. He also said these types of diesel engines are known for the longevity of their engines, so they don’t depreciate as quickly as standard gasoline engine vehicles. “The perception of diesel engines is that they last longer,” Munnikhuysen said. “Seeing a truck with a diesel engine with 1,000,000 miles on the odometer is not that unusual.” Munnikhuysen said if the auction does get a hybrid, for example, the vehicle is prepped for sale the same way as a standard car as long as it is in good running order. If there is a mechanical problem, it will require some special attention. When dealing with battery packs, for example, the technicians must take precautions not to hurt themselves. This requires special training from the OEM. That’s one advantage of sending such a vehicle to Manheim, Munnikhuysen said, adding even when Manheim has not been asked to fix a particular hybrid, sellers have asked the company to use its resources to diagnose problems. There are a variety of hybrids out there, Munnikhuysen said, including the Ford Escape and the Honda Insight. For now, Toyota has won the branding wars, but that could easily change as GM Volt soon debuts and Nissan introduces its electric vehicle, the Leaf.
Manheim has seen some fleet vehicles come through its lanes, Munnikhuysen said. Utility companies will send their fleet cars to auction when they come to the end of their product life. There are many varieties of green fleet vehicles, ranging from compressed natural gas to propane. When those vehicles arrive at Manheim, the company announces them for sale. They don’t do much more than that, Munnikhuysen said, calling such vehicles niche items. “There are a limited number of dealers who sell these types of vehicles so it doesn’t make sense for us to make a big deal about having them for sale,” Munnikhuysen. “I know it’s not unusual to have green panel vans that were in fleets to be bought by a dealer who sell them to tradesmen such as painters or carpenters. These buyers will then put back a standard gas engine into the vehicle. I also suspect many dealers who buy these types of vehicles convert them to regular trucks. They can get more money for them and it becomes worth the price of the conversion.” The future will bring new challenges to the auctions, Munnikhuysen said. Cars such as the Volt and the Leaf are new technology. He expects to see them hitting the wholesale market within the next 12 or so months. As this happens it will become more routine for auctions to promote, prep and sell them, but for now this is something to worry about in the future. “We’re prepared to meet the remarketing needs of any vehicle that comes to our lanes,” Munnikhuysen said. “It’s the market that will decide what technology is the ultimate winner in the green race. We’re not picking favorites. The green trend will get bigger. Gas prices will go up and the market will respond to that. And we will be ready when that happens.” Over the past couple of years, Manheim has held special green car auctions at Manheim Seattle and Manheim New England. Greg Comstock, dealer sales manager at Manheim Seattle, said dealer participation has been good the couple of times they held such a sale. “On the purchasing side, sales were average,” Comstock said. “We saw good participation on the consignors’ side. The green market has its place at auctions when gas prices approach $5 a gallon. C O N T I N U E D O N PA G E 8
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C O N T I N U E D F R O M PA G E 6
When that happened, sales of the Prius, the hybrid Ford Escape and such went through the roof, but demand went down when gas prices went down.” But dealers shouldn’t just think of hybrids when thinking high mileage, Comstock said. Flex fuel cars are very popular at his lanes. When a car can add 10 mpg by being flex fuel-capable, even a Cadillac Escalade starts looking more green, and that becomes another way to market such a vehicle. Tom Webb, Manheim’s chief economist, said hybrids have gained acceptance. When sold new, there are generous tax credits. These credits don’t follow to the used side of things. While there is concern about battery life, but so far that has not been a major problem with consumers. Webb added fleet vehicles are usually driven until the fall apart, so most don’t make it to the lanes. “The public is driving this,” Webb said. “There is a consumer acceptance of hybrids with gasoline engines. As these types of vehicles become more efficient, consumer demand becomes a question of cost. How many people are willing to pay $40,000 for a new hybrid? We need some sort of critical mass of consumer demand for this technology to really take off on the used side.” ADESA Executive Vice President, Customer Strategies and An-
GREENCARS alytics, Tom Kontos, said the auctions are not seeing many of the hybrids entering the used market. “What I’m seeing is that these cars are highly coveted by the dealers who are taking them in trade,” Kontos said. “Instead of sending them to the auctions, these dealers are keeping these hybrids for themselves so they can sell them themselves.” Kontos said many hybrids at the end of their lease contracts are being bought by those who have leased them. The end result is auctions aren’t seeing a lot of the hybrids entering the used-car market. “When we do get a hybrid to sell, we highlight it at the sale, but that’s it for now,” Kontos said. “I do know that OEMs with hybrids have given the auctions special procedures for their hybrids when the cars are looked over and prepped for auction.” As to the green technology, Kontos said it’s less of an issue for dealers, as opposed to the OEMs. Dealers and the auctions will take the different technologies – compressed natural gas, hydrogen fuel cells, propane, electric, gas-electric hybrid – in stride. These cars will find their niche as they enter the used market. OEMs, conversely, must plan what consumers will be buying five years from now even though they don’t know the cost of fuel. That’s very difficult, Kontos said, because demand for such vehicles is very much driven by fuel costs. That is a very difficult environment in which to plan. Other factors affecting OEMs is infrastructure. There are gas stations on every corner, making gasoline hybrids the easiest cars for the public to use. Most areas don’t have natural gas fueling stations. The electric grid isn’t really set up for 50 million cars to be charged every night, so for now it appears the hybrid is the most easily adopted green tech for the public. But that could change, Kontos said. These technologies are at the mercy of outside forces. The important thing for the auctions is to be ready as these new technology cars hit the wholesale side of the market. For now, much of the demand is niche. Kontos added performance also will drive demand. Americans won’t be willing to purchase green cars if it means a marked drop in performance. If there was an SUV the size of a Hummer that got 50 mpg and performed 90 percent as well as a regular Hummer, that vehicle would be in most driveways. Yet that same vehicle, if it performed 50 percent as well a regular Hummer, would have a very difficult time finding traction with the public.
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SCAMMERS TAKING VEHICLE DEPOSITS WITH FRAUDULENT DEALER WEBSITES The Better Business Bureau (BBB) is warning car shoppers to beware of websites offering too-good-to-be-true deals on repossessed cars. BBB has
heard from people across the country who thought they were buying from a reputable dealer online but were actually sending money to scammers posing as legitimate, already-established community dealerships. “Because scammers essentially steal the identity and good name of real auto dealers, car shoppers will think that they’re buying a car from a reputable business,” said Stephen A. Cox, president and CEO of the Council of Better Business Bureaus. “The truth is, they’re being sold a bill of goods by a coordinated, agile and in all likelihood overseas outfit of scammers.” Most recently, one Memphis auto dealer, America Auto Sales (www.memphisautoworld.com), received more than 1,000 calls from consumers across the country who had shopped for a new car on www.americautosales.com thinking that it was the website of the Memphis dealership. The phony website used the name, address and contact information of the real dealer. The fraudulent site claimed to sell repossessed cars at prices well below market. Buyers were instructed to wire a deposit — as much as $5,000 — to an individual rather than the company, which, according to the phony website, “helps us avoid taxes legally.” The balance was to be paid upon delivery at the consumer’s address within five days. After paying the deposit, victims called the real dealership to arrange delivery of their car. Some customers even showed up at the lot to pick up the cars they had “bought” on the bogus site. Similar websites have posed as many different dealers in Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Michigan, New Mexico and Texas. The websites are often taken down after a few days only to crop up shortly thereafter under a different URL address and under the auspices of another legitimate dealer.
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DEALER NEWS
Learn To Hunt In Your Backyard! We are dealing with an impatient consumer these days. Consumers want
results, and they want them quick. If you don’t believe me, then look at the back of a box of Pop Tarts next time you’re at the grocery store and you will see cooking directions: “Place in microwave for 3 seconds.” It sounds ridiculous, but yet it is true. As Americans, we can get delivered to our homes groceries, office supplies, pets, furniture, and even cars via the Inter-
net without leaving the house! Time is money and money is time, so it only makes sense to shave off as much as possible to save a little of both. Consumers today want to eliminate the time they spend looking for an item to purchase, and when there is little time to spend, consumers are going to the one place where it all starts to get the best referral: the search engine. When most people hear the term search engine, the ones that traditionally come to
mind are what I like to call the Fabulous 5 (Google, Bing, Yahoo, Ask.com, Lycos). These search engines, among many others, provide the consumer with the best results within the local demographic area. Search engines provide only two ways for businesses to be found: Paid Listings (Search Engine Marketing/Sponsored Results):
Paid listings mean you pay as you get the traffic. You can set up an advertising campaign with the search engine and you pay each time a consumer sees your paid listing and clicks on the link to your site. This method deducts money from your advertising campaign and once you reach a zero balance, you’re pulled out of the listings. Organic Listings (Search Engine Optimization/Free Listings):
Organic listings mean the search engines will display your company information to the consumer without having to pay for it because you belong there, not because you are paying for it. The search engines traditionally showcase 10 results per page, so improving your search engine optimization, or SEO, will allow your website to climb the ladder of results until you are on the first page of the listed results. Recent studies show 87 percent of all traffic driven to websites from search engines comes via organic or free listings and not paid or sponsored listings. With more than three-fourths of the market share, it only makes sense to adapt this tactic. How SEO can drive the local buyer to your dealership:
SEO is the art of clearly and effectively communicating what you have to your potential customer within your target area. Make sure you review your website to see if you are communicating what you have to your target market. A great way to check your website is to follow these steps: Visit your website, and hold down “Ctrl + F” on your keyboard. You will see a popup to let you search for words within the site. Once you type the word you’re looking for, you can select “Show All” and the word, if found, will be highlighted on the screen. Simply count the number of times the word was found and move onto the next word. For an independent website, you should search for the following combination of terms. With the terms listed below, this will give you up to 1,000 combinations of any of the following terms if used properly within the text of your website. Use the following space below to find out how many times each word appears on your dealership’s website:
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Federal Advocates Lobbying Report By Michael D. Jackson, CEO, Auto Search Technologies, Inc. (949) 608-0809 (Direct Line) mjackson@autosearchtech.com
Used Pre-Owned Previously Owned Affordable Cheap Low Cost Bad Credit Buy Here Pay Here Classic Luxury Import
(How Many _____ ) (How Many _____ ) (How Many _____ ) (How Many _____ ) (How Many _____ ) (How Many _____ ) (How Many _____ ) (How Many _____ ) (How Many _____ ) (How Many _____ )
Cars Trucks Vans SUVs Autos Vehicles Automobiles Imports Pickups 4x4s
(How Many _____ ) (How Many _____ ) (How Many _____ ) (How Many _____ ) (How Many _____ ) (How Many _____ ) (How Many _____ ) (How Many _____ ) (How Many _____ ) (How Many _____ )
City Name State Name State Initials County Name Surrounding County Surrounding City Additional Surrounding City City Name + State Initials County Name + State Initials Zip Code
(How Many _____ ) (How Many _____ ) (How Many _____ ) (How Many _____ ) (How Many _____ ) (How Many _____ ) (How Many _____ ) (How Many _____ ) (How Many _____ ) (How Many _____ )
SENATE MOTOR VEHICLE SAFETY ACT OF 2010
On June 9, 2010, the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation marked up and order reported S.3302, the so-called “Toyota Bill.” In earlier drafts of the Bill and just prior to markup, language was included (section 310) which would have specified that a dealer may not sell or lease a used passenger motor vehicle (both wholesale and retail sales) until the dealer first notifies the purchaser or lessee in writing of any recall notices. Working primarily with/through Senator Thune, his staff (Brenden Plack), and Committee staff (Alex Hoehn-Saric and Chris Herndon), and as a result of concern raised by General Counsel Keith Whann and his proposed suggestion, language was included in the final reported version of the bill exempting wholesale transactions from the section’s application. While an initial “victory,” the remaining provision is still very troublesome and we continue to advocate on behalf of NIADA’s interest pending further action on the Senate Bill and/or on a House companion bill. This issue is also a topic of discussion per the proposed August 5 D.C. meetings.
Federal Advocates is NIADA’s governmental advocacy partner. To read past lobbying reports, visit www.niada.com/ Information/legislative.html.
Search engines love words. It’s the food they thrive on, and you should have the above listed terms found within all of the pages of your website at least five times each. How does a customer know what types of cars are on your lot if you aren’t telling the search engines you have them? How will the search engines know how to showcase a car you received on your lot on Thursday if the last time they looked at your site was six days ago? How will the search engines know what local cities you want to be found under unless you tell them where you’re located and what surrounding cities you cater to? Make sure your vehicle listing pages are communicating what you have so the search engines know where to place you when people are looking for your services. Ultimately, if you can control what your consumer sees, you can control where they end up spending their money!
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DEALER NEWS
CLICK ON NEW PROGRAMS!
ATTENTION DEALERS
THESE DAYS YOU NEED MORE THAN JUST A "WWW" ONLINE PRESENCE. Get the latest scoop on the industry by watching our bi-weekly “Automotive Industry News” on NIADA.TV, updated the second and fourth Monday of each month. Also view for free over 400 hours of quality dealer education, including many sessions from the recent NIADA Convention. Just log onto www.niada.tv and click on the New Programs section.
SEE BELOW FOR SOME OF T H E L AT E ST P RO G R A M M I N G .
IS YOUR INVENTORY A "CRAP SHOOT?" A perfect inventory is not about luck. It's about knowing how to use YOUR numbers to stock your lot.
CAR CHARGING GROUP, INC. PARTNERS WITH ICON PARKING IN MANHATTAN TO OFFER ELECTRIC VEHICLE (EV) CHARGING STATIONS Car Charging Group, Inc. (OTCBB:CCGI) recently announced it has entered into a pilot agreement with Icon Parking Systems, the premier provider of parking services in Manhattan, to provide electric vehicle (EV) charging stations at select trial locations helping to smooth the transition to EV by creating a useful charging network for Icon's customers.
NEW YORK "This partnership lays the groundwork in Manhattan to CITY AREA support the national roll-out of PARKING electric automobiles on the COMPANY way to dealer showrooms in TO PROVIDE late 2010 from manufacturers ELECTRIC such as Tesla Motors, the ReVEHICLE nault and Nissan alliance, CHARGING General Motors, Ford and others," said Car Charging Group SERVICES CEO Michael D. Farkas. Car Charging Group plans to install Level II (240 volts) ChargePoint® Networked Charging Stations for EVs which are manufactured by Coulomb Technologies (www.coulombtech.com), the industry leader in electric vehicle charging infrastructure. Through the aid of government tax incentives, subsidies, loan guarantees and grants, Car Charging provides EV charging stations at no charge to property owners and managers while retaining ownership, thus allowing drivers access to convenient locations and partners to realize a percentage of the charging revenue generated. "By partnering with Car Charging Group, we are poised to meet the increased demand from electric car owners while simultaneously working towards transportation solutions that are more sensitive to the environment," said Paul Regan, vice president of Operations, Icon Parking Systems. Icon Parking Systems operates more than 200 parking facilities in Manhattan. Many of Icon's locations are in the city’s busiest and most vibrant commercial neighborhoods, others can be found near famous New York City landmarks, and many are in residential areas throughout the city. Vehicle owners can shop for monthly, hourly and daily parking, find great discount coupon offers and compare facilities by visiting Icon Parking at www.iconparking.com. Last month, New York joined other cities including San Francisco, Austin and Detroit, as part of a nationwide push to add infrastructure for plug-in cars by installing its first public electric-vehicle charging station. According to New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg, the city now has 6,000 alternative fuel vehicles in its fleet of 26,000 vehicles. "Driving a vehicle with no engine and no exhaust is an attractive option to Americans so we anticipate that the upcoming introduction of mainstream electric vehicles by major manufacturers will usher in the mass adoption of electric vehicles," said Brian Golomb, director of sales and marketing, Car Charging Group. "Access to charging stations outside of the home, at convenient locations like parking facilities, will make people more comfortable about investing in EVs and eliminate range anxiety fears."
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SEMA D E A L E R Vehicle dealers attending the 2010 SEMA Show Dealer Day Conference on Wednesday, Nov. 3, from 8:30 a.m. to 1:45 p.m., at the Las Vegas Convention Center, will learn what others in the industry are doing and what works best given their business model.
This year’s Dealer Day will focus on accessory integration, sales and profit and will also provide participants with a how-to manual outlining best practices and guidelines for dealer accessory programs. A key component to this year’s Dealer Day will be an operations panel consisting of a dealer principal or general manager, a service manager, a parts manager, a new- and used-car sales manager, an office manager and a finance manager. Questions will be asked from the perspective of an experienced accessory manager. This diverse panel will provide insight into the inner workings and challenges confronting every dealer. There are generally four basic approaches to operating an accessory program within a dealer:
D AY
• Third Party: An outside company facilitates the entire operation and is responsible for inventory, installation, spiffs and management. The dealer benefits from this method through a rebate program and has minimum risk. • Dedicated In-House: The dealer assumes all responsibility and controls the entire scope of operations. There is a dedicated accessory manager who facilitates all sales and service. All expenses (installations, inventory, labor, payroll and insurance) are borne by the dealer. Also, the tire department usually falls under the umbrella of the accessory department. These programs generally offer a higher return on investment but also carry increased liability and the potential for obsolete and bloated inventory levels. • Parts: The parts department acts a liaison between the front and back end and is responsible for ordering accessories. Installation methods vary. • Get-Ready Manager: The get-ready manager coordinates accessory sales between sales, service and parts. He or she basically schedules installations. The
scope of responsibility may vary, but this person is generally controlled through the sales department and ensures that any we-owe or due-bill work owed to the new- or used-car customer is completed. The dealer approach is often determined by the following factors: • SIZE AND VOLUME OF DEALER • CAR LINES OFFERED • SHOP CAPACITY
Regardless of the chosen approach, success dictates the dealer have a clear vision of the products and services they want to offer, create functional policies around that vision and then firmly commit to said approach. Advanced registration**: $99 by Oct. 17 Onsite registration**: $149 after Oct. 17 ** Includes lunch. Price does NOT include required SEMA Show registration of $25 by Oct. 17, or $75 after Oct. 17. Sincerely, Zane Clark SEMA Council Director
NEVADA
MEMBERSHIP HIGHLIGHTS & BENEFITS
DEALER NEWS
For information on how to become a member please email cindy@niada.com or call 800-682-3837.
ANNUAL DUES: $120.00 MAKE CHECKS PAYABLE TO: NIADA SERVICES • 2521 BROWN BLVD. • ARLINGTON, TX 76006
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DEALER NEWS
By John Poteet, Louisiana’s 1st Choice Auto Auction INDEPENDENT AUCTIONS:
THE DEALER’S FRIEND More than half of the 316 auto auctions in the National Auto Auction Association (NAAA) are independently owned and operated. Those 176
independents make up the largest group of auctions in the NAAA and include some of the most innovative, creative entities in the industry. When it comes to customer service and dealer responsiveness, this group is second to none. Independent auctions are very similar to independent dealers because they are
and managers play pivotal roles in arbitration standards, industry legislation, electronic condition reports, and NAAA standards for certification. The impact of independents is so significant 10 of the last 15 and four of the last five NAAA presidents have come from independent auctions. Louisiana’s 1st Choice Auto Auction sums up the independents devotion to service with one Cajun French word, “lagniappe.” Pronounced LAN-yap, it
has been fueled by independent auctions adding new technological capabilities to their operations. The Pipeline platform dovetails nicely with the growth of technological competence in independent auctions. Of course, as dealers become more technologically sophisticated, auctions must respond to their needs. For example, Louisiana’s 1st Choice Auto Auction offers free Wi-Fi for dealers enabling them to use their wireless devices to get the lat-
AN IMPORTANT COMPONENT OF
LOUISIANA’S 1ST CHOICE AUTO AUCTION’S SUCCESS IS THE COMMITMENT TO THE LATEST AND BEST TECHNOLOGY FOR THEIR DEALERS.
often family-owned businesses and may have only one location. Yet, no matter how large or small, they understand – just as independent dealers do – the importance of customer service. When dealers visit an independent auction, they are often dealing with the owner of the business; that can make a difference in how quickly issues are resolved because they know how important it is for an independent to get things done effectively and efficiently. Many dealers believe independent auctions may not have the technology or the products of a chain auction, but that’s far from the truth. The services offered by independent auctions rival the latest in auction offerings by the large chains. Independents offer the basic services a dealer would expect from an NAAA auction, and most offer other services such as reconditioning, mechanical work, and transportation. In addition, many offer live simulcast sales, Internet sales through OVE, SmartAuction, or OpenLane, postsale inspections, and array of floor planning services including MAFS, AFC, and DSC among others. The influence of independent auctions is felt throughout the industry. Owners
means that little something extra you get when doing business with a merchant. The auction adopted this philosophy when it opened for business in 2002 to convey to dealers they were more than customers, they are special. Managing Partner John Poteet also believes outstanding service begins with outstanding people, and the tradition of lagniappe is perpetuated by the employees’ drive to go above and beyond the customers’ expectations. An important component of Louisiana’s 1st Choice Auto Auction’s success is the commitment to the latest and best technology for their dealers. Many independent auto auctions in the NAAA are on the cutting edge of auction technology which enhances the customer experience, even when the dealer can’t see the technology in action. This goes from the latest in auction software to implementing platforms such as Auction Pipeline, AWG simulcast, Auction Access, and social networking sites such as Facebook and Twitter. As technology advances, independents are searching for better and faster ways to please their customers and make their employees more efficient. Scott Finkle, president of Auction Pipeline, said his company’s growth
est information regarding in-sale vehicle information. Another important tool for buyers is the ability to buy online with a simulcast auction. However, sellers can also utilize simulcast to sell vehicles. This is a great feature allowing remote repping for dealers and institutional sellers that cannot attend the auction. According to Poteet, dealers can still buy and sell in the lanes as always, but at Louisiana’s 1st Choice, they also have the options of using simulcast, or buying and selling 24/7 with OVE, OpenLane, SmartAuction, and Auction Pipeline. This choice of buying and selling platforms is unique to independent auctions and gives dealers a greater opportunity to conduct business than any other venue. There are indications the new car market will stay at current levels for the next few years. For that reason, Poteet believes used car inventory will continue shrinking for the foreseeable future, so independent dealers must find more outlets to obtain vehicles for retail sale. It is comforting for dealers to know independent auctions are ready to serve with all of the technology and latest innovations available to make the vehicle buying experience easy and reliable.
14 DEALER NEWS
OCTOBER/NOVEMBER 2010
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