#dealerships
Survey Shows Auto Dealers Still Annoyed With Biden EV Strategy
A recent survey, conducted by Automotive News, has indicated that automotive dealerships are still broadly dissatisfied with the Biden administration’s strategy to force the United States to pivot toward all-electric vehicles. According to the 2024 Dealer Outlook Survey, 83 percent of respondents said the government was pushing the transition toward EVs too quickly and mucking up the auto market.
Pencil-Necked Finance Dweebs Suggest Anyone Making Six-Figures Should Only Buy a $15,000 Car
Look, we’re all for a pinch or two of financial prudence around here. Springing for luxury items just isn’t in the cards for most of us, despite the lavish recompense* deigned upon us by our corporate overlords in Downtown Canada. (*note: the recompense isn’t actually lavish at all).
But even we feel comfortable calling out moronic fiscal advice when we see it. Case in point – a post on a website called Investopedia suggests that anyone making $100,000 per year should spend no more than roughly $15,000 on a car.
Buick Dealerships Taking Buyouts, EV Sales Program Rejected By 47 Percent
Buick reportedly spent 2023 closing a lot of dealerships. The brand lost 47 percent of its American retail locations through the year, which has been attributed to General Motors buying out storefronts that refused to invest in the necessary changes required to sell all-electric vehicles.
Ford Revises Dealer EV Requirements
In what could be a tacit admission the transition to electric vehicles is going approximately as smoothly as a Michigan secondary road, it is being reported that suits at the Blue Oval are rolling back some of the requirements demanded of dealers in order to shill EVs to customers.
Toyota Financial Ordered to Pay $60M Penalty
In yet another chapter of dealers (and their financial arms) behaving badly, Toyota Motor Credit has been levied $12 million civil fine and also order to fork over $48 million in restitution after a court found the organization played fast and loose with some rules.
Report: Dealers Worried About Getting EV Refunds From the Government
Nobody likes bureaucratic red tape or waiting on payment and this seems to have become a sticking point for retailers nervously waiting to see how the United States’ updated EV tax credit scheme plays out.
According to a report from Automotive News, dealers are getting worked up about the prospect of not receiving money swiftly enough — mimicking some of the hardships endured during the Cash-for-Clunkers period.
San Antonio Hyundai Dealer Removes Landmark
Over the weekend, your author happened upon a rural Ford dealership seemingly frozen in time, still using signage from past decades and proudly eschewing whatever cold corporate design is currently being foisted upon dealer principals by The Suits in Dearborn. It was neat to see a store embrace its heritage.
Not all are so lucky, such as a San Antonio Hyundai dealer who is currently removing what many are describing as a local landmark. Why? According to the dealer group’s head of marketing, it’s not part of the “Hyundai experience.”
Infiniti Launching Design Language at Pebble Beach
In what our Managing Editor rightly described as ‘mild news’, Infiniti has announced they will use the unspeakably pompous Pebble Beach Automotive Week to show a concept vehicle they claim previews the brand’s next-gen design language.
They Kept Your Car for How Long?
Hands up if you’ve ever had a car repair stretch on longer than your liking. Chances are, most of us have been without our wheels for an unexpected spell – whether that was at the hands of a so-called professional garage or one’s own wrenching ineptitude is often up to our own personalities. This author has sadly fallen into the latter category more than once.
TTAC Video of the Week: This Dealer Will Fight for You
When I worked as a service writer, an upset customer threatened to kick my ass right then and there in the service drive. If I recall correctly, he was upset because there was a language barrier and the price for the service came in higher than he'd expected.
American Vehicle Sales, Q1 2023 – With Numberz!
Don’t say we don’t read yer comments. Last week’s report on the state of American car sales during the first quarter of this year was absent the usual Excel chart o’ numbers thanks to a phalanx of manufacturers choosing to release figures at their leisure.
Here’s the chart, nerds – complete with snazzy up and down arrows.
North Carolina VW Dealer Apologizes for Racist Stickers Created by Cleaning Crew
The way things are going, we could probably just have every story we cover be one about dealerships and bad behavior.
This time it's not financial scams or unsanitary behavior -- it's racism. And the dealership itself isn't actually at fault -- though arguably it missed the opportunity to squash the incident before customers found out.
That’s Grand: Record Numbers of Car Payments Exceed $1,000/mo
If you’re thinking that an ever-climbing percentage of the average household income is being allocated toward car debt – you’re exactly right. According to third-party industry watchers, the number of notes with a monthly payment of $1,000 or more has risen to record heights.
Dan O’Brien Kia Hit With $1.25m Judgement for Deceptive Practices
“There is no choice but for them to improve. They have to find a way to meet customer expectations.” Those are the words uttered by Steve Center, Chief Operating Officer of Kia America, at this year’s L.A. Auto Show in response to questions about the brand scoring dead last in a sales satisfaction survey about its dealerships.
Well, it seems Dan O’Brien Kia of New Hampshire either didn’t get the memo or is hell-bent on becoming the poster child for Center’s ire. After all, being told to pay $1.25 million in a deceptive practices settlement are unlikely to ingratiate the place to their brand’s COO.
Ford’s EV Requirements for Dealers Are Totally Unacceptable, Say Connecticut Legislators
Connecticut legislators from both sides of the political fence appear to be less than thrilled with Ford about the deadline it’s imposing on dealerships vying to sell all-electric vehicles. Blue Oval wants retailers to make sizable investments to install on-site charging stations and retrain their staff on how to service EVs. For some stores, this means doling out over one-million dollars just to have the privilege of selling the latest models coming from the Ford Motor Company.
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