Omni Automotive Advertising Blog

Everyday more and more reports surface of auto dealership closing. Just this week Bill Heard Chevrolet closed all 13 of it’s dealerships, laying off over 2,700 employees. Last week in Central Florida, Courtesy Pontiac GMC Buick closed it’s doors. Do a google search for “dealership closing” and you will get 7,640,000 returns. Dealerships are closing across the country at an alarming rate.

Earlier this year Ford dealerships were closing, consolidating smaller, less profitable lots into a singular location. Solitary Chrysler, Dodge, Jeep locations closed to combine the three brands under one roof.

And, while some dealerships were closing due to less car sales, others such as the Bill Heard franchises, closed in part due to a faulty business practice. According to this article, the once profitable dealerships succumbed to, “a flaw in his business model: high-volume but low-profit sales targeting people with blemished credit histories.”

It is no secret that dealership owners across the nation are wondering when these hard times are going to turn around. Dealers who were making record profits only a few years ago are selling half, or more often a quarter, of what they were selling last year. Consumers are putting off purchases due to the high rise in gas, the looming recession, and the lack of fuel efficient vehicles. Banks are tightening the reigns, making financing more difficult for the dealerships. Simply put, everyone from the consumers to the sales people are wondering how much longer this is going to last.

Here is todays ‘Thought of the Week’.

Car dealerships are closing in record numbers. With the government bailing out the financial industry, CitiBank aquiring the failed bank Wachovia, the ongoing gas crisis and recession, is there an end in sight? Will the upcoming election signal a turning point?

What are your thoughts on the subject?

Here is todays ‘Thought of the Week’.

What will be the extended costs of owning an electric car?

We keep hearing about the upcoming Volt and the push to create more hybrid or electric cars. But I was wondering what the added costs are going to be? When you plug that car in it is going to be your electricity it is using. How much is that going to add to your electric bill? And what is the added drain going to be to the Energy company supplying that electricity? Will they increase your bill when the added energy consumption increases across the board? And if the electricity is being produced by oil/gasoline engines, won’t that in turn produce more costs that will be passed on to the consumer?

What are your thoughts?

This is a post of all the automotive marketing news of the past week.

• Suzuki is doing whatever it takes to get you into a new car (other than of course, making a car I actually want to get into). See their new spots here and here.
• What’s the buzz around Mini. Fly funerals. Yeah, it’s as weird as it sounds.
• Speaking of Mini, here’s a horror spot that revolves around shopping carts. Not as weird as the above link, but equally as cool.
• More Mini. Here’s a Mini rocket.
• Childbirth is on the rise because couples want to get into the new Volkswagen Routan.
• Here’s a cool Volkswagen ad with a dog.
• Grip is important. At least Audi thinks so.
• Woman love shoes. That’s the basis behind this Chevy Traverse ad.
• The Lincoln MKS has liftoff. Yet another indie band shilling for a car.
• Ford sees a flat 2009 in Auto Sales in the United States. Investor says Ford best placed among the Big 3 to come out on top.
• And last but not least… Toyota’s ads sure have come a long way from the 1980’s.

That’s it for this week’s free for all. If you have any tips or ads you think would be a great addition to the free for all, please email at alopez@omni-advertising.com.

With the everyday barrage of commercials it’s easy to become desensitized to them. So its refreshing to see something new. Citroen has recently released a series of commercials featuring the C4 morphing into a Transformer-like robot that break dances, skates, and does a “Staying Alive” groove through the streets (see below). The commercials seem fresh and the robot shines. The website for the C4 smoothly integrates the robot and the feel of the commercial.

Wonder what the mpg on this is? This video was originally posted on YouTube over a year ago and has over a million views. BTW, there was a smart car at the bank the other day. If you think the smart cars are small, you should stand next to one.