Omni Automotive Advertising Blog

With Halloween just around the corner it seems appropriate that we be scared of something. Ghosts, Goblins, Vampires, Werewolves and more abound at this time of year, popping up to send a chill down your spine. But it’s not the creepy monsters and such that are scaring us this year. This year the big monster is the economy, or the blog that’s eating up auto dealerships across the globe. That’s right! The scariest thing you could imagine is no longer hiding in the shadows.

You don’t have to live in a cave to know what’s going on. Every day there is another news story about rising costs, dealerships shutting their doors and closing up shop. On Oct 21, AOL reported “Credit Crisis a ‘Catastrophe’ for Auto Sales“. No new news here. Dealerships that use to make money hand over foot are now reporting significant, up to 30%, losses in sales during the last month.

Almost 600 of the about 20,000 U.S. new car dealers have shut their doors this year, and an additional 2,000 will close within 18 months, predicts Mark Johnson, president of a Seattle consulting firm that helps auto dealers buy, sell or merge operations.

While some dealerships have closed due to poor management, others are simply the victim of the slowing economy. With rising costs and less disposable cash, consumers are tightening their belts, hesitating to buy high cost purchases like houses, boats and cars. A article on Yahoo.com reports states that “Consumer spending accounts for about 70 percent of the economy.” The article also goes on to state “layoffs this week include Chrysler LLC, which said Thursday that it would eliminate 1,825 jobs by cutting a shift at a Toledo, Ohio Jeep plant and accelerating the closure of a sport utility vehicle factory in Newark, Del.”

Scared yet? Maybe that is a good thing. Fear can be a great motivator. Don’t let fear immoblise you. Take action. While consumers may delay buying a car, people need cars and they will continue to buy cars. The automakers, knowing that the consumer need those cars but are no longer willing to buy the big gas guzzlers, have seen the light and making more energy efficient models.

And although the news has predicted the demise of some dealerships, others will survive. To survive they must fight. Dealerships must motivate themselves, educate thier salesteams, reassess their priorities. Here at Omni we are taking great strides to recognize the trends. If you’re dealership is faced with lagging sales, give us a call. Omni Advertising knows the automotive world. We know what works and we can help you strengthen your automotive sales during this uncertain time. Don’t be scared! Call us.

Here are some things that have come through my Google Alerts account this week. This is just a small sample of the 71 emails in my inbox this morning.

‘09 Audi A4 3.2 Road Tested - All New, Really! Read all about it!

Capital One Ends Financing of N.Y., N.J. Car Dealers - Bloomberg.com — More problems for Auto Dealers

Car dealers sent packing - Greater Sacramento’s new-car franchises have disappeared at a rate two-and-a-half times greater than the national average. Sacramento Buisness Journal.

Not everyone believes that auto sales are dead. For instance LR Automotive Partnerships in Texas “announces the acquisition of three dealerships in the north central Texas: Nissan of Fort Worth, Waxahachie Ford, Mercury and Waxahachie Pontiac, Buick, GMC.” In Florence, KY, the Jeff Wyler Group bought Florence Buick Pontiac GMC. And remember the Bill Heard post? Well, Luxury-brand retailer Qvale Automotive Group of San Francisco had a pre-bankruptcy deal for the Huntsville store.

Heard about the GM merger? Will the GM Chrylser merger work or will it eventually be the deathsong of the automakers? Read another article about the the deal fostered by Cerebrus here.

Meanwhile, GM is hoping that the new series ‘My Own Worst Enemy‘ will boost GM sales as they provide the show the new 2010 Chevy Camaro SS and 2009 Chevy Traverse for the split-personality lead character Henry/Edward played by Christian Slater. Read the article here.

Speaking of TV shows, the new 09 Dodge Ram is the showcased vehicle on a recent version of “The Sarah Connor Chronicles“. The quad cab sports an optional lockable storage area in the side.

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?

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.

In a time of unstable gas prices, Green initiatives and changes in consumers spending habits, it’s not surprising the ideas automakers continue to come up with. As car buyers finally begin to stop buying the big gas guzzlers, the car designers have begin to Mini-aturize.

Case in point, the 2010 Mini Crossover Concept was just revealed in Paris. According to this AutoBlog article, the Mini concept is taller and wider than the Mini Clubman. The five door vehicle has a single panel rear door that opens to the right, although this feature may change if the car goes to production. The power specs will most likely stay the same as the current Mini line, with 4WD for offroad driving.

Following up on my previous entry regarding the new Chevy Volt, AutoBlog has just revealed some more pictures of the Volt, which isn’t scheduled for release until next week.

Update- CNN article and video about the Volt can be seen here.

Here at Omni Advertising we are always looking for trying new ideas and implementing new strategies to help our clients businesses grow. Earlier this week we announced the new site redesign for the Central Florida Honda Dealers. Now we are proud to announce the launch of the newly redesigned Gulf Coast Honda Dealers website.

The Gulf Coast Honda Dealers is an association of eight Honda dealers serving the Bay Area in and around Tampa, Florida. The dealers are Autoway Honda, Brandon Honda, Crown Honda, Gateway Honda, Tampa Hondaland, Kuhn Honda, Courtesy Palm Harbor Honda, and Honda of Wesley Chapel.

The Central Florida Honda Dealers website has been updated with a new look and new functionality. From the new site you can find out information about all of the Honda lineup of vehicles. This month the featured vehicle special is for the 2008 Honda Accord LX for only $219 a month.

You can view the new site at cfhondadealers.com or centralfloridahondadealers.com