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Study: Think Python, Not Buying Funnel
Car shoppers 25 to 39 years old are trashing the traditional path to a vehicle purchase, according to a new study by Incisent Labs.
The old funnel theory of buying, in which a shopper continuously narrows his vehicle choices before purchase, doesn't apply to Gen X and Gen Y vehicle buyers, said Pat Ryan Jr., founder of Incisent Labs and dealer inventory tools MAX and FirstLook. ...
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Auto Radio Ads Have Greatest Influence Closest to Purchase
Radio Advertising Bureau Launches New Study Initiative for Members
Radio plays a dominant role, whether people are considering a vehicle purchase, or spending time in a vehicle.
And the closer listeners get to purchasing or leasing a vehicle, the more important a part radio advertising plays. Radio is also a top "must-have" for automotive buyers of every age. ...
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The State of Radio's No. 1 Advertising Category
Automotive expert John McElroy addressed the recent RAB Board of Directors meeting in Detroit. During his appearance, he outlined the state of the auto industry, why it is doing well, and what the future holds, including the "next big thing" -- driverless vehicles. ...
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NADA: Dealer Profit Hits Record in 2012
Rising new-vehicle sales lifted average dealership pretax profit to a record $843,697 last year, a National Automobile Dealers Association survey shows.
The average store's 2012 profit rose 6 percent from the previous record set in 2011. NADA began the annual survey in 1970. ...
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Korean, American Brands Appealing to Younger Buyers
Remember back in the pleistocene epoch when young people would want anything but the Detroit-made car their parents were driving? If you do, you probably own a Honda or Toyota, or a VW Beetle, and not the redesigned one.
Well, it's turnaround time. ...
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Automakers and Dealers Devoting More Resources to the Hispanic Market
Many automakers used to view Hispanic-oriented marketing as a way to drum up extra sales when their marketing budgets allowed. Often their efforts amounted to little more than dubbing Spanish over actors speaking English in TV commercials.
Today, they know not to overlook or underestimate what has become America's fastest growing minority group, a demographic now responsible for much of the nation's population growth and one that is expected to become the largest ethnic group in California next year. ...
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Acura Launches Integrated Push for 2014 RLX
Acura is lighting the fuse on the marketing fireworks for the 2014 iteration of the RLX, which started gracing dealerships recently.
The 360-degree campaign goes about everywhere this spring and summer. Well, not everywhere, but pretty far for Acura. ...
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Auto Buyers Trading in Loyalty for Lure of New Models
Customers like Kelleigh Sheehy of Marietta, Ga., who recently traded the keys of her Volkswagen Jetta for a 2013 Buick Encore, are helping to boost the rate at which some automakers gain new customers.
It is known as conquesting -- when automakers steal buyers from other brands -- and it's rising for some brands, especially certain models. ...
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New Efforts to Shorten the Process of Purchasing a Car
"Let me run that by my manager."
To minimize the use of that shopworn delaying tactic -- and other haggling strategies that can drag out the car-buying process -- more companies are experimenting with ways to slice the time consumers spend in vehicle showrooms. ...
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Less Flash, More Substance as Automotive Recovery Forges Ahead
U.S. auto sales rose 4 percent from strong year-ago results in February, as modest growth by the Detroit 3 and Toyota offset declines at Honda, Hyundai-Kia and Nissan.
Along the way, the seasonally adjusted annualized sales rate inched up to 15.4 million, the fourth straight month above 15 million. The industry hasn't seen sustained SAARs at that level since late 2007 and early 2008. ...
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Lexus Again Tops J.D. Power Dependability Study; Detroit 3 Narrow Reliability Gap
Lexus remains the most dependable vehicle brand after three years of ownership, but the Detroit 3 continue to close the gap with foreign rivals, J.D. Power and Associates says.
Lexus, Porsche, Lincoln, Toyota and Mercedes-Benz top Power's 2013 Vehicle Dependability Study. Each of those brands also placed among the top seven in the market research firm's 2012 survey of problems reported after three years of ownership. ...
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'AutoNation' Now a Brand; Who's Next?
New Retail Model Could Trigger Trend
AutoNation Inc.'s move to put its corporate name on most of its stores signals the next wave for a dealership business model that has moved from exclusively mom-and-pop stores in a short period of time.
Some other large dealership groups -- Sonic Automotive Inc., for one -- are mulling their own branding efforts, and industry watchers envision a day when the country's biggest retailers unify their stores under corporate brand names. ...
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After Selling to Public Groups, These Dealers Have Returned to Retail
After 40 years of hawking cars, sewing machines and vacuums, and then cars again, Ira Rosenberg couldn't stop selling -- even after signing off on the largest deal of his life.
When Rosenberg and his son sold their five-store Massachusetts dealership group to Group 1 Automotive Inc. for a multimillion price in 2000, Rosenberg retired to Florida to take care of his ailing wife. But he continued to dabble in business, as an unsuccessful distributor of videoconference telephones and a restaurateur.
"After about 4 1/2 years of being retired, I couldn't stand it," Rosenberg, now 76, said. "I said to my wife: 'I can't handle it anymore. Let me go back to work or give me a lobotomy.'" ...
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$30,000 is the New Luxury-Car Hot Spot
There's a new price battleground -- $30,000 -- for luxury-car makers as they chase younger buyers with small front-wheel-drive vehicles that are sliding down into mass-market territory.
Mercedes-Benz, BMW, Audi and others are going after the 75 million 30- to 40-year-olds who are forcing "the biggest changes the automotive industry will face," said Bernie Glaser, head of marketing for Mercedes-Benz USA. "They have big expectations for products and brands." ...
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How Auto Makers Keep You Coming Back
John Kwiecien, 47, is a commercial photographer who reckons he has owned vehicles from about 10 different brands since he started driving.
"I don't want to put myself in a box," says Mr. Kwiecien, who lives in suburban Detroit. He chooses cars that fit his lifestyle at a given time. Right now, he's driving a Volkswagen GTI, but he and companion Camille Milroy spent part of a recent Sunday touring the Detroit auto show with an eye on a Jeep Wrangler Unlimited to take on outdoor adventures with their two "big, hyper dogs." ...
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Auto Advertising: The Dawn of a New Era?
I just got off the phone with Chip Perry, the CEO of Autotrader.com, and my head's spinning.
Autotrader is out to conquer the world. Well, the automotive world. And though I'm generally a skeptical guy, I'm almost convinced they'll do it. "We think we're in the dawn of a new era," Chip told me. ...
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2013 Auto Sales Will Be Strong, Firm Predicts
A healthier economy and more new model introductions should push U.S. auto sales above the 15 million mark this year, predicts an auto industry research firm.
The Polk research firm says auto sales should continue to lead the country's economic recovery, rising nearly 7 percent over 2012 to 15.3 million new vehicle registrations. ...
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Sales of Alternative Fuel Vehicles on the Rise
Sales of alternative fuel vehicles are up 73%, with nearly 440,000 hybrid, plug-in hybrid, and electrics sold so far this year, according to the latest research from Chicago-based Mintel.
The rapid sales growth in hybrid and electric vehicles makes the segment the fastest growing in the United States for 2012, supplanting the still fast-growing compact car vehicle segment. ...
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Some of the Best New-Car Deals Are Available Near the End of the Year
Unless you're the sort of person who finishes up their holiday shopping even before the first Black Friday ads show up, you're likely racing around trying to figure out what to get for your loved ones. Maybe for yourself.
Perhaps a new car is on somebody's wish list but you're wondering whether it makes sense to buy one this time of year. Well, if you can swing the down payment, it just might be. ...
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Study Finds Innovation Pleases Car, Truck Owners
Strategic Vision's new Total Value Index study finds that innovation is driving how consumers feel about the auto brands they buy.
The study, which looks at over 350 cars and trucks owned by 77,000 people, gives a snapshot of how consumers feel, per dollar spent, about how much of a value they are getting from their vehicles. And the most important parameter is innovation. ...
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Report Details Continued Optimism for the Auto Industry
A study by CNW Research predicts the auto industry should close out December in fine fashion. The firm is basing its outlook on what it saw in November, with several key indicators showing year-over-year gains.
Art Spinella wrote in his firm's monthly newsletter that consumers are buying again after five years of holding back on new- and used-car acquisitions. And according to Spinella, consumers aren't just buying for themselves. ...
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Gap Between Luxury, Mainstream Cars Shrinks
The day could be fast-arriving when a new breed of car buyer considers a new generation of cars, and wrestles with a choice something like: "Hmmm, $30,000. Should I get that loaded Ford Focus, or this new mini-size entry BMW?"
Absurd? Not necessarily. ...
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More Women Drivers Than Men on U.S. Roads Now
Women have passed men on the nation's roads.
More women than men now have driver's licenses, a reversal of a longtime gender gap behind the wheel that transportation researchers say is likely to have safety and economic implications. ...
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Study: Web Shopping Cuts Dealership Visits
Car shoppers are doing so much research online these days that 58 percent of car buyers visit just one or two dealerships before purchasing their vehicles, a study commissioned by online shopping site AutoTrader.com has found. ...
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Superstorm's Impact on Auto Sales is Expected to be Brief
Insurance checks cut in November and December are expected to help automakers and dealers more than make up for the sales that Hurricane Sandy wiped out at the end of October.
Many dealers in New York and New Jersey remained closed through the weekend as cleanup and power-restoration efforts slowly progressed. But when the lights come back, so will customers, analysts and auto executives said. ...
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Hurricane Sandy Expected to Hamper October Auto Sales
Luxury Brands Such as Acura, Mercedes-Benz and BMW Rely on Big East Coast Markets for a Substantial Portion of Their Sales
Hurricane Sandy is expected to have an impact on October car sales, with luxury brands taking a hit, according to Edmunds.
"The storm likely will have an impact on October sales, especially since it comes at the end of the month, but those sales won't disappear altogether," said Jessica Caldwell, Edmunds.com senior analyst. ...
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Auto Dealers Cautious About 2013 Ad Dollars
Auto sales continue to rebound this year, but dealers say they are cautious about spending more on advertising next year. Slightly more than half who responded to an unscientific online survey said they do not plan to spend more on advertising in 2013.
Of those who do plan to spend more, about half said the increase would be less than 10 percent, according to the Automotive News survey. ...
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Monthly Auto Sales Projected to Rise 11% in September
Auto sales in September are expected to increase 11 percent from a year ago, keeping the industry on roughly the same pace as in August, according to a report by J.D. Power and Associates.
The forecast puts the industry's seasonally adjusted annualized selling rate at 14.5 million. The August rate of 14.53 million was the highest of any month so far this year. ...
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The 'Wild West' of Online Vehicle Transactions
Old Marketing Regs Keep Dealers at Risk
States are struggling with rules for selling and advertising cars online.
For example, one state law puts an auto dealer at risk when somebody else takes his dealership's ad, alters the information then posts it on a different Web site. The process is known as scraping. ...
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Auto Sales Rate for August Projected to Reach 4.5-Year High
An influential auto forecasting firm said on Friday it expects August to yield the highest U.S. retail sales rate in four-and-a-half years.
LMC Automotive projected the seasonally adjusted annual rate of sales to individual buyers at 12.3 million units. The overall SAAR, which includes fleet sales, is forecast to reach 14.5 million vehicles, on par with this year's high of 14.47 million in February. ...
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Study: More Car Buyers Bypass Test Drives
Call them digital test-drivers. Armed with online research, more than one in 10 new-car shoppers now buy vehicles without taking a test drive, according to a new study.
A marketing manager in Indianapolis, Andy Thedjoprasetyono, was one of them. ...
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J.D. Power: People Pleased with Compact Vehicles
Small is big as new-car buyers are finding they are getting just as much from compact cars as they got from the bigger vehicle they jettisoned for the new, smaller one, says J.D. Power and Associates' 2012 U.S. Automotive Performance, Execution and Layout (APEAL) Study.
The study, based on owner evaluations of more than 80 vehicle attributes that have to do with how pleasing a vehicle is, finds that 27% of new-vehicle buyers who replaced a vehicle purchased a new vehicle in a smaller segment. By contrast, only 13% of buyers "upsized," and 60% bought a new vehicle in the same size segment as their previous vehicle. ...
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Bigger Sales, Smaller Margins
As sales rebound from last year's earthquake-constrained levels, dealerships' new-vehicle revenues are soaring.
But there's a wrinkle in the good news: Since the second quarter began, many dealers say gross profit margins per new vehicle sold have been falling back to more normal levels, down from the inflated levels of a year ago. ...
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A Fast-Changing Segment is the Industry's Hottest
Lower fuel prices, attractive incentives and a batch of eye-catching, redesigned models here and just around the corner are lighting a fire under mid-sized car sales.
Combined U.S. sales of the top six mid-sized cars shot up 37 percent in June, compared with gains of 25 percent for all cars, 19 percent for light trucks and 22 percent for the industry as a whole. ...
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Jaguar, Porsche and Cadillac Gain in Quality; Chrysler, Mercedes, Ford Slip
Lexus Repeats Atop J.D. Power's New-Vehicle Quality Study
Jaguar, Porsche and Cadillac posted the biggest improvements in new-vehicle quality for the 2012 model year, while the Mini, Chrysler, Mercedes-Benz, Ford and Subaru brands fell back in a year that saw overall industry quality advance nearly 5 percent, according to J.D. Power and Associates' 2012 U.S. Initial Quality Study. ...
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Total Dealer Revenue Topped $609 Billion in 2011
The National Automobile Dealers Associations annual industry report confirmed that new-vehicle dealers sold 12.72 million units last year, with total dealership dollar sales growing by 10.2 percent to $609 billion.
Sales in the new-car department (up 15.6 percent) surpassed the 9.8 percent revenue growth in used cars. Net pretax profit posted strong gains, with the typical store generating $785,855, according to the NADA Data report. ...
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May Auto Volume Rises 26%; Sales Pace Hits 13.8M
Toyota, Honda Soar in Comeback; Chrysler Extends Gains
U.S. light vehicle sales -- helped by a surge at Toyota Motor Corp. and Honda Motor Co., and more healthy gains at Chrysler Group -- climbed 26 percent to 1.33 million last month compared with a weak May 2011.
The seasonally adjusted sales rate hit 13.8 million, the lowest pace of 2012. While the pace of sales came in below expectations, it was well above the 11.7 million rate of May 2011, the year's second-weakest month, and higher than during any month last year. ...
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Massive Wave of Product Launches on the Horizon
With products ranging from the next-generation Chevrolet Silverado pickup to an all-new Infiniti electric vehicle, the U.S. auto industry will see a potentially record flood of new products roll into dealer showrooms by 2016.
According to the new "Car Wars" study by Merrill Lynch, the assault will hit its peak in the 2014 and 2015 model-years when manufacturers are planning to introduce 105 new cars, trucks and crossovers. ...
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More Dealers Offer Trade-In Protection After Automakers Shelve It
Some dealership groups are starting to offer trade-in protection to car buyers, a concept that until recently only had been offered by automakers, such as Hyundai and General Motors.
"Five years from now this is going to be just another F&I product, like GAP or service contracts," said Randy Hoffman, executive director of Ed Morse Automotive Group in Fort Lauderdale, Fla. ...
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Cha-ching! Dealership Profits Soar
Used Cars Drive Growth
Rising new-vehicle sales are boosting dealership profits. Most public retailers reported much higher first-quarter earnings, and other dealers tell similar stories.
All dealership profit centers are contributing. But it's in used-vehicle sales that many groups see big growth opportunities -- along with some challenges, the greatest of which is a lack of inventory. ...
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Good Dealer Experience Still Sells Cars, Report Finds
A new report from Foresight Research shows that car buyers often choose a dealership based on inventory and selection, no-haggle pricing, financing availability, response time and the dealership's website.
It also shows that the share of new vehicles being sold to older buyers continues to rise. ...
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Survey: Men Seek Speedy Cars, Women Want Practicality
While there appears to be less of a gender gap in the brand preferences of car buyers, there are still distinct differences in the types of vehicles men prefer -- or fantasize about -- compared with the ones women drive.
According to a survey by TrueCar.com, an auto-industry research and forecasting company, men like fast and flashy vehicles while women tend to be more practical when shopping for a car. The company said its buyer-behavior data are based on more than nine million retail purchases in 2011. ...
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Auto Sales Tracking at 14.68 Million Units, Reports CNW
Based on the first 19 days of April, the auto industry is on track to sell 1.25 million units, a 7.8 percent increase vs. a year ago, according to CNW Research. That would put the True Delivery Rate at 14.68 million units for the year.
The market research firm also noted a 13 percent increase in floor traffic from a year ago, which it attributed to consumers wanting to see new arrivals inside showrooms. ...
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Market Improves for EVs, Hybrids
The market for hybrids, plug-in hybrids and electric vehicles is perking up, just when many were ready to write it off.
In the first three months of 2012, U.S. sales of hybrids, plug-in hybrids and EVs shot up 44 percent from the year-ago quarter, to 113,457. March sales of those vehicles were double those of January.
It was a breakout quarter for sales of vehicles with alternative powertrains, which had been rising at a much slower pace than expected despite waves of fresh entries. ...
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The Surprising Reason for Record New Vehicle Prices
Buyers are paying record average prices for new cars. But it's not gouging by automakers. Rather, more customers are ordering all the frills.
The average price of a new car is running at $30,748, up 6.9% from a year ago. Consumers are choosing more expensive trim levels and makers are being smarter about producing the right combinations of options and trim levels that minimize the chance that cars will be spurned on sales lots. ...
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2011 Was a Record Year for Dealership Profits
Average dealership profits in 2011 were the highest since the National Automobile Dealers Association began tracking the data in 1970.
The average dealership made a record $785,855 in net pretax profit in 2011. Net pretax profit as a percentage of total sales was 2.3 percent, a level not seen since at least 1978, said Paul Taylor, NADA's chief economist. ...
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Domestic Brands Score Well in Total Value
Volkswagen, Hyundai and Ford are leaders in Strategic Vision's newest Total Value Index study. But for the first time in over a decade, American manufacturers paced the number of Total Value winners in vehicle categories, with 11 segment leaders. ...
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This Time, Pricey Gas May Not Spur Small-Car Sales
Americans Are Used to Seasonal Shifts
It happens nearly every year: Gasoline prices rise in the spring and sales of smaller cars spike through the summer. Pundits declare that car-buying habits are changed for good.
Then gasoline prices fall, and consumers go back to buying full-sized SUVs and cars with larger engines. ...
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February Called 'A Breakout Month' for Auto Sales
Sustainable? You Bet, Say Execs and Analysts
The really good news in last week's way-better-than-expected February automotive sales report: It was no fluke. The rest of 2012 looks nearly as strong, and carmakers and their suppliers are nicely positioned to take advantage of the surge in demand. ...
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Is $4.50 a Gallon the New Gas Price 'Wall'?
Industry observers keep wondering what it would take to produce a wholesale shift in the American automotive marketplace. Despite near-record prices last Spring and the brief push to $4 a gallon several years earlier, U.S. motorists have largely continued buying the products they've always bought. ...
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Credit Thaw Driving Auto Loan Approvals, Sales
Three years ago, credit was so tight that the owner of a legal firm with a $400,000 salary and a very good credit score of more than 700 couldn't get financed to buy the car he wanted from Michael Mosser's dealership.
"The world is upside-down compared to then," said Mosser, general manager of Chevrolet and Cadillac stores in Ann Arbor, Mich. "Today, somebody with a 500 credit score, I can get approved and in a Malibu," which starts at $22,110. ...
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Survey Recognizes Women-Friendly Dealerships
'A Genuine Concern' and 'a Nuance of Hospitality' Mark the Best
Buying a new car can be an unsettling experience no matter who you are, but it's traditionally been that much tougher for women.
"When I started looking for my last car, the first dealer I went to told me to come back when I could bring my husband with me. He clearly didn't think I was smart enough to do it myself," recalls Alice Hissler, a single PhD scientist at a major Michigan university. ...
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Consumers See Less Difference Between Car Brands, Survey Finds
A survey by the Consumer Reports National Research Center revealed that the difference perceived by American consumers between the top car brands and the challengers is shrinking.
The 2012 Car-Brand Perception Survey indicated that Toyota, Ford, Honda, and Chevrolet maintained their top positions but have seen the point gap decrease. Additionally, most of the top brands saw double-digit drops in their total scores. ...
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Whether Loyalty or Retention, It's Critical
Polk's Loyalty award is about the automakers that have the highest percentage of loyalists. J.D. Power's offering, the 2012 Customer Retention Study, also focuses on customer loyalty, but the results are slightly different.
The survey-based study by Power puts Hyundai at the top among a field of 33 brands, with Ford in second (the reverse of Polk's top two), and tied with Honda. The study takes a broad view, noting that one in three new-vehicle owners who switched brands did so not because they hated their vehicle but because their previous brand just didn't make the type of vehicle they wanted next. ...
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Edmunds.com's Anwyl on Autos
What does the auto market hold for 2012? Jeremy Anwyl, CEO of auto shopping and research company Edmunds.com, recently spoke with Marketing Daily about the year to come, the year just past, and which players are best positioned for the vicissitudes of the U.S. economy and consumer sentiment. ...
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Wave Goodbye as These 2011 Vehicle Models Vanish
The last Ford Ranger rolled off the assembly line last week, but it's not the only model that's going to fade into automotive history after 2012.
There's a pretty good list of 2011 vehicles taking their final bows, not to be replaced by newer versions of the same model. ...
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Car Campaigns for All Consumers
By 2016, the multicultural consumer segment will contribute $14 billion to the auto industry. The companies that will win the market are those that understand diverse consumers' beliefs, practices, intentions, consumption patterns and spending capabilities. Multicultural Marketing Resources Inc. asked experts in marketing to African-American, Hispanic, Asian-American, American Muslim and LGBT consumers to share market insights that automakers should consider when targeting these groups. ...
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Americans Embrace SUVs Again
The sport-utility vehicle is making a comeback.
After being largely shunned during the recession, high-riding SUVs and workhorse pickups are regaining favor as U.S. consumers grow more confident and fuel prices remain below the $4 a gallon level that triggered a shift away from larger vehicles. ...
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Alt-Fuel Vehicles Face New Rivals
Automakers trying to market alternative powertrains are finding fuel-efficient internal combustion engines to be stiff competition.
In particular, the new breed of compacts and subcompacts with highway fuel-economy ratings reaching 40 mpg are attracting price-conscious buyers. Apart from miles per gallon, the key selling point is a price several thousand dollars below hybrids, plug-ins and EVs. ...
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GfK To Marketers: Enjoy Loyalty While You Can
A recent automotive brand study gave Kia first place in brand loyalty. But another firm, global marketing company GfK Automotive, has its own 10-year examination of brand loyalty, and its results are far different. It's not so much about which auto brand enjoys the most loyal owners as it is about the relevance of brand loyalty generally. ...
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Female Car Buyers Embrace Domestic Automakers, Porsche
Female car buyers are making up a larger customer base for some of the top domestic auto brands, but none approach the gains that Porsche has made with women this year, according to an analysis by Edmunds.com, the online resource for automotive information. ...
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AutoPacific and IntelliChoice Reveal 2011 Motorist Choice Awards
Notable automotive industry research companies, IntelliChoice and AutoPacific, last week announced the 2011 Motorist Choice Awards.
Now in its sixth year, this venerable award series is designed to recognize those vehicles that deliver the compelling combination of high consumer satisfaction and lower-than-expected ownership costs over time. ...
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Majority of Car Shoppers Looking to Year-End Sales Events for Next Purchase
According to the latest Kelley Blue Book Market Intelligence Consumer Sentiment survey, 62 percent of new car and used car shoppers are looking to purchase within the next three months, due primarily to year-end sales events. Consumer sentiment is in line with what Kelley Blue Book market analysts anticipate will be a strong fourth quarter with increased cash incentives and attractive lease offerings. ...
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Making Brands Relevant
Top Marketers Move Beyond Heritage
Chevrolet and Volkswagen are each blessed with a rich brand heritage, but making that tradition fresh and forward looking -- well, that's a challenge for their marketing chiefs. ...
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Auto Industry Takes Wait-and-See Approach to Economy
No Major Shifts in Marketing Strategy for Big Domestic and Foreign Car Makers -- Yet
The automotive industry may have to downshift if weak consumer confidence and turmoil in credit markets translate into lower sales. But there so far is no indication of changes in strategy or marketing.
"I would characterize the current climate by saying we carefully are monitoring market interest," said Matt VanDyke, Ford Motor Co.'s director of marketing communications U.S. ...
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QR Codes On Window Stickers, ToyoTags In Ads
Nissan has launched a program that puts Quick Response (QR) codes on its "On Vehicle Graphics System." The company says it is the first to put the codes on individual vehicle window stickers across its entire lineup. The codes will appear first on 2012 models.
The first of the codes appeared in June on the 2012 Nissan Altima and Sentra, and according to Nissan, this is the first time the codes have been used by an OEM. The company says the QR codes, when connected via smartphone, deliver content via iPhone, Android and BlackBerry devices. ...
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Senior Customers Require Balancing Act
TrueCar.com's review of the purchasing behavior of more than 200,000 car buyers from 2009 and 2010 shows that seniors (people 65 years of age and over) choose vehicles from brands they grew up with. Topping the list of brands purchased by seniors in that period, by percentage of buyers, were Buick, Lincoln and Cadillac.
"It's sort of a good-news, bad-news scenario for automakers," says TrueCar head of industry analysis Jesse Toprak. "It's good news because of the high loyalty and admiration for the brands among these older consumers. It's bad news because, well, they won't be alive forever." ...
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Study Says Majority of U.S. Car Buyers Open to EV Purchase
A majority of U.S. automotive consumers would consider buying a plug-in hybrid-electric vehicle and, to a lesser extent, a full-electric vehicle next time they are in the market for a new car, according to a study by consultancy Accenture.
But would-be EV buyers cite various conditions, ranging from generous tax breaks to easy access to charging points. ...
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Americans Love Their SUVs...From Detroit
Car sales this year are proving the theory that America's love affair with the sport-utility vehicle is far from finished, despite gas prices. And last month, they wanted their SUVs from an American automaker.
The SUV may go by different labels these days -- such as CUV, crossover or tall wagon -- and the SUVs feeling the love generally are smaller than in the old school utes. ...
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Dealers Sell to Surprised Smart Phone Shoppers
Jerry Draga quickly realized the sales power of smart phones.
Draga, general manager of Jack Matia Honda in Elyria, Ohio, said he sold vehicles to the first six people who used a new service on the dealership's Web site. The service lets shoppers download detailed vehicle information to their mobile phones by clicking an icon. ...
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Low Stocks Stifle June Vehicle Sales
Execs See a Stronger Second Half
Auto sales in June slowed to their weakest pace in a year. But you wouldn't know it by listening to industry executives.
In the meager 7 percent increase over a weak June 2010, they saw the silver lining of pent-up demand. Given the myriad reasons consumers had to sit on their hands last month, the execs predicted a strong second half. ...
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Hybrid Technology Enters the Mainstream of Auto Production
Your next car will probably have a little bit of Toyota Prius or Chevrolet Volt in it, whether you think of yourself as a high-tech fuel saver or not. Technologies pioneered by the 50-m.p.g. Prius and the Volt, which burns no gasoline at all on most trips under 40 miles, will soon be omnipresent.
Virtually every car will be a hybrid, with so many variations of electric-assistance that some manufacturers won't even use the word. ...
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Auto $ Drive Online: Dealers Earmark 32 Percent for Web Media Buys
A decade ago, the nation's auto dealers were spending the lion's share of their ad budgets on newspapers and local magazines.
"Online spending was negligible," according to Kip Cassino, executive vice president at Borrell Associates.
Many local magazines have vanished, and newspapers have seen their print classified auto ad revenues plunge from $4.8 billion in 2001 to $1.2 billion last year. However, online media has absorbed much of the fallout, and now receives the bulk of auto dealers' ad dollars. ...
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Forget $4 Gasoline, Americans Purchase Bigger Cars in May
The rush by Americans to buy smaller, more fuel-efficient cars hit a speed bump in May.
New data compiled for Reuters shows the rush for vehicles with higher gas mileage is more restrained than three years ago, and is already beginning to fade, even as gasoline prices test their 2008 peaks and automakers tout an expanded lineup of gas-sipping cars, from plug-in Volts to 6-cylinder F-150s. ...
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Dealers Adjust Advertising as Earthquake Impacts Inventory
Some U.S. dealers are altering their local advertising plans as parts shortages and production cuts stemming from the March 11 Japanese earthquake and tsunami have caused inventories to shrink.
Though some Toyota, Honda and Nissan dealers are continuing with their planned ad campaigns, others are canceling campaigns, cutting back or shifting their resources to deal with the fewer cars that are on their lots. ...
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More Online Vehicle Shoppers Pick Up the Phone
Alex Jefferson says dealers have themselves to blame for Internet leads flattening out in the past year, despite widespread online car shopping.
Dealers' slow responses to Internet leads have trained consumers to contact stores by telephone or just walk in when their online research is complete, says Jefferson, director of Internet and training for the Proctor Dealerships of Tallahassee, Fla. ...
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Auto Dealers Adjusting to New Business Environment
Auto Dealerships Are Making Money Again, But in Markets That Lost the Largest Percentage of Dealerships, the New Normal Means Different Things
The reduction of the dealership network over the past four years has left survivors in prime financial shape.
The average dealership net pretax profit as a percentage of sales was 2.1 percent in 2010, the highest since 1986, reports the National Automobile Dealers Association. ...
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Sales of Fuel-Efficient Vehicles Stall Despite High Gas Prices
Automakers are spending more than $50 billion to meet the government's 2016 fuel economy law, but consumers aren't buying enough of the fuel-efficient vehicles necessary to allow automakers to achieve the required 35.5 miles-per-gallon average.
Despite rising gas prices and new electric cars and hybrids, the fuel economy of Americans' new vehicles stagnated last year. ...
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Buyers Move Toward Better Fuel Economy
After one of the biggest two-week jumps in gasoline prices on record, fuel economy has rocketed to the top of buyers' minds. But this time -- unlike the last gasoline price spike in 2008 -- the auto industry feels better positioned to cope. ...
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Dealers Say Oil Spike Has Shoppers Thinking Small
Come in and buy a fuel-efficient Kia or Hyundai before the trade-in value of your gas guzzler tumbles.
David Brady, the owner of one Kia and two Hyundai dealerships in greater Huntsville, Ala., didn't use those exact words in his latest radio spots. But that was the gist of his message -- and he says it's working. ...
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Older Buyers a Growing Market for Automakers
Discussion about older drivers usually involves safety and the thorny issue of when they should relinquish the keys to their vehicles. In fact, older drivers have been turning over their keys a lot. But it's often so they can buy new vehicles. Over the past several years, while automakers have been hammered by the recession, buyers age 65 and older have become a steadily increasing share of the auto market. ...
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Auto Dealers Start Shifting Ad Money to Internet
Duncan Scarry is owner of Moore & Scarry Advertising in Fort Meyers, Florida. It is a digital marketing agency formed in 2002. The firm specializes in automotive and has represented more than 300 dealers since its inception. Scarry spoke with eMarketer's Lauren McKay about the shift to digital marketing among automotive dealers. ...
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Some States Offer Electric Car Incentives
Nearly half the states in the country are offering or considering incentives to consumers who buy electric cars in a bid to jump-start the fledgling market.
Experts say the sweeteners, including rebates and access to less-congested carpool lanes, are key to making the vehicles more affordable and convenient as automakers roll out the first mainstream electric cars in nearly a century.
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Vehicle Manufacturers Faced with New Challenges
Even as new-car sales recover -- and consumers flocked to the Detroit auto show to check out all the latest cars and trucks -- automakers are grappling with a new and different market after the recession of the last few years. ...
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Asian Brands Dominate Preference Among Hispanic Auto Buyers
Toyota, Honda and Nissan dominate new vehicle preferences among Hispanics in the U.S., according to a recent study by Polk.
The three companies account for 46.4 percent of the Hispanic market based on an analysis of new vehicle registrations for the first nine months of 2010. ...
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14 Million in 2011? It Could Happen
Figure on a slow and steady recovery in U.S. auto sales next year -- a rise of about 10 percent, according to the consensus of analysts surveyed by Automotive News. But one outlier predicts a much bigger jump in 2011 and offers some compelling data to back it up. ...
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J.D. Power: Reliability Up, But Style Still Rules
If there is one ironclad rule in the amorphous world of automotive consumer insights, it is that perceptions are like knots in shoelaces: it is easy for an auto brand to give people a reason to think its vehicles are quality challenged, and very hard to undo that perception once it has percolated into the public's imagination.
But it appears the knots are becoming a bit looser. ...
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Majority of New-Car Shoppers Looking For the Right Deal
According to the latest study from Kelley Blue Book www.kbb.com, nearly three-quarters (72 percent) of new-car shoppers say they are waiting to find the right deal before making their final purchase decision. In addition, 43 percent of new-car shoppers say they have not yet finalized their purchase or lease decision because they are still undecided on the specific vehicle they want to purchase. ...
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